LQueen Elizabeth II will be laid to rest at 8:30 p.m. (7:30 p.m. local time) in a private ceremony at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle on the outskirts of western London on Monday, following her state funeral in the morning, the Palace announced on Thursday. Friday evening, also at 8:30 p.m., her children, including King Charles III, will gather at a vigil before the coffin of the sovereign, who died on September 8 at the age of 96 in Scotland.
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The state funeral, the first since the death of Winston Churchill in 1965, will take place at 12 p.m. Monday at Westminster Abbey attended by more than 2,000 guests, including hundreds of foreign dignitaries and royalty. After the “Last Post”, a tribute to fallen soldiers in the British army, has sounded, two minutes of silence will be observed, around 12:55 p.m.
Burial without photographers or cameras
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. 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 p.m. in the chapel, in the presence of more than 800 people, before the burial reserved for close family members, without photographers or cameras.
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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.