Everything to know about Queen Elizabeth II's state funeral

The queen is being remembered in a service at Westminster Abbey.

ByKatie Kindelan via GMA ABCNews logo
Monday, September 19, 2022

LONDON -- The life of Queen Elizabeth II, who died Sept. 8 at age 96, was celebrated in a funeral service after more than a week of tributes honoring the long-reigning monarch.

The queen's funeral -- which she played a large role in planning -- took place at Westminster Abbey.

Here are all the details we know.

When and where the funeral will take place?

A state funeral for the queen began at 11 a.m. local time (6 a.m. ET) on Monday, Sept. 19.

The funeral was held at Westminster Abbey, making the queen the first sovereign to have a funeral there since 1760.

MORE: Queen Elizabeth II mourned by Britain and world at funeral

Around 2,000 invited guests attended the funeral at Westminster Abbey.

The day of the queen's funeral was a public holiday in the U.K.

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The Duke and Duchess of York at the christening of their daughter Princess Elizabeth in 1926.
Universal Images Group via Getty Images

How did the queen's coffin arrive at Westminster Abbey

Just after 10:30 a.m. local time on the day of the funeral, a procession began to transport the coffin from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey for the funeral.

The queen's coffin traveled on the State Gun Carriage, which was also used for the funeral of the queen's father, King George VI, as well as the funerals for King Edward VII, King George V and Winston Churchill.

The vast procession included musicians, members of the military and members of the royal family, including King Charles III; Anne, the Princess Royal; Princes Edward, Andrew, Harry and William; and Peter Phillips, who all walked behind the coffin.

Who is attending the funeral?

Members of the royal family were all in attendance at the funeral, including the queen's four children, her eight grandchildren and their spouses.

Other mourners at the queen's funeral included over 500 heads of state and dignitaries from around the world, including President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden.

Also in the audience at Westminster Abbey were some of the 15 U.K. prime ministers who served during the queen's reign, including current Prime Minister Liz Truss, who was the last public official to meet with the queen in person before her death.

MORE: Queen Elizabeth, longest-reigning British monarch, dies at 96

Remembering Queen Elizabeth II (1 of 10)

How is queen's coffin adorned

The queen's coffin was draped with the Royal Standard, the flag representing the sovereign and the U.K. During her reign, the Royal Standard was flown on her car and aircraft on official journeys and at royal palaces when the queen was in residence.

The wreath atop the coffin was a collection of white roses, white dahlias and foliage from the gardens at Balmoral and Windsor.

Also atop the coffin, on a velvet cushion, was the Imperial State Crown, the crown the monarch wears upon leaving Westminster Abbey after the coronation.

The crown -- which contains 2,868 diamonds, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, 269 pearls and four rubies -- was made in 1937 for the coronation of the queen's father, according to Historic Royal Palaces, the organization that oversees the Tower of London, where the crown jewels are held.

The 317-carat Second Star of Africa, also known as the Cullinan II, is the most valuable stone in the crown, which the queen wore at her 1953 coronation, along with the St. Edward's Crown.

The queen's coffin was also adorned with the Sovereign's Sceptre with Cross and the Sovereign's Orb, both part of the coronation regalia.

The scepter has been used at every coronation since 1661 and features the 530-carat Cullinan I diamond, the largest gem-quality uncut diamond ever found. The diamond was discovered in a South African mine in 1905 owned by its namesake, Thomas Cullinan.

The orb, described as a "golden globe surmounted by a cross," is given to the monarch when they are crowned to remind them "that their power is derived from God," according to Historic Royal Palaces.

With the crown jewels back in the spotlight following the queen's death, there have been renewed calls for some of them to be returned to their countries of origin.

The Cullinan diamond was purchased by the government in Transvaal, South Africa, where it was found, and "presented (1907) to the reigning British monarch, King Edward VII," according to Encyclopedia Britannica.

The Royal Collection Trust states that the diamond was presented to the king "as a symbolic gesture to heal the rift between Britain and South Africa after the Boer War."

What happened during the funeral

The tightly choreographed service lasted about one hour. The service was led by the Very Reverend Dr. David Hoyle, the dean of Westminster.

Among those who read and said prayers at the service were the archbishop of York, the U.K. prime minister and the secretary general of the Commonwealth, and the cardinal archbishop of Westminster.

Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, delivered the sermon.

Near the end of the service, two minutes of silence was observed inside Westminster Abbey and throughout the U.K.

The service ended with the national anthem and a lament played by the royal piper, Pipe Major Paul Burns of The Royal Regiment of Scotland.

The addition of Burns to the service came as a personal request from the queen, who liked to be woken every morning by bagpipe music, according to ABC News royal contributor Omid Scobie.

Where was queen's coffin taken after the funeral

Following the funeral, the queen's coffin traveled in a procession from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner.

Charles again joined his siblings Anne, Andrew and Edward, and his sons William and Harry, as well as his nephew Peter Phillips, in walking in the procession.

From Wellington Arch, the state hearse drove the queen's coffin to Windsor, with members of the royal family following by car.

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Once in Windsor, the state hearse carried the coffin along the Long Walk, with Charles and royal family members joining the procession by foot at the Quadrangle.

The procession took the coffin to the queen's final resting place at St. George's Chapel, on the grounds of Windsor Castle.

What the queen will be buried with

At St. George's Chapel, a committal service was held, attended by members of the royal family and personal staff who work or have worked for the queen.

Before the final hymn of the service, the Imperial State Crown, orb and scepter were removed from the queen's coffin and placed on the altar.

Following the hymn, Charles placed the Grenadier Guards' Queen's Company Camp Colour -- a smaller version of the Royal Standard -- on the coffin.

At the same time, Lord Chamberlain Andrew Parker -- the most senior official in the queen's royal household - "broke" his Wand of Office and placed it on the coffin, signifying the end of the reign.

As the queen's coffin was lowered into the royal vault, the dean of Windsor said the final prayers and the royal piper played a final lament.

Where is the queen being buried?

The queen's final resting place is at the King George VI Memorial Chapel at St. George's Chapel, alongside Prince Philip, her beloved husband, who died last year at the age of 99.

The burial service is private, attended only by members of the royal family.