That destiny was fulfilled when her coffin, draped in the Royal Standard and topped with the glittering imperial crown, was carried into the ancient grandeur of Westminster Hall. the place where the palace meets the parliament and a monument to the life of the nation since the 11th century. Here she will remain, under the medieval wooden roof of the Angels, and under the gaze of the six stone kings, until her state funeral on Monday. King Charles III, Anne, Princess Royal, William, Prince of Wales, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward, Prince Harry and Peter Phillips follow the Queen’s coffin during the ceremonial procession from the Palace of Buckingham in Westminster Hall. Photo: Reuters Around 300 MPs and peers filed quietly down the worn steps into the vast hall as the Queen left Buckingham Palace for the last time. These steps, the scene of historic speeches including Nelson Mandela and Pope Benedict XVI, have witnessed many. Today was the monarch’s handover from her family to the nation for her public farewell. Her coffin, wreathed in white roses, white dahlias and foliage including Balmoral pine and pittosporum, lavender and rosemary from the gardens at Windsor, had been carried from the palace in the George Gun Carriage of the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery for Travel 38 minutes. Behind the same gun carriage that had brought her father and mother walked her four children, led by the King in the uniform of a Field Marshal of the Royal Air Force. They marched solemnly to the funeral military beat of 75 steps per minute. In a symbol of unity, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex, the former in RAF No.1 uniform, the latter as an off-duty royal in morning dress and military medals, walked side by side, as they had commemoratively done 25 years earlier behind their mother’s coffin. Inside the hall the catafalque, dressed in purple, was ready. Only the faint sound of Big Ben tolling at one-minute intervals and the distant firing of guns from Hyde Park broke the overwhelming silence. About 40 members of the Queen’s extended family stood on one side of the room: the Queen’s niece and nephew, her grandchildren, cousins and their children. With them seven of her ladies-in-waiting, all in black dresses, hats and pearls, and carrying bags, in a final act of devoted attendance to their royal mistress. A member of the Grenadier Guards salutes the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II after it was placed in a bunker at Westminster Hall. Photo: WPA/Getty Images The progress of the procession was signaled as the drum of the military band and the strains of Beethoven and Mendelssohn grew louder as it approached. The Queen Consort, Princess of Wales, Countess of Wessex and Duchess of Sussex, who had all arrived by car, waited at the entrance as the gun carriage stopped. Charles and senior members of the royal family saluted and the royal wives trembled as the coffin was carried by a party inside and gently placed on the tall catafalque, with the coronation ball and golden scepter next to the queen’s crown. The royal family, led by the king and queen consort, then lined up slowly in front of the catafalque, which was flanked by a towering yellow candle at each corner of the wide red platform. King Charles looks on as the procession carrying his mother’s coffin arrives at Westminster Hall to lie in state. Photo: WPA/Getty Images In ceremonial robes of gold, crimson and blue braid almost as historic as the hall itself, the Black Rod, the Lord Great Chamberlain, the Lords Chamberlain and the Speaker passed through the hall. The Westminster Processional Cross, received from Westminster Abbey, was carried by the Crusader. It will remain at the head of the coffin throughout the lay. A short service was conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury assisted by the Dean of Windsor. A double tap on the stone floor from the Officer of the Guard’s staff signaled the start of the first vigil. They will continue around the clock throughout the four days of the sunbed. Four officers from the Household Cavalry, two from the Lifeguards and two from the Blues and Royals had the honor of the first vigil. Resplendent in plumed helmet and glittering cuirass breastplates, they descended the stone steps in thigh-high ceremonial boots and placed the catafalque, one at each corner. They slowly turned to look out of the coffin, then lowered their swords to the ground. The four would remain motionless, heads bowed, hands crossed to the hilt of their swords, during their 30-minute vigil. The Gentlemen at Arms took their places around the bier. British monarchs since Edward VII have lain in state in the same room, as has the Queen’s first prime minister, Sir Winston Churchill. Photo: Linda Nylind/The Guardian As they took their vantage point, the kings bowed and bowed as they walked past the casket before leaving in pairs. Unlike other senior members of the royal family, Harry and Meghan held hands as they left. This was followed by the MPs and peers who had been selected to attend. British monarchs since Edward VII have lain in state in the same room, as has the Queen’s first prime minister, Sir Winston Churchill. In her life, she had sat within its walls many times: to celebrate milestones such as her silver, golden and diamond jubilees, to mark important moments such as the 50th anniversary of the second world war, to receive and deliver speeches, even to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the revolutions of 1688 to 1689. Now, in death, and with this moment, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch also passes in its 900-year history.
