Thousands of British and foreign personnel of the armed forces are participating in the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, one of the greatest ceremonial spectacles in living memory.
A procession comprised of the military, the Royal Family, and those who have devoted their lives to serving the Queen will give the late monarch a final farewell filled with pomp and circumstance before her burial at Windsor.
Here is all the information you need about the main funeral procession.
Armed forces from the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth will march through London and Windsor. They will participate in the processions, line the road, provide honor guards, and perform other ceremonial duties.
The Queen, who was head of the armed forces and served as their commander-in-chief, had a close personal relationship with the military, and they will accompany her coffin on its trip through London to its last resting place at Windsor Castle in three separate processions.
The first, which was the shortest, transported her coffin to Westminster Abbey for the funeral service, and the second is transporting her from the Abbey to Wellington Arch in preparation for her road trip to Windsor. Once in Windsor, her coffin will be part of a third procession to St. George’s Chapel on the grounds of the castle.
However, the journey through central London is the primary focus. The cortege is comprised of seven groups, each with its band, led by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Involved are also members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces, the police, and the National Health Service. It departed the Abbey shortly after noon and is slated to last approximately 45 minutes.
The coffin of the Queen, topped with the Royal Standard, the Imperial State Crown, and the Sovereign’s orb and scepter, is borne by the State Gun Carriage of the Royal Navy. The carriage was used at the funeral of Prince Philip’s uncle, Lord Mountbatten, in 1979, and for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth’s father, King George VI, in 1952.
The bearer party of the Grenadier Guards, the King’s Body Guards of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms, the Yeomen of the Guard, and the Royal Company of Archers accompany her.
Following behind are senior members of the Royal Family, including the new King and his sons Prince William and Prince Harry.
They are joined by Royal Household members.
Following the procession in cars are Camilla, the Queen Consort, the Princess of Wales, the Countess of Wessex, and the Duchess of Sussex. Behind them are the daughters of Prince Andrew, Princesses Beatrice, and Eugenie.
The whole procession
Mounted Metropolitan Police • Royal Canadian Mounted Police • Bands of The Rifles and Brigade of Gurkhas • George Cross representatives from Malta, the Royal Ulster Constabulary, and the United Kingdom’s National Health Service
Representative detachments of Commonwealth forces: Territorial Air Force of New Zealand; Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment; The Corps of Royal New Zealand Engineers; Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps; Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery; Royal New Zealand Navy; Royal Australian Air Force Reserve; Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps; Royal Australian Army Ordnance Corps; Royal Australian Infantry Corps; Royal Australian Engineers; Royal Regiment of Australia; Territorial Air Force of Australia; Royal New Zealand Armoured Corps; Royal
