What time is Queen Elizabeth II's funeral service today?

19 September 2022, 09:45

The Queen will be laid to rest at Windsor Castle after a day full of farewells and royal tradition - here's what time it begins and how long the funeral service will last.

Queen Elizabeth II's funeral will officially take place today at Westminster Abbey which will see royal families and leaders from all around the world come together in London to say a final farewell to the late monarch.

The British royal family, including King Charles, the Prince of Wales and Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, will all play an important role as they follow the late Queen in her final procession.

So as billions of people prepare to watch the funeral on TV and the streets of London, here's exactly what time Queen Elizabeth's funeral service is today and how long the ceremony will last for.

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What time is Queen Elizabeth II's funeral today?

Today is a full timetable of royal traditions and ceremonies but the main event, the funeral service itself, which takes place at Westminster Abbey, will begin at 11am UK time.

The Queen's coffin - which has been lying in state at Westminster Hall - was officially closed to the public at 6:30am.

At 10:35am, a company of Grenadier Guards, will place her coffin on to the State Gun Carriage - a 123-year-old gun.

Then at 10.44am, the coffin will be pulled by 98 Royal Navy sailors from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey, via Parliament Square, in a tradition dating back to the funeral of Queen Victoria in 1901.The sailors, known as the Sovereign's Guard, will pull on ropes attached to the carriage's front wheels, drawing the late monarch forward.

Military personnel prepare for Queen's state funeral procession

How long will Queen Elizabeth II's funeral ceremony be?

The funeral will be a full day of events with the beginning of the funeral starting at 10:35am.

The ceremony itself, which begins at 11am, will last for one hour.

Following the Queen's funeral service in the Abbey, a 1.5mile procession will begin to Wellington Arch in Hyde Park Corner to where the coffin will be transported onto the State Hearse and taken to Long Walk at Windsor Castle.

At 4pm, there will then be a Committal Service at St George's Chapel where the coffin is lowered into the Royal Vault.

The King and members of the royal family will take part in centuries-old traditions and say their final goodbyes before the private burial.

At 7.30pm the King and other Royals will attend a burial service in King George VI Memorial Chapel.

There, the Queen will be reunited with her husband in a small chapel that is also the resting place for her parents, George VI and the Queen Mother, and where the ashes of her sister Margaret are interred.