Summary

  • Queen Elizabeth II is laid to rest following a private burial ceremony at St George's Chapel Windsor

  • She was buried alongside her late husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, and her father, mother and sister

  • Earlier, the late monarch's coffin was lowered into the royal vault in the chapel

  • Her Crown Jewels were removed from the top of it during a service of prayers and hymns

  • It followed a day of ceremony, with a state funeral this morning attended by world leaders and dignitaries at Westminster Abbey

  • Huge crowds then lined the route as her coffin was taken on a gun carriage through London and then by hearse to Windsor

Live Reporting

Edited by Nathan Williams, Chris Giles, Heather Sharp, James Clarke, Emma Owen and Kevin Ponniah

  1. London's biggest-ever policing operation

    Daniel Sandford
    Home Affairs Correspondent

    The security operation to protect the funeral will involve more police officers being deployed in London than ever before.

    “As a single event this is larger than the 2012 Olympics, it is larger than the Platinum Jubilee weekend," said Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy.

    More than 10,000 police officers and staff will be dedicated to the funeral. Every force in the UK has contributed, including the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

    This is a security operation that has been decades in the planning, but that does not reduce the stakes involved.

    Hundreds of heads of state, heads of government and senior royals will need to travel through London to an 800-year-old church, with no permanent security perimeter. Once again the new King and his heir will walk behind the coffin through the streets of Westminster, which will be largely closed to traffic.

    An unknown number of people will gather along the ceremonial route, and in Hyde Park where the funeral can be watched on large screens.

    The operation to keep them safe will be led by Deputy Assistant Commissioner Jane Connors, who will be based in the Metropolitan Police's Special Operations Room just across the river from Westminster Abbey.

  2. Prince George and Princess Charlotte to attend

    Prince George and Princess CharlotteGetty Images

    Prince George, 9, and his sister, Princess Charlotte, 7, will be among the 2,000 guests attending the Queen's funeral.

    The two children will take part in a procession with the Royal Family, following their great grandmother's coffin as it enters Westminster Abbey - the 13th Century church where the state funeral will be held.

    George and Charlotte will walk behind their parents William and Kate, the Prince and Princess of Wales. Following them will be their uncle and aunt Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

    King Charles III and Camilla, the Queen Consort, will be leading the procession.

    George and Charlotte's younger brother Louis, 4, is not expected to attend.

    Read more here

  3. Canada to hold its own commemoration on Monday

    Lyse Doucet
    Chief International Correspondent

    A college orchestra rehearses next to a mounted picture of the Queen

    The stirring strains of Amazing Grace filled the magnificent Christ Church Cathedral on a rainy Ottawa Sunday.

    Young musicians in the Appleby College string ensemble rehearsed their chosen hymn for the National Commemoration in honour of Queen Elizabeth II. Canada will be one of the only Commonwealth realms to hold their own ceremony on the same day as the state funeral.

    “She visited this cathedral twice during her reign and we remember her with great fondness and great love,” reflected The Very Reverend Elizabeth Bretzlaff, Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, who will officiate at the service. “She inspired us, and especially women, with her leadership.”

    “She dedicated her entire life to unwavering duty,“ remarked 17-year-old violinist Sterling Wu. “I hope that I'm learning from her.”

    The commemoration, which will be attended by former Canadian prime ministers and governor generals, as well as indigenous leaders and other leading Canadians, will be preceded by a memorial parade through the streets of the capital. A flypast and a 96-gun salute will also mark Canada’s official tribute to a Queen who visited here more than any other country.

    And despite the early hour, many Canadians say they’ll be getting up before dawn to watch the funeral live.

  4. Australians prepare to bid farewell

    Shaimaa Khalil
    Reporting from Sydney

    sydney bridgeReuters

    I’m looking at the Sydney Harbour Bridge where the flags are flying at half-mast.

    It was here that Queen Elizabeth made her historic first visit in 1954. In total she toured 16 times.

    Most major channels will broadcast the funeral live with special coverage starting hours before.

    In Melbourne it will be shown on the big screen in Federation Square in the city centre.

    A shop on Queensland’s Gold Coast which sells British products, A Bit of Britain, has invited customers to watch the funeral there where “Tea and bickies will be available for free”.

    “If we can't be there, we can be here together,” their Facebook post said.

    A national day of mourning will be observed on Thursday here - a one-off public holiday with a minute’s silence at 11:00 local time.

  5. Crowds form overnight in central London

    People began gathering overnight in anticipation of the Queen's funeral, camping out for the chance to pay their respects.

    People camp overnight in London ahead of the Queen's funeral.Getty Images
    People camp out in a tent by Westminster and Big Ben ahead of the Queen's funeral.Shutterstock
    David, a 79-year-old British-born American, camps outside ahead of the Queen's funeral.Shutterstock

    Among the campers is David, a 79-year-old from the US state of Iowa. David was born in the UK and waited 14 hours in the queue to see the Queen's lying-in-state. Now, he's waiting again ahead of her funeral.

    People sit in camping chairs overnight by the funeral procession route for Queen Elizabeth II in LondonGetty Images

  6. Big Ben fault has been fixed

    The Palace of Westminster in the background as people queueGetty Images

    We've had an update on Big Ben failing to strike on Sunday evening to mark the minute's silence.

    The bell was due to toll at 20:00, but was unable to due to a "minor technical issue" which has now been resolved, says a Parliament spokesperson.

    They say they are testing the bell again overnight and are "confident that it will not affect the tolling" during the Queen's funeral procession.

  7. The world leaders attending the funeral

    Some 500 heads of state and foreign leaders will be attending the funeral later today.

    US President Joe Biden arrived in London on Sunday where he signed an official condolence book and also attended the Queen's lying-in-state in Westminster Hall.

    Joe Biden and US First Lay Jill Biden bow their heads in attendance at the Queen's lying-in-stateEPA

    President Biden and US First Lady Jill Biden pay their respects to the Queen at her lying-in-state

    French President Emmanuel Macron will also attend, as well as German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Italian President Sergio Mattarellaand and Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin.

    Some leaders from Commonwealth states arrived last week including Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

    Other Commonwealth leaders expected at the funeral include Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

    India will be represented by President Droupadi Murmu. China has sent its Vice President Wang Qishan.

    Read more: Who is attending the Queen's funeral?

  8. 'Heartbreak' as hundreds turned away from queue

    Kristian Johnson
    Reporting from the queue

    Several hundred people at the back of the queue, near London Bridge, have been turned away because the Queen's lying-in-state at Westminster Hall is due to end at 06:30 and the queue has reached its final capacity.

    Among them were Vidur and Natasha Pabari, who travelled from Chigwell on Sunday evening.

    Vidur says: “We got as far as the final point before they said there are no more wristbands, which is heartbreaking.”

    “We thought we had got here in good time, but unfortunately it just wasn’t meant to be," says Natasha. "We will have to pay our respects another way.”

  9. Aboriginal elder among those to attend funeral

    Tiffanie Turnbull
    Reporting from Sydney

    Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr BaumannNational Australia Day Council

    Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr Baumann is one of ten "everyday Australians" invited to the funeral

    Decades ago Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr Baumann was among thousands who greeted the Queen from behind barricades on one of her 16 tours of Australia.

    Now the renowned Aboriginal elder, activist and artist will be one of the few Australians who will get to say their farewells to the monarch in person, at her funeral on Monday.

    But Dr Ungunmerr-Baumann almost declined the "surprise" invite from Australia's prime minister.

    "It took me a while, a whole day to make up my mind," she told the BBC.

    The 72-year-old lives in a rural part of the Northern Territory, so the travel distance was a huge factor.

    The complicated history between the British empire and Aboriginal people played on her mind too.

    But the opportunity to represent everyday Australians in paying her respects was too important to pass up, she says.

    "My family and the community where I live, everyone's really excited for the fact that I am going to represent them, and hopefully all of Australia."

  10. 'Dignity and warmth': How Canada will mark the Queen's funeral

    Robin Levinson King
    Reporting from Toronto, Ontario

    The Queen at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa, CanadaGetty Images

    The Queen visited Canada in 2010

    While many thousands of mourners have travelled to London to pay their respects to the Queen, across the Atlantic, Canadians are preparing to remember the late monarch in their own way too.

    Monday has been declared a federal holiday by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. In Ottawa, the nation's capital, there will be a memorial parade, a CF-18 fighter jet flypast and a service at the Christ Church Cathedral.

    "Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II witnessed great moments in our history and touched the lives of many Canadians. The commemorative ceremony we are preparing will be dignified and warm, just like Her Majesty the Queen," said Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez.

    While the holiday will only apply to federal workers, some Canadian provinces - but not all - are also closing businesses and schools.

    In Toronto, the largest city in Canada, public transit will pause for 96 seconds as a sign of respect for the monarch, who died aged 96.

  11. What will happen today?

    Floral tributes of the Queen are left beside a framed photo of the late monarchGetty Images

    Floral tributes for the Queen have been laid in Green Park

    After days lying in state, the body of the late Queen Elizabeth II will begin its final journey in a few hours' time as part of a grand state funeral.

    It will first travel to Westminster Abbey for a religious service in front of a congregation of thousands, and then on to Windsor Castle for a more intimate committal service and, finally, a private burial.

    It will be a day of emotion, pomp and ceremony the like of which has not been seen since the country's last state funeral, that of Winston Churchill, almost 60 years ago.

    You can find all the key details of the day here.

  12. In pictures: Mourners queue for a final night

    Thousands have made the steady journey across central London to pay their respects to the Queen over the last few days.

    Let's take a look at the final night of the queue as the Queen's lying-in-state draws to a close.

    The queue closed to members of the public at around 22:30 BST on Sunday. The Queen will continue to lie in state until 06:30 on Monday ahead of her state funeral.

    People queue on the south bank of the Thames with the Houses of Parliament lit up in the backgrondReuters

    As darkness falls, people continue queuing on the South Bank of the Thames

    Members of the public in the queue in WestminsterPA Media

    The queue snakes through central London as thousands hope to pay their respects

    A view of an empty section of the queue near Tower BridgeReuters

    But it's a much emptier scene near Tower Bridge, as the queue shrinks in its final hours

    A person wearing a suit with a UK flag pattern queues in the dusk lightReuters

    People were still facing long waits of about eight hours when the queue closed earlier in the evening

  13. 'We were the last people allowed to join the queue'

    Kristian Johnson
    Reporting from the queue

    Mother and daughter Christine and Sarah Rogers

    Mother and daughter Christine and Sarah Rogers, who travelled from Woodbridge in Suffolk, were the final two people handed wristbands late on Sunday evening, granting them entry to the queue.

    When the pair were told they would be the last people allowed to enter Westminster Hall before 06:30 BST on Monday, there were moans of disappointment from the crowd waiting behind them.

    Seconds later, though, people burst into applause - despite the fact they'd missed out on wristbands themselves.

    “When they came up and said that, I couldn’t believe it,” says Christine. “I really couldn’t. It was fantastic.”

    "She's been a constant in my life. To just go there and say thank you, it means a lot."

    Watch the moment they got the news below:

  14. Final hours of Queen's lying-in-state

    People file past the Queen's coffin in Westminster HallPA Media

    The Queen's lying-in-state is now in its final hours, with the queue of mourners closed to new entrants.

    The queue has snaked across London for four days, as thousands waited to file past the Queen's coffin in Parliament's Westminster Hall.

    At its peak, people were waiting for more than 24 hours in a line that stretched almost seven miles.

    The public has been urged by the government not to attempt to join the queue - but anyone already in the queue with a wristband has been assured they will be admitted.

  15. King Charles thanks the public for support and comfort

    King Charles shakes hands with somebody in the queue to see the Queen lying in stateReuters

    King Charles III says he was "moved beyond measure" by the numbers of people who have come to pay their respects to his mother.

    "Over the last 10 days, my wife and I have been so deeply touched by the many messages of condolence and support we have received from this country and across the world," he said.

    "In London, Edinburgh, Hillsborough and Cardiff we were moved beyond measure by everyone who took the trouble to come and pay their respects to the lifelong service of my dear mother, the late Queen."

    As we all prepare to say our last farewell, I wanted simply to take this opportunity to say thank you to all those countless people who have been such a support and comfort to my family and myself in this time of grief.

    King Charles

    Read our full story here.

  16. Welcome

    Hello and welcome to our live coverage as the UK prepares to say a final farewell to Queen Elizabeth II, Britain's longest-reigning monarch.

    The Queen’s state funeral will take place at 11:00 BST in Westminster Abbey in central London, and will be attended by 2,000 people.

    World leaders and foreign royals will join members of the Royal Family, UK prime ministers past and present, and key figures from public life for the service.

    Stay with us for all the developments throughout this momentous day.