What are the plans for the Queen’s funeral? Your questions, answered.

It will then probably journey in procession to Edinburgh’s St Giles Cathedral the place the Queen will lie in relaxation earlier than being moved all the way down to London. We do not but know precisely how the coffin will journey south; routes can be found by each rail and air.

How can the general public pay their respects?

Historical precedent suggests that when in London, the Queen will probably lie in state at Westminster Hall, the oldest a part of the Palace of Westminster.

Past monarchs’ coffins have rested on a raised platform — or catafalque — in the midst of the corridor, guarded across the clock by items from the Sovereign’s Bodyguard, Foot Guards or the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment.

Brass plaques within the Eleventh-century corridor mark the spot the place Edward VII lay in state in 1910, George V in 1936, George VI in 1952 and Queen Mary a 12 months later. The corridor, which is greater than 1,000 years outdated, can also be the place wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill lay in state in 1965.

King George V’s sons additionally stood guard at his mendacity in state. The palace has but to substantiate who may take part within the guard for the Queen.

The coffin is more likely to stay there for a number of days and it is at this level that members of the general public will be capable to file previous the platform and consider the monarch’s coffin. Thousands are anticipated to queue, with some probably sleeping out in a single day in a bid to pay their respects.

What may the Queen’s funeral seem like?

As monarch, Queen Elizabeth will routinely be granted a publicly funded state funeral. It will happen at Westminster Abbey someday within the subsequent two weeks, although the precise day can be confirmed in the end.

The abbey was based in 960 AD by Benedictine monks, and is without doubt one of the most recognizable landmarks in London. It has typically been the setting for royal milestone moments like coronations, weddings and funerals all through the years.

British royal relations who maintain excessive army rank, the consort of the sovereign, and the inheritor to the throne are usually granted ceremonial royal funerals as a substitute, as was the case for Prince Philip’s funeral in April 2021.

According to a 2013 House of Commons briefing notice, the most important variations between state and ceremonial funerals are {that a} state funeral requires approval by parliament and that the gun-carriage carrying the casket is drawn by Royal Navy sailors, somewhat than horses.

The custom of the sailors started at Queen Victoria’s state funeral in January 1901. According to the royal household’s official web site: “The horses that had been supposed to drag the gun-carriage grew to become stressed standing within the chilly and had been behaving in a harmful method, so … a crew of sailors took over the duty of pulling the gun carriage to St. George’s Chapel.”

A handful of non-sovereigns have been granted the glory of a state funeral, together with Isaac Newton, Horatio Nelson, the primary Duke of Wellington and, after all, Churchill.

After Churchill’s demise in 1965, it was Queen Elizabeth II who submitted a notice to Parliament, stating that the wartime chief had “served his nation unfailingly for greater than 50 years and within the hours of our biggest hazard was the inspiring chief who strengthened and supported us all.”

Where will the Queen be interred?

After the Queen’s funeral service, her coffin will make its ultimate journey out of London and in the direction of Windsor. Its vacation spot is the now-familiar St George’s Chapel inside the grounds of Windsor Castle.

Prince Philip’s memorial service was held there, in addition to extra jubilant events just like the nuptials of the Queen’s grandchildren.

Following the service for the Duke of Edinburgh in 2021, his coffin was lowered into the Royal Vault, set beneath the chapel, the place many royal relations have been laid to relaxation. However, with the Queen’s demise, he’s anticipated to be relocated and the pair reunited to lie collectively on the King George VI memorial chapel elsewhere inside St. George’s.