The funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, who died Thursday in Scotland, will take place on Monday, September 19 in London, Buckingham Palace announced on Saturday.
Leaders from around the world are expected for the funeral, which will take place at Westminster Abbey at 11 a.m. King Charles III, his son who succeeded him, declared a public holiday in the UK for the occasion.
The remains of Elizabeth II are currently in the ballroom of Balmoral Castle, Scotland, where she breathed her last.
It will then be transferred to the Palace of Holyroodhouse and St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, before being sent to London on Tuesday where it will be publicly displayed for four days in Westminster Hall, the oldest section of the Houses of Parliament, after a procession through the streets of London.
On September 19, at 10:44 a.m., the coffin will depart from the Palace of Westminster to Westminster Abbey, where the funeral service will take place, Buckingham Palace said.
At the end of the service, the coffin will leave in procession from Westminster Abbey to Wellington’s Arch, then it will be taken to Windsor.
And once in Windsor, there will be another hearse procession to St. George’s Chapel, the palace said in its statement.
The ceremony on September 19 is expected to attract millions of visitors, as well as personalities from around the world who will attend the funeral, a logistical and security challenge for British law enforcement.
Among the expected guests, the American president, Joe Biden, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, as well as many leaders of the former British colonies.