Live coverage of the funeral is now underway, with the service itself beginning at 6 a.m. ET. A day packed with funerals in London and Windsor got off to an early start when the doors of the 900-year-old Westminster Hall closed to mourners after hundreds of thousands had lined up in front of the Queen’s coffin since September 14. Many of them had spent cold nights outside to pay their respects at the foot of Elizabeth’s flag-draped coffin in a moving outpouring of national grief. The closing of the hall marked the end of four full days of the coffin in state and the start of the UK’s first state funeral since that held in 1965 for Winston Churchill, the first of 15 prime ministers during Elizabeth’s reign. Two days before her death on September 8 at her summer retreat at Balmoral, the Queen appointed her last prime minister, Liz Truss. Monday has been declared a bank holiday in honor of Elizabeth, who died on September 8 aged 96. Her funeral will be broadcast live to more than 200 countries and territories around the world and will be shown to crowds in parks and public spaces across the UK Kingdom The service, in the gothic medieval abbey where Elizabeth was married in 1947 and crowned in 1953, will be attended by 2,000 people, from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other world leaders to health workers and volunteers. Mourners wait along the route as Queen Elizabeth’s coffin is pulled into a carriage for her funeral at Westminster Abbey in London on Monday. (Emilio Morenatti/Pool/Reuters) Police officers from across the country will be on duty as part of the biggest one-day police operation in London’s history. The night before the funeral, King Charles sent a message of thanks to people in the UK and around the world, saying he and his wife Camilla, the Queen Consort, had been “moved beyond measure” by the large number of people who have come out to pay their respects to the queen. “As we all prepare to say our final goodbyes, I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank all those countless people who have been such a support and comfort to my family and myself during this time of grief,” he said. Mourners began arriving to take their seats shortly after 8am local time. Officials arrived later, with several heads of state gathering at a nearby hospital to be bussed to the abbey. After the hour-long Church of England service in central London, there will be another procession to take the Queen’s coffin to Windsor, where there will be a ceremony and a private service for members of the royal family. WATCHES | The Queen wanted Mounties to be part of her funeral:
The RCMP will play a key role in the Queen’s funeral
Queen Elizabeth had a fondness for the RCMP and specifically requested that members of the RCMP march be included in her funeral procession. RCMP officers who will be taking part explain their roles in the procession and how they prepare. She will later be buried at the King George VI Memorial at Windsor Castle alongside her husband Prince Philip, her parents and the ashes of her sister Princess Margaret. King Charles and his siblings – Princess Anne, Prince Edward and Prince Andrew – held a vigil around her coffin on Friday. On Saturday, Prince William – the new heir to the throne – and his brother Prince Harry were joined by six of their cousins for their grandchildren’s vigil. Canada’s delegation will be led by Trudeau and Governor General Mary Simon, and will include some of their predecessors and Indigenous leaders. In Canada, on Monday, a memorial service will be held at Ottawa’s Christ Church Cathedral starting at 1 p.m. ET. Live coverage from the Canadian capital begins at noon ET. WATCHES | National Remembrance Ceremony in Honor of Queen Elizabeth:
National commemoration in honor of (deleted) Queen Elizabeth
Join CBC’s Vassy Kapelos for special coverage as Canada honors Queen Elizabeth in a national ceremony in Ottawa. Former prime ministers Brian Mulroney and Joe Clark are choosing to attend the ceremony in Ottawa, sources told the CBC. Former Governor General Adrienne Clarkson will attend the Ottawa ceremony, according to a government press release. You can watch live coverage of the Queen’s funeral from 5am. ET on Monday on CBC TV, CBC News Network, CBC Gem, CBCNews.ca and the CBC News app. At noon ET, the show will turn to Ottawa for a national memorial service. The CBC News Network will broadcast the funeral at 7 p.m. ET. CBC Radio One’s live coverage of the funeral will begin at 5:30 a.m. ET, which will also be available on the CBC Listen app.
