The Queen’s body will be taken to the state funeral at Westminster Abbey, then to St George’s Chapel to be buried with her husband, Prince Phillip. Source; Sue Watts, Flickr.
Details were released on the Queen’s state funeral which will take place after her coffin finishes its journey to London.
The Queen’s coffin is travelling from Balmoral to London, marked with processions and church services on the way before the state funeral at Westminster Abbey.
Many weddings and funerals of the royal family have been held there over the years.
Westminster Abbey is where the Queen saw her father, King George VI, coronated in 1937, where she married Prince Phillip and of course where she herself was crowned.
The funeral will be held on September 19 at 11am in London, and will be broadcast live in Australia on the Monday night at 8pm AEST on the ABC News channel.
The Queen will first lie in state at Westminster Hall for four days when members of the public will be able to visit.
Her body will then be taken to the state funeral and then to St George’s Chapel to be buried with her husband, Prince Phillip.
The pair will join King George VI, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and Queen Elizabeth’s younger sister, Princess Margaret.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced Australia will be having a national day of mourning on Thursday September 22.
This will be a one-off public holiday for Australians and a memorial in the Great Hall at Parliament House will be held.
The dozens of international presidents, prime ministers, kings and queens that will be attending the Queen’s funeral have reportedly been urged to travel by commercial flights.
The government guidance, first reported by Politico, says international guests should keep their delegations as small as possible and funeral invitations are reserved ideally for the head of state and their spouse.
This is to handle disruption at airports and the logistical challenge created by the large number of foreign dignitaries travelling to London.
Funeral attendees will also be taken to a site in London where the government will provide coach transport to the funeral, to avoid too many private cars clogging the streets of London.
