Heads of State, bagpipes and cavalry… the program for Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral

Published on: 09/18/2022 – 11:40 Two thousand guests, including more than a hundred presidents, heads of state and monarchs, will attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey, London on Monday , before his burial in the evening at Windsor Castle. It is one of the biggest logistical challenges in UK history. The state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II will take place Monday, September 19 in Westminster Abbey, London. Joe Biden, the Emperor of Japan or even Emmanuel Macron are on the list of 2,000 guests selected to attend this historic event. More than 10,000 police officers from all over the country have been mobilized in the capital, while the authorities anticipate a record crowd along the route of the funeral procession. In the afternoon, the coffin of Elizabeth II will be transferred to Windsor Castle for a church service before the Queen’s burial, in a private ceremony. France 24 details the program for this extraordinary day. Music procession Monday morning, the royal coffin, exposed in the Palace of Westminster in London, will be transferred to Westminster Abbey where the national funeral will take place. The procession will begin at 10:35 a.m. (11:35 a.m. in Paris); the coffin will be placed on a gun carriage pulled by 98 naval officers, in a tradition that dates back to Queen Victoria’s funeral in 1901. The procession, followed by the King and members of the Royal Family will be led by a ensemble of 200 Royal Air Force pipers and drummers march to the West Door of Westminster Abbey at 10.52 a.m. State Funeral While the State Funeral Service, led by the Dean of Westminster David Hoyle, will start at 11 a.m., the doors of the abbey will open three hours earlier in order to welcome the 2,000 people invited to attend the event. Although the final list is kept secret, in particular for security reasons, several heads of state, political representatives and monarchs have already indicated that they will make the trip, including the American and French presidents, Joe Biden and Emmanuel Macron, the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, the New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern as well as Indian President Droupadi Murmu. Members of the Belgian, Dutch, Qatari and even Saudi royal families will also be present, as well as several hundred anonymous people, decorated by the Queen, including social workers and caregivers.>> Read also: Death of Elizabeth II: what is the new order of succession of the British crown? After the sermon delivered by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, the Bells for the Dead will sound, followed by two minutes of silence which will be observed in the Abbey and throughout the UK.The national anthem and a lament (a popular song recounting the misfortunes of a character) played by the Queen’s piper will end the state funeral service around noon.The heads of state and representatives of foreign governments will then proceed to a reception hosted by British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly at Church House, the seat of the Church of England, located next to the Abbey.The Queen’s coffin will be paraded through the capital to Hyde Park Corner, to the sound of the bells of Big Ben, where it will be loaded into a hearse which will take the road to Windsor, a city in the south- east of England, located about thirty kilometers from London. Religious ceremony and burial in Windsor From 3 p.m., a new procession, preceded by elements of the royal cavalry, will follow the Long Walk leading to the castle. The Royal Family will then join the procession to St George’s Chapel. Some 800 guests, including the Queen’s personal employees, will attend the church service, led by the Dean of Windsor, David Conner. Finally, at 7.30 p.m. , a private funeral service will be held attended by the King and members of the Royal Family before the interment.Queen Elizabeth II will be buried with her late husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, in the King George VI Memorial Chapel.> > To read also: For the new King Charles III, the challenge of preserving the British monarchy