The royal family celebrated a "life of service, love and faith" as they bade farewell to Queen Elizabeth II in an intimate ceremony inside the grounds of her beloved Windsor Castle on Monday.
Following the majesty and pomp of her state funeral at London's Westminster Abbey earlier in the day, a smaller congregation gathered at the Gothic St George's Chapel to pay a more personal goodbye.
Queen Elizabeth II's coffin was on Monday lowered into the Royal Vault at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, bringing to an end public mourning for Britain's longest-reigning monarch.
The "second Elizabethan age" was symbolically brought to a close when the highest-ranking official in the royal household, Lord Chamberlain Andrew Parker, broke his wand of office.
The "instruments of state" with which she was crowned in 1953 -- the Imperial State Crown, orb and sceptre -- were removed from the coffin and placed on the high altar.
Her eldest son and successor, King Charles III, placed The Queen's Company Camp Colour of the Grenadier of Guards on the coffin.
As the coffin was lowered, a lone piper played a haunting lament.
The queen's titles were read publicly for the last time: "The late Most High, Most Mighty, and Most Excellent Monarch, Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, and Sovereign of the Most Noble Order of the Garter."
Queen Elizabeth II's coffin arrived past hushed crowds at Windsor Castle on Monday, for a final committal service at St George's Chapel before burial.
The royal hearse, covered in flowers from well-wishers on the journey from London, swept sedately up the Long Walk avenue in a military procession, to tolling bells and ceremonial gunfire.
Britain and the world said a final goodbye to Queen Elizabeth II at a state funeral Monday that drew presidents and kings, princes and prime ministers and crowds who massed along the streets of London to honor a monarch whose 70-year reign defined an age.
In a country known for pomp and pageantry, the first state funeral since Winston Churchill's was filled with spectacle: Ahead of the service, a bell tolled 96 times _ once a minute for each year of Elizabeth's life. Then, 142 Royal Navy sailors used ropes to draw the gun carriage carrying her flag-draped coffin to Westminster Abbey before pallbearers bore it inside the church, where around 2,000 people ranging from world leaders to health care workers gathered to mourn her.
The trappings of state and monarchy abounded: The coffin was draped with the Royal Standard and atop it sat the Imperial State Crown, sparkling with almost 3,000 diamonds, and the sovereign's orb and scepter.
Coffin enters long walk at Windsor Castle
The State Hearse carrying Queen Elizabeth II coffin, has approached Shaw Farm Gate on Albert Road, Windsor castle.
It has joined the Queen's final procession, which was formed up and in position, according to SkyNews.
The procession will make its way up the Long Walk to St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle - Her Majesty's final resting place.
Members of the Royal Family will join the procession at 3.40pm.
The Bearer Party transfer the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the Royal Standard, into the State Hearse at Wellington Arch in London. AFP.
Britain s King Charles III, Camilla, the Queen Consort, Princess Anne, and her husband Vice Admiral Tim Laurence, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward, and his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex, Prince William, and Kate, Princess of Wales with their children Princess Charlotte of Wales, Prince George of Wales, Britain s Prince Harry, and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, David Armstrong-Jones, Earl of Snowden, Peter Phillips, The Duke of Gloucester, Prince Michael of Kent and the Duke of Kent follow the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II as it is carried out of Westminster Abbey during her funeral in central London. AP
US First Lady Jill Biden and US President Joe Biden gesture while boarding Air Force One at London Stansted Airport in Stansted Mountfitchet, England, on September 19, 2022. AFP
Coffin heads to Windsor Castle
The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II has competed a procession at walking pace through central London and is bound in a hearse for her final resting place at Windsor Castle.
After being pulled more than a mile (1.6 kilometers) from Westminster Abbey on a gun carriage by 142 Royal Navy sailors, the coffin was transferred to a hearse at Wellington Arch, near Buckingham Palace.
Dozens of Buckingham Place staff stood in a neat line in the palace courtyard, and many bowed or curtseyed as the procession passed by.
The monarch's coffin will go by car the 20 miles (32 kilometers) to Windsor Castle, where she will be interred later Monday alongside her husband Prince Philip, who died last year.
Dense crowds packed the route through the heart of ceremonial London - and thousands more people are lining the more workaday suburban roads the hearse will take on its journey to Windsor.
The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II is carried following her funeral service in Westminster Abbey in central London, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022. The Queen, who died aged 96 on Sept. 8, will be buried at Windsor alongside her late husband, Prince Philip, who died last year. AP
A Procession through the heart of London
Queen Elizabeth II's coffin is being taken on a gun carriage from Westminster Abbey for a last procession through the heart of London.
The coffin is being transported to Windsor, outside the British capital, where the former monarch will be laid to rest later Monday.
The State Gun Carriage carries the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the Royal Standard with the Imperial State Crown and the Sovereign's orb and sceptre, as it makes its way for the State Funeral at Westminster Abbey. AFP
King Charles III and other senior royals are marching behind the coffin to Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner. Tens of thousands of people are lining the route.
Gun salutes are being fired in nearby Hyde Park, and Big Ben is tolling at one-minute intervals during the procession.
The coffin is to be taken by hearse to Windsor, where the queen will be interred alongside her late husband, Prince Philip, who died last year.
A Loved Monarch
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has said "few leaders receive the outpouring of love we have seen'' for Queen Elizabeth II.
In a sermon at the monarch's funeral in Westminster Abbey, the leader of the Church of England said the queen "was joyful, present to so many, touching a multitude of lives.''
Recalling the queen's promise on her 21st birthday that "her whole life would be dedicated to serving the nation and the Commonwealth,'' Welby said: "Rarely has such a promise been so well kept."
The funeral service includes readings and hymns of significance to the queen, including the hymn "The Lord's My Shepherd,'' which was sung at her wedding to Prince Philip in the same abbey in 1947.
Photo: AP
The Queen's coffin in the Abbey
The queen's coffin sits at the center of the abbey after being borne Monday by pallbearers and accompanied by her son King Charles III, and other members of the royal family.
They included Prince William, his wife Kate and their two elder children George, 9 and Charlotte, 7. Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, also walked behind the coffin.
Dean of Westminster David Hoyle opened the service in the ancient abbey, where Elizabeth was married and crowned.
He said: "We gather from across the nation, from the Commonwealth, and from the nations of the world, to mourn our loss, to remember her long life of selfless service, and in sure confidence to commit her to the mercy of God our maker and redeemer.''
Watch the funeral live via BBC feed.
A congregation of around 500 kings and queens, prime ministers and presidents have arrived in London over the weekend to pay their respects to the late queen.
Photo: AP
Dignitaries arrive inside Westminster Abbey ahead of The State Funeral of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.
AP
The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II leaves Westminster Hall for her funeral service in Westminster Abbey in central London. The Queen, who died aged 96 on Sept. 8, will be buried at Windsor alongside her late husband, Prince Philip, who died last year.
Britain's Prince William arrives at the Westminster Abbey on the day of Queen Elizabeth II funeral.
Photo: AP
U.S. President Joe Biden and his wife Jill have arrived at Westminster Abbey for the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
The American leader is among hundreds of heads of state and political leaders from around the world attending the funeral service in London.
Throngs of people were lined up, six people deep along the route of the funeral procession after the service. Many held up their cellphones to grab images of the day's events.
Hundreds of thousands of people have gathered in the city for the ceremonies.
After the funeral the queen's coffin will be taken to Windsor Castle to be laid to rest.
Photo: AFP
Westminster Abbey bell rings
A bell at Westminster Abbey has begun tolling 96 times, once for each year of Queen Elizabeth II's life.
The abbey's Tenor Bell struck at 9:24 a.m. Monday and was due to toll once a minute until the queen's funeral service begins at 11 a.m.
Hundreds of mourners have already arrived at the Gothic cathedral for the service. They will be joined by royalty, heads of state and political leaders from around the world.
Others drawn from members of the public include long-serving nurse Nancy O'Neill, recognized for her efforts in the fight against Covid-19, and Pranav Bhanot, who helped deliver 1,200 free meals during the pandemic.
Afterward, a funeral procession will wind through city streets with the coffin carried on the state gun carriage as it makes its way to Windsor Castle to be laid to rest.
London authorities said almost three hours before the procession that all public viewing areas were already full.
Mourners Arrive at Westminster Abbey
Mourners are arriving at Westminster Abbey to take their seats for Queen Elizabeth II's state funeral service.
Guests began entering the Gothic medieval abbey shortly after 8 a.m. (0700 GMT; 3 a.m. EDT) on Monday.
Dignitaries were arriving later, with many heads of state gathering at a nearby hospital to be driven by bus to the abbey.
Westminster Abbey is where Elizabeth was married in 1947 and crowned in 1953.
A day packed with funeral events in London and Windsor began early when the doors of 900-year-old Westminster Hall were closed to mourners after hundreds of thousands had filed in front of her coffin since Sept 14.
Around 300 people are expected to watch a broadcast of Queen Elizabeth II's funeral at an official Australian residence where during her final visit to the country the late monarch was woken in the mornings by shrieking sulfur-crested cockatoos.
The doors of Government House, the residence in the Australian capital Canberra of the British monarch's representative Governor-General David Hurley, will be open to registered members of the public for the funeral.
Hurley is attending the London funeral in person. The queen spent several nights in Government House during her last Australian visit in 2011 and remarked at the time on the noise that the large white parrots made at dawn.
The public offer of an opportunity to watch the funeral at the 19th century mansion set on 54 hectares (130 acres) of parkland populated by kangaroos and other native wildlife was overwhelmed. Registration closed on Tuesday last week, a Government House official said.
The queen visited Canberra during 14 of her 16 Australian visits, beginning in 1954.
Paris Metro Station named after the Queen
The Paris Metro has renamed one of its stations after Queen Elizabeth II to honor the British monarch on the day of her state funeral.
The Metro company tweeted that the George V station, which serves the French capital's famed Champs-Elysees boulevard, has been renamed Elizabeth II station for the day on Monday.
Photo: AP
Public Vieweing of Coffin Ends
The last member of the public to view Queen Elizabeth II's coffin as it lay in state at the Houses of Parliament was Chrissy Heerey, a serving member of the Royal Air Force from Melton Mowbray.
Heerey says "it felt like a real privilege to do that.''
She said Monday she went through Westminster Hall twice _ the first time in the early hours of the morning and then again just before its doors closed to mourners at 6:30 a.m. (0530GMT).
She says the experience was, "one of the highlights of my life and I feel very privileged to be here.''
As the end of more than four days of the queen's lying-in-state drew to a close, the stream of mourners slowed to a trickle. After Heerey bowed her head toward the coffin and moved away, parliamentary officials paid their last respects before leaving the queen's coffin in the 900-year-old hall ringed by four candles and military guards in ceremonial uniforms.
Her coffin was being taken later Monday morning to Westminster Abbey for a state funeral attended by 2,000 people.
William and Kate's children attend the funeral
Prince William and his wife Catherine's 9-year-old son Prince George and 7-year-old daughter Princess Charlotte will attend Queen Elizabeth II's state funeral.
George, who is now second in line to the throne, and his sister will walk through Westminster Abbey with the royal family in procession behind the queen's coffin as it is carried by pallbearers Monday.
The funeral's order of service showed that George and Charlotte will walk together behind their parents. They will be followed by Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, and other royal family members.
The royal children's 4-year-old brother, Prince Louis, is not expected to be present at the funeral, which will be attended by some 2,000 people.
Short link: