Queen Elizabeth II to be interred privately

Queen Elizabeth II will be interred at a private ceremony at Windsor Castle after her state funeral next week, Buckingham Palace said on Thursday.

More than 2,000 guests are expected to pack London’s historic Westminster Abbey at 1000 GMT on Monday for a church service dedicated to her life and record-breaking 70-year reign.

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After prayers and a blessing, a lone bugler will sound The Last Post and the country will fall silent for two minutes before the queen’s coffin is taken through London’s streets for a final time.

From there, it will be transferred by royal hearse to her Windsor Castle home west of London before a committal service at St George’s Chapel at 1500 GMT.

The service, with a congregation of more than 800 made up of the queen’s former and current staff as well as senior royals and political figures, will last for about an hour.

At the end, the queen’s coffin will be lowered into the Royal Vault and a piper will play a lament, marking the formal end to the public part of the elaborate ceremonials since her death last Thursday.

The coffin of the queen’s husband, Prince Philip, who died last April aged 99, currently resides in the vault at the historic chapel.

Both will be transferred to the adjoining King George VI Memorial Chapel, where the remains of the late queen’s father, mother and the ashes of her sister have their final resting place.

Palace officials said the service there would take place at 1830 GMT on Monday and would not be televised as it was a “deeply personal family occasion”.

The queen’s coffin, draped in the royal standard and topped with the Imperial State Crown, her orb and sceptre, has been lying in state at Westminster Hall in the UK parliament since Wednesday.

Members of the public will have the chance to file past it to pay their final respects until Monday morning before it is transferred by gun carriage to the nearby Westminster Abbey.

On Friday at 1830 GMT, the queen’s eldest son and successor, King Charles III, will join his three siblings – Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward – at a family vigil in front of the coffin.

The so-called “Vigil of the Princes”, with all four royals in ceremonial military uniform, will last for 15 minutes.

Earl Marshal the Duke of Norfolk has spent the last 20 years organising the queen’s funeral.

He told reporters it “will unite people across the globe and resonate with people of all faiths whilst fulfilling Her Majesty’s wishes in a fitting tribute to an extraordinary reign”. (AFP)