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Queen Elizabeth II's funeral will take place at Westminster Abbey at 11am on September 19, Buckingham Palace has confirmed.
Key points:
- The Queen's coffin is currently resting at Balmoral Castle
- Queen Elizabeth will lie in state for four days until the morning of the funeral
- The four days allow the public to pay their respects
The Queen, who died after 70 years on the throne, will lie in state in Westminster Hall for four days prior, to allow the public to pay their respects.
The coffin, currently resting in the ballroom of Balmoral Castle, will be taken to Edinburgh on Sunday and driven by hearse through remote highland villages to Scotland's capital, Edinburgh.
It will pause during its six-hour journey to allow people to pay their respects before being flown to London on Tuesday.
It will lie in state at Westminster Hall from Wednesday until the morning of the funeral, which will take place at London's Westminster Abbey.
"We will carry out our duty over the coming days with the heaviest of hearts, but also with the firmest of resolve to ensure a fitting farewell to one of the defining figures of our times," said the Earl Marshal, Edward Fitzalan-Howard, the Duke of Norfolk.
The Queen's body currently rests in an oak coffin covered with the royal standard of Scotland and with a wreath of flowers laid on top at Balmoral Castle.
"It is a scene of quiet dignity," a senior palace official said.
International mourning
Britain has declared a period of mourning until the state funeral for the Queen, which will be a public holiday.
Leaders from around the world are expected in London for the funeral, including US President Joe Biden, who said on Friday he would attend.
Charles's coronation as King will take place at a later date — and the timing for that is not yet clear. There was a 16-month gap between Elizabeth becoming Queen and her coronation in 1953.
Elizabeth, who was the world's oldest and longest-serving head of state, came to the throne following the death of her father King George VI in 1952, when she was just 25.
Over the decades, she witnessed a seismic change in the social, political and economic structure of her nation. She won praise for modernising the monarchy during her long reign, despite intense media scrutiny and the often highly public travails of her family.
"My grandmother famously said that grief was the price we pay for love," Prince William, Charles's eldest son and now the heir, said in a statement.
"All of the sadness we will feel in the coming weeks will be testament to the love we felt for our extraordinary queen."
The journey ahead
The coffin currently rests in the Ballroom in Balmoral Castle and will head to Edinburgh on Sunday to the Palace of the Holyroodhouse, where it will remain in the Throne Room until Monday afternoon.
From there, a procession will be formed to convey the coffin to St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh, allowing the people of Scotland to pay their respects.
On Tuesday afternoon, it will be transported to RAF Northolt by the Royal Air Force, accompanied by The Princess Royal, Anne.
From there, it will be conveyed to Buckingham Palace to rest in the Bow Room until Wednesday.
A procession on Wednesday afternoon will see the coffin transported from the palace to the Palace of Westminster, where it will remain until the state funeral.
While at Westminster Hall, the Queen will lie in state, allowing members of the public to visit and pay their respects to the Queen.
On Monday, September 19, the lying in state will end and the coffin will be taken in procession from the Palace of Westminster to Westminster Abbey where the funeral will take place.