what will happen today
Here’s a guide to today’s events. All times are BST.
06.30 h – The queen’s lie to the state will end
The lie in state, in which the Queen’s closed coffin has been on public view at Westminster Hall since Wednesday, will come to an end.
8:00 am – Westminster Abbey opens
Westminster Abbey will be opened to the congregation attending the Queen’s funeral. The funeral, which will be one of the biggest gatherings of heads of state and royalty the UK has hosted in decades, will include European royals and world leaders.
10.30 a.m. – Bringing the Queen’s coffin to the Abbey
The coffin will be carried by carriage from Westminster Hall to the Abbey, towed by 142 Royal Navy sailors. King Charles III, along with members of the royal family and members of the royal household, will follow the coffin.
10.52am – The procession arrives at Westminster Abbey
The procession will arrive at the West Gate of Westminster Abbey, and the pallbearers, which are made up of members of the Queen’s Guard, will carry the coffin from the gun carriage.
11 a.m. – The service begins
The service will begin and will be led by the Dean of Westminster, Dr David Hoyle. The sermon will be delivered by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
11.55 am The last message
The last post will be played, followed by a two-minute silence.
Noon: State funeral service ends
The national anthem will be played to close the state funeral. The coffin will then be taken to the state hearse.
12:15pm – Procession of the coffin to Wellington Arch
The procession, led by the King, will be made up of several gangs, each accompanied by a service band. These groups include representatives from the NHS, members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, as well as Commonwealth Armed Forces detachments. Guns will be fired every minute in Hyde Park by the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery, while Big Ben will chime every minute as the procession winds its way through the streets.
1:00 p.m. – Coffin placed in the state hearse
The procession will arrive at Wellington Arch and the pallbearer group will transfer the coffin to the hearse before the hearse departs for Windsor. There will also be a royal salute and the playing of the national anthem.
3.06 pm – Arrival in Windsor
The hearse will arrive in Windsor and join a procession along the Long Walk to Windsor Castle. They will be joined by the king and members of the royal family before moving to the chapel of Sant Jordi for the delivery service.
4pm – The commitment service begins
The committal service begins at St George’s Chapel attended by around 800 people, including the King, the Royal Family, Commonwealth leaders, Governors-General and mourners past and present from the Queen’s household, including personal staff of their private estates. It will be led by the Dean of Windsor with the blessing of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Queen’s coffin will then be lowered into the Royal Vault.
7.30 pm – Private burial service
A private service led by the Dean of Windsor, attended only by the King and the Royal Family. The Queen’s coffin will be buried in St George’s Chapel, alongside Prince Philip and his parents, King George VI and the Queen Mother.
Updated at 08.51 BST
Key events
Show only key events
Please enable JavaScript to use this feature
Philip Oltermann
Reporting from London ahead of the funeral, German newspaper Die Zeit is baffled by the narrowing of acceptable public opinion over the past week.
“These days of mourning have made it clear what kind of power the British monarchy retains, how subjugated the country that is subordinated to it and how uniformly the media choir has glorified this monarchy for the last ten days without the slightest trace of critic”.
While many Britons have been shocked and alienated by these demands for loyalty, the German weekly said the republican cause in Britain looked as desperate as ever.
The monarchy is the pride of the nation, today more than ever.
Daily taz struck a similar note: “Enough with the obituaries and glorifications,” writes Ralf Sotschek, who often reports from Ireland for the left-wing paper.
Elizabeth II was not a nice person. He was racist, he was anti-feminist, and he believed himself to be spiritually above the rest of humanity.
Since the monarch’s death, Sotschek writes, the UK had gone through a “collective crying fit”, during which those who asked critical questions were arrested.
Freedom of expression, which is constantly and rightly demanded by other countries, has a different aspect. For now, democracy has abdicated in Great Britain. The monarchy, for its part, continues to reign.
Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer arrives at Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral. Picture: James Manning/PASadiq Khan Picture: Sky News
The bells begin to ring in Westminster Abbey
The first bells have begun to ring for the late Queen outside Westminster Abbey.
They will take a toll every minute before the funeral to mark each year of the 96-year-old monarch’s life.
A service of remembrance takes place at Royal Hillsborough Fort in Co Down ahead of the Queen’s funeral.
The Co Down town is home to Hillsborough Castle, Northern Ireland’s royal residence, which has seen tens of thousands of mourners in the past 10 days. Many have left floral tributes in front of the castle gates.
Floral tributes were left outside Hillsborough Castle, Northern Ireland’s royal residence. Photograph: Jonathan McCambridge/PAGuests arriving at Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral. Photograph: Gareth Cattermole/PA Attendees arrive at Westminster Abbey. Photograph: John Sibley/Reuters. Guests arriving at Westminster Abbey. Photograph: Frank Augstein/PA Order of service in the seats of Westminster Abbey. Photograph: Phil Noble/PALisa O’Carroll
Many thanks to the Queen here from the people of Hong Kong in Belfast. Also from PWC maintenance staff, NI Girls Brigade, Shankill families pic.twitter.com/WJINatJie3
— Lisa O’Carroll (@lisaocarroll) September 19, 2022
Tom Parker Bowles, the son of Camilla, the Queen consort, has arrived at Westminster Abbey.
Tom Parker Bowles (right). Photograph: Peter Byrne/PATom Parker Bowles arriving at the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA
Updated at 09.28 BST
All public viewing areas for the Queen’s funeral procession full
All public viewing areas for the Queen’s funeral procession are full, the City of London has said.
Updated at 09.20 BST
Politicians from all sides of the political spectrum have been flocking to Westminster Abbey.
The British Secretary for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Jacob Rees-Mogg. Picture: Phil Noble/APA Left: Welsh Secretary Robert Buckland, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Chris Heaton-Harris and Foreign Secretary James Cleverly. Picture: Peter Byrne/PASNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford arrives at Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral. Photo: ReutersWilliam Hague arriving. Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA
Updated at 09.30 BST
England’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, has arrived at Westminster Abbey for the Queen’s funeral.
Prof Chris Whitty Photograph: BBC NewsPeter Walker
Some of the 2,000 guests for the funeral have started to arrive, still more than two hours before it begins.
A coach has pulled up outside, with a number of MPs and other dignitaries Picture: Peter Walker/The Guardian
A coach has pulled up outside, with a number of MPs and other dignitaries, including Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer.
Most of the guests are taken by coach, but not, of course, US President Joe Biden.
The London Stock Exchange (LSE) has closed for trading today to commemorate the Queen’s death.
London markets, including the FTSE 100 and associated trading indices, have operated every day since the Queen’s death.
Lisa O’Carroll
The Guardian’s senior reporter Lisa O’Carroll is in Belfast, where big screens have been set up to show the Queen’s funeral at Westminster Abbey.
Emily Dugan
A select few from the mall crowd have been able to make it to Constitution Hill right in front of the palace.
“It’s like getting a box at Wembley!” Tristan Bawden-Bouche, 12, told his brother Jack, 24, as they briskly walked.
They left Bury St Edmonds in Suffolk on Sunday night to stay with family in east London and were on the Tube just after 5am to get a decent view.
A select few from the mall crowd have been able to make it to Constitution Hill right in front of the palace. “It’s like getting a box at Wembley!” said 12-year-old Tristan Bassein-Boucher as he ran. pic.twitter.com/fiU1FNL3kT
— Emily Dugan (@emilydugan) September 19, 2022
Those who seek a front seat to history are not all royalists. The brothers’ mother Jessica Bawden, 53, who works as an executive in the NHS, said:
I’m not a monarchist but I loved the Queen and my mother and my grandmother too. Both are no longer here, so I wanted to go for them.
Updated at 09.17 BST
Guests have arrived at Westminster Abbey ahead of the funeral, which starts at 11am BST.
Guests at Westminster Abbey before the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. Picture: Sky News Funeral guests walk past the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey. Picture: Sky NewsGuests queue outside Westminster Abbey. Photograph: Sky News
Large crowds across the country observed a minute’s silence the night before Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.
A minute’s silence was observed for Queen Elizabeth II before the queue of mourners closed: video
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has called on people to pray for the royal family as they gather for the Queen’s funeral today.
We pray for the royal family that gathers today to entrust Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II into the hands of our loving and faithful God.
We come together to…