9/19/22 - The Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II

Some 2,000 people attended the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II while millions more tuned in to watch early this morning.

(LONDON) - The queen's casket entered Westminster Abbey around 6 a.m. EST.                                                                                                             The state funeral lasted around an hour and following the funeral, the coffin was brought through the streets of London for a silent public procession.                                                                                                                                                                                                                  There will be a committal service at St. George's Chapel and then a private burial service where she will be laid to rest at Windsor Castle.                                                                                                                                                                                            

King Charles III, the royal family and dignitaries from around the world attended the funeral.  Around 2000 people gathered in person with millions of other people getting up early to tune in from across the world.

The Queen's state funeral was the largest since former Prime Minister Winston Churchill in 1965. 

The funeral also included:

• Patricia Scotland Commonwealth Secretary-General read a lesson from Corinthians 15 as a tribute to the queen’s life of dedication to service and the nation.
• A sermon by the Archbishop of Canterbury
• Choirs sang the Anthem, taken from "Songs of Farewell" by Hubert Parry, a favorite of King Charles'.
• A short anthem, composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams for the queen’s coronation in 1953, presenting a reflective moment in the service.
• The third hymn, "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling" is a Welsh tune, and was sung at the wedding of The Prince and Princess of Wales at Westminster Abbey in 2011. The arrangement is by James O’Donnell, a former organist at the Abbey.
• The Archbishop gave the commendation over the queen’s coffin. The commendation will include the familiar line, "Go Forth, O Christian Soul, From This World," which is often heard during funerals.
• The choirs sang a new anthem, composed for the service by Sir James McMillan. The words are taken from Romans 8, which leads with the hopeful, confident line, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?"
• The dean pronounced the blessing from the altar, and the congregation will remain standing for the last post, which will be sounded by the state trumpeters of the household cavalry.
• This was followed by two minutes’ silence, to be observed across the United Kingdom.
• The trumpeters then sounded the reveille, before the national anthem was sung.
• The sovereign’s piper played the traditional lament, ‘Sleep, dearie, sleep.’
• At the conclusion of the lament, at noon local time (7 a.m. ET), the pall bearers entered and moved the queen’s coffin to the state gun carriage.

Following the funeral and procession, the queen’s coffin was moved from the gun carriage to the royal hearse at Wellington Arch and then made its way Windsor.

At Windsor, the state hearse will travel in procession to St George’s Chapel via the Long Walk. Once inside, there will be a committal service beginning at 11 a.m. EST.

The Queen reigned for 70 years and passed away at the age of 96.  Bells rang out for each year of her life.