As Britain slept, the final rehearsal for herWindsor goodbye

THESE powerful images of our Armed Forces document a rehearsal of the procession which will escort the Queen to her final resting place in Windsor.

At dawn yesterday, 1,157 military personnel staged a run-through in full ceremonial uniform down the historic Long Walk.

The hearse was flanked by the Queen’s pallbearers and 26 other soldiers from the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards dressed in their world-famous red uniforms and bearskin hats.

Members of the Household Cavalry rode in front and behind as the strains of drums and bagpipes filled the early morning air.

Tomorrow, a Massed Pipes and Drums band will play the Skye Boat Song lullaby as the Queen’s cortege makes its final approach to the Castle Gates.

Yesterday’s rehearsal was all over by 7am, after which the military headed to nearby Victoria Barracks for a cooked breakfast.

TRIBUTE: A lone airman and, top right, the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards SOMBRE: The Life Guards – part of the Household Cavalry – make their way along Windsor’s Long Walk in the gloom

ESCORT: The state hearse will be flanked by pallbearers and the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards

FINALE: Royal Navy personnel tuck into a well-earned cooked breakfast at Victoria Barracks