In just a few short hours time, the nation will bid a final farewell to Queen Elizabeth II as she is reunited with her beloved husband Prince Philip and laid to rest.
In a ceremony befitting her historic 70 year reign on the throne, the Queen’s four day lying-in-state will come to an end, as the doors of Westminster Palace close to the public ahead of her state funeral procession on Monday 19 September morning.
Around 2,000 guests are expected to attend the Westminster Abbey service to bid her farewell, with tens of thousands of mourners also expected to line the streets of central London as they witness the historic and poignant funeral procession that will see the monarch's final journey.
Following the service in London, the Queen’s coffin will be transported to Windsor, where a private ceremony will take place before she is interred alongside her late husband the Duke of Edinburgh.
We’ve broken down what you can expect from the funeral in the hour-by-hour schedule below…
6:30am
At 6:30am on Monday morning, Westminster Hall will close its doors to the general public as the Queen’s lying-in-state comes to an end after four days on display. The final preparations for the funeral will then begin to take place.
8:00am
At 8:00am, Westminster Abbey will open its doors to allow guests to enter the famous space and take their seats. Around 2,000 guests in total are expected to attend the ceremony, including several world leaders and royals who have travelled from all over the globe to pay tribute to The Queen.
Among the guests include US President and First Lady, Joe and Jill Biden, Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako of Japan in what will be their first official foreign visit since acceding to the throne, and royals from around the world including from Spain, Jordan, Bhutan and Malaysia to name just a few.
8:30am
Although much of the action is focused in London, other parts of the UK will also be commemorating the Queen on Monday, with the Royal Yacht Britannia in Edinburgh marking the state funeral with a lament from the quiet decks of The Queen’s former floating palace, played by Piper Stephen Dewar.
As a symbol of respect, the Union Jack on Britannia’s jackstaff will be flying at half-mast.
10:00am
UK cinema chains Vue, Curzon and Arc will open their doors to mourners at 10am, as they screen the Queen’s funeral live on the big screen. All three chains have cancelled any other programming for the day, with her majesty’s final farewell the sole focus of their screenings.
10:30am
At 10:30am students at King Charles’ former school in Moray will tune in to live coverage of the funeral proceedings from their boarding houses, including in King Charles’ own boarding house, Windmill Lodge, which is now a girls’ house.
10:35am
A bearer party from the Queen’s Company 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards will lift the coffin from the catafalque in Westminster Hall where it has resided for the last four days and carry it in a formal procession to the State Gun Carriage of the Royal Navy, which will be positioned outside the North Door.
10:44am
Drawn by 138 Royal Naval ratings, as is the royal tradition, the gun carriage will then begin its journey from New Palace Yard to Westminster Abbey, travelling via Parliament Square, Broad Sanctuary and the Sanctuary.
Following the coffin on foot will be several senior Royals, including King Charles,Prince Andrew, Princess Anne, Prince Edward, Prince William and Prince Harry.
10:52am
Following the short journey, the procession will arrive at the West Gate of Westminster Abbey where the coffin will be lifted from the gun carriage and carried inside the Abbey for the funeral service to take place.
11:00am
At 11am precisely the Dean of Westminster will begin the service of remembrance in honour of the late monarch. Comprised of prayers, hymns and readings that capture the essence and integrity of everything the Queen came to represent, the emotional send off will pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth as the public mourns her passing.
Both Prime Minister Liz Truss and the Secretary General of the Commonwealth, The Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, will give readings during the service.
11:55am
At the conclusion of the service, the Last Post will sound, followed by a two minute silence observed across the UK in memory of her majesty.
12:00pm
At noon, the funeral ceremony will officially draw to a close as Reveille, the National Anthem and a lament played by the Queen’s Piper provide a fitting soundtrack to the Queen’s final farewell.
The coffin will then be lifted from the catafalque where it rests and move in procession through the Great West Door to the State Gun Carriage.
Once again, the royals will follow on foot, however, this time the Royal family will be joined by their spouses, with King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla, leading the family in the procession.
12:15am
The formal procession, led by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and members of NHS staff, will then set off for Wellington Arch while minute guns will be fired in Hyde Park by The King’s Troop, Royal Horse Artillery and Big Ben will toll throughout the procession.
1:00pm
Upon arriving at Wellington arch the coffin will be lifted into the state hearse so that it can begin the final leg of its journey to Windsor.
As the hearse departs, the national anthem will once again be played, while the parade gives a Royal Salute to the monarch as she leaves London for the final time.
3:06pm
Just after 3pm, the state hearse will arrive at Shaw Farm Gate on Albert Road, Windsor, and take its place at the front of the procession.
3:10pm
A process will then set out from the farm as it heads towards St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle where the Queen will be buried.
3:20pm
At 3:20pm Governors General and Realm Prime Ministers will arrive and be escorted to their seats in the nave.
Around 800 people in total, including members of the Queen’s Household and Windsor estate staff, will attend the private service.
3:25pm
Any royals not involved in the procession itself will begin to arrive at the chapel ahead of the service.
3:40pm
The King and other members of the Royal Family involved in the procession will join on foot at the Quadrangle on the north side as it passes into Engine Court.
Flanked by the Armed Forces, minute guns will once again be fired by The King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, from the East Lawn.
The Sebastopol Bell and the Curfew Tower Bell will also be tolled.
3:53pm
Shortly before 4pm, the procession will draw to a close at the bottom of the West Steps of St George's Chapel in Horseshoe Cloister.
The Queen’s coffin will then be lifted from the hearse and carried up into the chapel.
4pm
At 4pm, when the Queen’s coffin finally arrives and enters the chapel, the committal service will begin.
Conducted by the Dean of Windsor, the service will include prayers by the Rector of Sandringham, the Minister of Crathie Kirk and the Chaplain of Windsor Great Park.
Before the final hymn is sung, the Imperial State Crown, the Orb and the Sceptre will be removed from the coffin by the Crown Jeweller and, with the help of the Bargemaster and Serjeants-at-Arms, will be placed on the altar at the head of the church.
At the end of the final hymn, the King will place the Queen’s Company Camp Colour of the Grenadier Guards, for whom she was Colonel-in-Chief, on the coffin.
The Lord Chamberlain will then break his Wand of Office and place it on the coffin in line with tradition, before the coffin is lowered into the Royal Vault, while the Archbishop of Canterbury reads a blessing and the Queen’s piper performs a lament.
At the end of the service, the King and members of the Royal Family in attendance will depart from the Galilee Porch for Windsor Castle.
7:30pm
In a final poignant and private goodbye, a burial service attended by the King and members of the Royal Family will then take place at 7:30pm away from the public limelight.
The Queen will then be buried alongside her late husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, at the King George VI Memorial Chapel.
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