The Queen's funeral: What's happening and when

The funeral of Britain's longest-reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II is happening today.

The day of ceremony will include a service at Westminster Abbey, and a procession across London before a final family ceremony at a chapel in Windsor Castle.

Buckingham Palace says the Queen herself also added personal touches to many of the funeral plans before she died, including helping to choose the music and readings.

A record global audience of more than 4 billion people is expected to watch the funeral on television.

Here's what we know so far about what is expected to happen during the day.

What time is the Queen's funeral?

The Queen's funeral will take place at Westminster Abbey in London on Monday

The Queen's funeral is expected to be attended by 2,000 guests including many world leaders.

It will be held inside Westminster Abbey at 11am on Monday morning.

The Queen's great grandchildren - Prince George who is nine years-old, and Princess Charlotte aged 7 who called the Queen "Gan Gan" - will join the procession. They will follow the Queen's coffin as it enters the church with the Royal Family.

George and Charlotte will attend the funeral of their great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II

Their parents, the Prince and Princess of Wales, will walk ahead of them, followed by their uncle and aunt, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and other members of the Royal Family.

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

US President Joe Biden and the prime ministers of Australia, Canada and New Zealand have confirmed that they will be attending. Senior UK politicians including Prime Minister Liz Truss and many former prime ministers will also be there.

Before the service a bell will toll every minute for 96 minutes, marking the length of Queen Elizabeth's 96-years of life.

State funeral

The view inside Westminster Abbey

It will be a state funeral - an event that is typically held for kings or queens and follows strict rules, with features such as a military procession and a period where the coffin is 'lying in state'.

The Queen has been lying in state at Westminster Hall where members of the public have been queueing to pay their respects.

The abbey hosting the funeral service is the historic church where Britain's kings and queens are crowned, and where the Queen's own coronation took place in 1953.

It's also where she married Prince Philip in 1947.

There hasn't been a monarch's funeral service in the abbey since the 18th Century, although the funeral of the Queen's mother was held there in 2002.

What's happening when?

The ceremonial part of the day will begin at 10:44am in the morning. This is when the Queen's coffin will be carried from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey ready for her funeral service at 11:00am.

The coffin will be carried on the State Gun Carriage of the Royal Navy and pulled by 142 sailors. The carriage was last seen in 1979 for the funeral of Prince Philip's uncle, Lord Mountbatten and was used for the Queen's father, George VI, in 1952.

Senior members of the Royal Family, including the new King and his sons Prince William and Prince Harry, will follow the gun carriage.

The procession will be led by the pipes and drums of the Scottish and Irish army regiments, members of the Royal Air Force and the Gurkhas - soldiers from Nepal who are recruited into the British Army.

The route to the Abbey will be lined by the Royal Navy and Royal Marines with a guard of honour made up of all three military services, the army, navy and air force along with the Royal Marines band.

Once at the Abbey, the funeral service will begin and will finish with the Last Post - a short bugle call - will be played, followed by a two-minute national silence at 11:55am.

The journey to Windsor Castle

Following the funeral service at about 12:15pm, the Queen's coffin will be taken from the Abbey to Wellington Arch, at London's Hyde Park Corner.

With the route will be lined by members of the military and police, Big Ben will sound at one-minute intervals as the procession moves slowly through the streets of London.

Camilla, the Queen Consort, the Princess of Wales, the Countess of Wessex and the Duchess of Sussex will follow the procession in cars.

Once at Wellington Arch, at about 1pm, the coffin will be transferred to the State Hearse - a vehicle designed to carry a coffin - for its final journey to Windsor Castle.

The castle, which has been the home of 40 monarchs across almost 1,000 years of British history, had special significance to the Queen throughout her life. As a teenager she was sent to the castle during the war years as London faced the threat of bombing, and more recently she made it her permanent home during the coronavirus pandemic.

Times

•06:30am Lying in state closes to the public

•08:00am Doors open at Westminster Abbey

•10:44am Coffin leaves Westminster Hall

•10:52am Coffin arrives at Westminster Abbey

•11:00am Funeral service begins

•11:55am National two-minute silence

•12:00pm Funeral service ends

•12:15pm Procession leaves for Wellington Arch

•1:00pm Coffin transfers to hearse at Wellington Arch

•3:06pm Hearse arrives at Windsor Castle

What will happen at Windsor castle?

Just after 3pm, the hearse is expected to arrive for a walking procession up Windsor Castle's Long Walk which will be lined with members of the armed forces.

The King and senior members of the Royal Family are expected to join at 3:40pm.

The castle's tower bells will be sounded every minute and gun salutes will be fired from the castle's grounds before a smaller service of around 800 people at St George's Chapel.

The church there is regularly used by the Royal Family for weddings, christenings and funerals. It is where the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan, got married and where the Queen's late husband Prince Philip's funeral was held.

Towards the end of that service, the Imperial State Crown - one of the most famous item in the Crown Jewels that includes 2,868 diamonds, 273 pearls, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, and five rubies will be removed from the top of the coffin.

Also removed will be the Queen's orb and sceptre - items that are symbolic of the monarchy - as the Queen's coffin is lowered into the royal vault.

The Imperial State Crown and the Sovereign's orb and sceptre will be removed from the top of the coffin

Next the Queen's piper will play, something which Buckingham Palace said the Queen had personally requested.

Then a blessing will be read and the national anthem will be sung.

Finally the Queen will be buried together with her late husband, the Duke of Edinburgh at a private family service at the King George VI memorial chapel, located inside St George's Chapel. This is expected to be at 7.30pm.