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British King Charles III reflected on his late mother’s lifetime of service in a thank-you note delivered before Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral at Westminster Abbey in London on Monday morning. President Droupadi Murmu, who is repping India at the state burial, as well as other heads of state and government from around the world, including US President Joe Biden, attended a state function hosted by the King and Queen Consort Camilla on Sunday night at Buckingham Palace.
Queen Elizabeth II, 96, passed away peacefully at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8 and has since been lying in state at Westminster Hall, where Murmu and other world leaders have joined tens of thousands of mourners to pay their respects to the late monarch. After observing a minute of silence for the Queen at 20:00 local time on Sunday, Charles released a statement. “Over the last ten days, my wife and I have been greatly moved by the many messages of grief and support we have received from our country and around the world,” Charles said.
“He stated he was moved beyond words by everyone who came to pay their respects to my loving mother, the late Queen, in London, Edinburgh, Hillsborough, and Cardiff. As we are about to say our last goodbyes, I wanted to take this chance to express my gratitude to all of the numerous individuals who have provided my family and I with such support and solace over this trying time “Added he
The public will be denied access to Westminster Hall early Monday morning as preparations are made for the coffin to be carried in procession to nearby Westminster Abbey, where a congregation of around 2,000 will gather for a solemn ceremony beginning at 11 a.m. local time and concluding with a two-minute silence about an hour later.
Hundreds of people who were recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list in June this year, including those who made extraordinary contributions to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, will join the congregation, in addition to the visiting foreign dignitaries. Among those reading lessons will be British Prime Minister Liz Truss and Commonwealth Secretary-General Baroness Patricia Scotland. The Archbishop of York, the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, and the Moderator of the Free Churches will offer prayers, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, who will also deliver the Commendation, will deliver the sermon.
For days, 4,000 military personnel have been rehearsing for one of the UK’s largest state events in decades, with the last state funeral at Westminster Abbey held in 1965 for Britain’s wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Buckingham Palace stated that elements of the state funeral service and associated ceremonial arrangements will pay tribute to the Queen’s extraordinary reign as well as Her Majesty’s remarkable life of service as head of state, nation, and Commonwealth.
The Imperial State Crown, the Orb, and the Sceptre, which will be present for the state funeral and a Committal Service at Windsor Castle later on Monday, are placed on top of the coffin, which is draped with the Royal Standard. The casket will be transported in a funeral procession from the Palace of Westminster to Westminster Abbey at 10:44 a.m. local time atop the Royal Navy’s state gun carriage. King Charles, other senior royals, and household members will follow the casket right away. Around noon local time, the state funeral service will conclude with the National Anthem, a rendition of “God Save the King,” following a two-minute moment of silence across the country.
President Murmu is anticipated to attend the event hosted by UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly for world leaders following the ceremony before departing for New Delhi later on Monday. The event will take place at Church House on the grounds of the Abbey. In the interim, the casket will return to the state gun carriage before being carried in procession to Wellington Arch at London’s Hyde Park Corner.
The King’s Troop and Royal Horse Artillery will fire Minute Guns in Hyde Park, and Big Ben, Queen Elizabeth II’s bell, the tower’s tallest bell, will chime continuously throughout the procession. Officials claim that in order to create a softer tone, a muffler will be utilised as part of the recent conservation effort for the famous London monument.
The coffin will then be driven to Windsor in a state hearse, where it will join a procession led by members of the royal family on its way to the St. George’s Chapel for the Committal Ceremony. The Queen will be laid to rest alongside the coffin of her late husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, in a private funeral on Monday night at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, a little enclave inside the old chapel. (PTI)
