By Spy Uganda Correspondent
Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral will take place at Westminster Abbey, on Monday, September 19.
The late Queen, who passed away in Balmoral on Thursday, left Scotland for the final time last night and returned to Buckingham Palace.
Today, members of the royal family have walked behind her coffin in procession from the palace to Westminster Hall, where the late monarch’s coffin will lie in state for four days before her funeral.
The King on Sept 10 approved an order that the day of the late Queen’s funeral will be a bank holiday, with schools to close on the day.
During the Accession Council, Lord President of the Council Penny Mordaunt said: “Drafts of two proclamations. One – appointing the day of Her late Majesty’s state funeral as a bank holiday in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
“Two – appointing the day of Her late Majesty’s state funeral as a bank holiday in Scotland.
“And of two orders in council, directing the Lord Chancellor to affix the great seal to the proclamations.”
On Tuesday, the coffin was taken from St Giles’s Cathedral to Edinburgh Airport, where the Princess Royal accompanied her late mother on the flight to RAF Northolt in London.
At 6.30am on Monday 19th the public lying in state will end, before a state funeral at Westminster Abbey at 11am that morning.
From there, she will be taken to Windsor Castle to her final resting place in St George’s Chapel, where she will be buried alongside her beloved parents, sister Princess Margaret and the Duke of Edinburgh.
The monarch played an active role in the preparations for her funeral. The plans, which have been in place for decades and approved by the new King, are expected to be confirmed in the coming days, with services and processions to display the full pomp and ceremony Britain can muster.
The original plans involved the late Queen’s coffin to process on a gun carriage pulled by naval ratings using ropes rather than horses, with military personnel also lining the streets. Senior members of the family are expected to follow behind.
Heads of state, prime ministers and presidents, European royals and key figures from public life will be invited to gather in the Abbey, which can hold a congregation of 2,000.
