Tributes to Queen Elizabeth II, who died on September 8 at the age of 96, continue in the United Kingdom. Friday evening at 8:30 p.m. (French time) her children, including King Charles III, will gather at a vigil in front of her coffin, exhibited at the Palace of Westminster in London until the sovereign’s state funeral, scheduled for September 19. in the morning.
This state funeral, the first since the death of Winston Churchill in 1965, will take place at 12:00 p.m. (French time) Monday at Westminster Abbey in the presence of more than 2,000 guests, including hundreds of foreign dignitaries and crowned heads. After the “Last Post”, a tribute to fallen soldiers in the British army, has sounded, two minutes of silence will be observed. After the funeral, the coffin will be returned to the gun carriage and paraded through the British capital, to Wellington’s Arch at Hyde Park Corner. There it will be loaded into a hearse.
Private burial
Arrived in Windsor, the hearse will go to St. George’s Chapel via the Long Walk, a spectacular alley crossing the estate to the castle, before a ceremony broadcast on television. A religious service will take place at 5:00 p.m. (French time) in the chapel, in the presence of more than 800 people, before the burial, scheduled for 8:30 p.m. (French time) reserved for close members of the family, without photographers or cameras.
The Queen’s coffin will rest in the King George VI Chapel, an annex to the main chapel where the Queen’s father and mother already lie, along with the ashes of her sister, Princess Margaret. Prince Philip’s coffin, which currently rests in the royal vault, will be moved to the chapel to join his wife.