Fergal Keane
Commentating on BBC One and iPlayer

The bearer party has carried the coffin led by the sovereign's piper through the Marble Hall and the Grand Hall.

From here it will be taken by the guard of honour to the gun carriage.

Already in the ballroom the crown jeweller has placed the Imperial State Crown on the coffin and the royal florist has placed a fresh wreath of flowers.

This wreath includes a selection of foliage including pine from Balmoral and lavender and rosemary from the gardens of Windsor.

There is a stillness now as the coffin leaves Buckingham Palace for the last time.

It’s now 14:22 BST - the precise time of the Queen’s final departure from Buckingham Palace.

As part of a formal procession, her coffin is now being taken to the Palace of Westminster, where it’s due to arrive at 15:00.

She will then lie in state until the morning of her funeral on Monday.

King Charles III, his sons Princes William and Harry, and other royals will walk behind her gun carriage.

Stay with us as we keep you updated on the momentous journey and watch live BBC coverage by clicking the picture at the top of this page.

Image source, Reuters

In a few moments we're expecting the procession carrying the Queen's coffin from Buckingham Palace to set off.

Preparations have been under way all morning, with gun salutes and the tolling of Big Ben expected to mark the passage of the coffin as it makes its way through central London to Westminster Hall.

It is at Westminster Hall that she will lie in state for four days.

Here is the route the procession will take:

Sophie Williams
Reporting from Westminster

Image source, Reuters

In Westminster, the crowds are continuing to grow, with many people unable to find a place to view the procession.

There is a real mix of ages here with lots of people bringing their children.

Many are wondering whether the crowd will be silent or whether there will be a round of applause.

Here on Whitehall, people are trying to get any spot where they might be able to catch a glimpse of the coffin.

There are thousands in attendance - some with collapsible stairs enabling them to get a better view.

Image source, PA Media

If you're just joining us, here's what's happening this afternoon:

• The Queen's coffin will leave Buckingham Palace at 14:22 BST, making the journey to Westminster Hall
• King Charles III, Prince William and Prince Harry, as well as other senior royals will walk behind the coffin
• Guns will be fired in Hyde Park and Big Ben will toll during the procession
• The procession will travel along Queen's Gardens, The Mall, Horse Guards and Horse Guards Arch, Whitehall, Parliament Street, Parliament Square and New Palace Yard
• The coffin will reach Westminster Hall at around 15:00
• It will rest on a raised platform and a short service will be held
• People will be able to pay their respects to the Queen's coffin at Westminster Hall from 17:00

If you'd like more detail on the events of the coming days, click here.

Kristian Johnson
Reporting from the queue on Albert Embankment

With just hours to go until the first few people are allowed into Westminster Hall, stewards have asked everyone who camped overnight to pack away their tents.

My home for the past 24 hours, which is still soggy from last night's downpours, has now been rolled up and put away.

Anyone with big bags, chairs or other equipment will need to drop their bags off at a designated location before heading over Lambeth Bridge.

Visitors can only take a small rucksack with one opening with them.

People may need to stand in the queue for hours on end with hundreds of thousands of people expected to flock to London over the coming days.

However, those in the queue at the moment are still allowed to nip away for a few minutes to visit the toilet or grab a snack nearby.

No more people are being let into the front section of the lying-in-state queue between Lambeth and Westminster Bridges, volunteers on the ground have said.

This stretch is now closed, which means no one else can join it until the front begins moving over Lambeth Bridge towards Westminster Hall later this afternoon.

Marshals say they have handed out around 1,000 wristbands already.

At the moment, the end of the queue is a little before Westminster Bridge.

Marshalls and stewards say the queue restarts behind County Hall, which is to prevent overcrowding at various points.

People with wristbands are able to come and go from the queue.

Image source, .

Leila Nathoo
On Albert Embankment

A team of representatives of the major faiths available to support people in the queue over the coming days has been organised by the Archbishop of Canterbury’s office.

We talked to David, a duty chaplain from St Paul’s Cathedral, who was walking around with Anna, a parish priest from Oxsted and Sekai and Barth, both chaplains at St Thomas’ hospital.

David says they are simply there for people to talk to, as many people here have been quite emotional and reflecting on personal losses.

Some weren’t sure what they would feel when they pass the Queen’s coffin, but all have been very motivated to be here, he adds.

These images of London's South Bank have just come in.

As you can see, the queue of people waiting to see the Queen lie in state has been gradually building.

Nick Beake
Reporting from The Mall

Image source, Sara Brown

At the front of the crowd, which is now many deep, we find Sara Brown from Essex.

As a 10-year-old in 1981, she remembers being selected to present flowers to the Queen who was boarding the Royal Yacht Britannia at Parkeston Quay, Harwich.

“I was so nervous that I forgot to hand them to her," she says. People behind me started nudging me, whispering ‘give her the flowers!'"

Sara recalls she had been told not to cross the red carpet so had to quickly scuttle the long way round before she came face-to-face with the Queen again.

“She was so wonderful and put me at ease. She smiled and said to me, ‘Oh! Are those for me?’ I couldn’t believe I was meeting someone so famous.”

Sara, who has come to central London today with her work colleague Sharlie Patel, said she felt compelled to witness the lying-in-state procession in person.

She tells me: “She made a promise all those years ago. ago and she kept that promise until her last day, so I had to be here to pay my respects.”

Image source, PA Media

The government says people may have to be prepared for a very long wait before being able to file past the Queen's coffin.

People are being warned they will need to stand for many hours - possibly overnight - with little opportunity to sit down, as the queue will be constantly moving.

There will be portable toilets at various points along the route for those in the queue, with cafes and local businesses opening for extended periods for people to use their facilities.

There are also a number of rules on how visitors should behave.

Those joining the queue are being advised to bring food and drink, although these will need to be consumed or thrown away before the security checks, as well as portable phone chargers and any essential medication.

There is also detailed guidance on items that are not allowed - including flasks and non-clear bottles, flowers or other tributes, and camping equipment.

Government social media channels, including those for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), will provide regular updates on estimated queuing times.

Read more here.

Harry Low
On Albert Embankment

The queue is now as far back Westminster Bridge - but those who got here early are nearer to the front at Lambeth Bridge.

Diane has travelled from Thetford Forest in Norfolk to wait in the queue to see the Queen lie in state.

She also came to the capital for the deaths of the Queen Mother and Princess Diana and says it is a "great honour" to be here now for the late Queen.

"If one is able, this is the moment to be here," she says.

"For those who can’t make it, they mustn’t feel sad. They can do their bit by listening and watching.”

Melissa came from Watford and says she is “surprised how much personally I felt her loss”.

She says: “I was expecting to feel some disruption, but it's as if she’s a part of the family."

Once she gets to Westminster Hall to see the Queen's coffin she plans to pray and "think about what the Queen has done for us" and her "fantastic life of duty and service".

Helene Daouphars
By Tate Britain

Near the entrance of the Tate Britain, scouts from around the country are here to help disabled people get the information they need to see the Queen lying in state later.

There is a separate accessible route, for those who need it, beginning at the art gallery, where timed entry slots will be issued to join a queue along Millbank.

So far the scouts have had about 30 people coming to enquire about the lying in state at their station at Tate Britain, which is just south of Westminster Hall, where the coffin will be placed.

The accessible entrance will open at 16:00 BST, when people will be given wristbands and taken to the beginning of the queue for security checks and then into the Palace of Westminster.

Megan, from Berkshire, tells me the aim is for the whole process to take about an hour altogether.

Fellow scout Sean explains they had an early start this morning after a training session yesterday in central London.

More details on accessibility are available on the government website, external.

The state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II will take place at 11:00 BST on Monday 19 September. Here's what you need to know:

• It will be held at Westminster Abbey, which has a capacity for around 2,200 people
• There hasn't been a monarch's funeral service in the abbey since the 18th Century, although the funeral of the Queen Mother was held there in 2002
• Ahead of the service, the Queen's coffin will be carried from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey on the State Gun Carriage of the Royal Navy
• Afterwards, the Queen's coffin will be drawn in a walking procession from the abbey to Wellington Arch, at London's Hyde Park Corner, before heading to Windsor by hearse.
• The coffin will make its final journey that afternoon to Windsor Castle, via the Long Walk.
• Some 500 heads of state and foreign dignitaries are expected to attend the funeral, including US President Joe Biden
• The day is a Bank Holiday for the whole of the UK
• It will be the first state funeral in the UK since 1965, for the former prime minister Winston Churchill
• The funeral will be broadcast on BBC television and available to stream on BBC iPlayer

You can read more here

People waiting to see the Queen lying-in-state aren't the only ones descending on central London today, with crowds lining the route her coffin will be taken along in the ceremonial procession this afternoon.

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Image source, Reuters

News of potential redundancies at one of the official royal residences "won't be a shock" to staff, says King Charles's former butler, who served from 2004 to 2011.

Some staff at Clarence House have been warned their jobs are at risk following King Charles III's accession to the throne.

Grant Harrold tells the BBC: "When I joined I was fully aware, even all those years ago, that if the Queen passed that I would then be redundant because my boss the Prince of Wales was no longer the Prince of Wales."

He adds: "Yes there is a new Prince of Wales, but the contracts are null and void... It's a very complicated process."

"I know they will do everything possible to make sure that people are put into new positions where possible," he says.

Everybody involved in this afternoon’s procession of the Queen’s coffin to Westminster Hall “feels the gravity of this very solemn day”, says Captain Amy Cooper of the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery.

Despite the pressure, her team is planning to pull off “the best parade of our lives”, she tells the BBC.

She says she’s “never seen such motivated and dedicated soldiers”, some of whom were “up all night” cleaning the kit.

Some of the country’s “very best” horses will also be involved, says Capt Cooper - who introduces to the camera one trusty steed named Windsor which will be involved in pulling Queen’s funeral gun carriage.

Meanwhile, a huge 18 hands-tall veteran horse named Lord Firebrand will be at the front of the procession, setting the pace.

All the horses are being groomed to perfection at a temporary stable in the underground car park of Wellington Barracks.

The procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall begins at 14:22 BST this afternoon and we'll bring you full coverage of that event later.

Image source, PA Media

King Charles has arrived at Buckingham Palace, waving at the crowds gathered on The Mall.

Most people seeing the King being driven past will be here later, too - they're waiting to see Queen Elizabeth's coffin procession when it leaves the palace and is taken to Westminster Hall for her lying-in-state later today.

Leila Nathoo
On the Albert Embankment

Marshalls are working their way down the queue on Albert Embankment to hand out yellow wristbands to the first 2,000 people here.

They’ll need them to see the Queen lying-in-state in Westminster Hall this afternoon once the crowd starts moving over the bridge.

Each one has a unique identifying number. People who had arrived at about 7am this morning found themselves at around number 450.

There’s a lot of excitement and photos being taken as their place in the queue is cemented.

In typically British fashion, the queues to see the Queen lying-in-state have been building steadily overnight and this morning.

Westminster Hall will begin allowing the public in from 17:00 BST tonight, running continuously until 06:30 BST on Monday, the day of the funeral.

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA