Hundreds of thousands of people are bidding farewell to Queen Elizabeth II on Monday during the funeral for Britain’s longest-reigning monarch.
Elizabeth, who died on Sept. 8 at the age of 96, sat on the British throne for 70 years. Her son, King Charles III, is now head of state not only for the United Kingdom and Canada, but 13 other nations as well.
Officials from around the world descended on London for the funeral, which took place Monday morning at the historic Westminster Abbey. Among the guests in attendance were U.S. President Joe Biden, Gov. Gen. Mary Simon, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and several of his predecessors.
Following the funeral service, the coffin of the queen was carried out of Westminster Abbey and transported through central London and up The Mall towards Buckingham Palace in a solemn procession which saw her family walking behind the coffin. Staff who served in the royal household of the palace lined the road to pay their final respects, as the coffin continued its roughly 45-minute path towards Hyde Park and the waiting royal hearse.
Once loaded into the hearse, the queen’s coffin began its final journey to Windsor Castle, a drive of approximately 50 minutes. A committal service is underway at St. George’s Chapel on the castle grounds.
The service saw the queen’s coffin lowered into the royal vault where her father, mother, sister and late husband Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, lie in rest.
International media including Global News are in London covering the queen’s funeral, as well as the subsequent national commemorative ceremony that began early afternoon in Ottawa.
See how the day’s events unfolded in the archived blog below.
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