The Queen’s coffin is currently in transit, beginning its long journey in Balmoral and will end in London for her funeral – likely to be one of the grandest events the city has seen in recent history.
The coffin will arrive at Westminster Hall, where the Queen will lie for four days before travelling to St George’s Chapel where she will be laid to rest.
The official funeral will be held at 11 am on September 19 at Westminster Abbey in London and will be broadcast live in Australia on the Monday night at 8 pm AEST on the ABC news channel. The commercial networks – Seven, Nine and Ten – will certainly have their own rolling coverage of the event, but at the time of writing they had yet to announce the specifics of those plans.
The Queen’s four children, grandchildren and all their partners are expected to attend. King Charles, Camilla Queen Consort, Prince William and Catherine the Princess of Wales will all be there.
The guest list also includes US president Joe Biden, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Japanese Emperor Naruhito. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Governor-General David Hurley will also make their way to London for the funeral.
Australians will get a one-off public holiday on September 22 to mark the Queen’s death.
The Queen’s funeral will be the first to break tradition, being the first funeral at Westminster Abbey for a monarch since King George II in 1760. Traditionally, the monarch’s funeral would’ve otherwise been held at St George’s Chapel in Windsor.
The Abbey has been a special place for the Queen throughout her life, from when she was a young girl witnessing her father King George VI’s coronation in 1937, to marrying Prince Phillip in the same church; Westminster Abbey was also where she was crowned Queen.
After the service, the Queen’s coffin will be brought from London to St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle where she will be laid to rest with her husband, Prince Phillip.
Image: Getty Images
This article first appeared on OverSixty.