What will Elizabeth II’s funeral be like: she will be buried in St. George’s Chapel next to her husband Philip of Edinburgh

Queen Elizabeth II will be buried on September 18, 2022, 10 days after her death on Thursday, September 8. The period of mourning leading up to her funeral is expected to be charged with symbolism. This is how Buckingham Palace has planned for decades, with the intervention of successive governments, parliament, the Armed Forces and the monarch herself, in the so-called ‘Operation London Bridge’. Three days before the funeral a chapel will be opened burning in the center of Westminster Hall, and the room will be open to the public for 23 hours a day, so that the population can say goodbye to the queen. The ceremony will be held at London’s Westminster Abbey, making her the first sovereign to have a funeral there since 1760. There will be two minutes of silence for the entire nation at noon. After the hour-long service, a grand ceremonial procession will escort the coffin to Hyde Park, where it will be transferred from the gun carriage to the state hearse and travel to Windsor. Following the procession through Windsor, a pledge service will be held at St George’s Chapel, inside Windsor Castle, during which the coffin will be lowered into the royal vault. Following a final farewell, his body will be buried in a tomb prepared in the royal crypt of St. George’s Chapel, where he will rest with his father, King George VI, his sister, Princess Margaret, and her husband, Philip of Edinburgh, who died in April 2021. More than 8,000 peopleOn the eve of the funeral, Charles will welcome the foreign royal families who attend the funeral. The queen’s funeral is expected to be attended by dignitaries and heads of state from around the world.Westminster Abbey normally holds 2,200 worshipers, but additional seating can be arranged to accommodate more than 8,000 people, as was the case at the coronation of the queen.Day of national mourningThe UK government’s plan was revealed last year in extensive detail, after being kept secret for many years. Operation London involves the joint work of various areas of the State and includes actions such as a mega security operation to control the crowd of people who will come to London to say goodbye to the queen, scheduled official speeches, a tour of King Charles through Great Britain, the lowering of all flags to half-staff in ten minutes and a social media blackout. The Prime Minister and the Queen agreed that the day of the state funeral be declared a day of national mourning. The day will not be a national bank holiday, but if it falls on a weekday, British employers will be able to give their workers the day off.