Queen Elizabeth II laid to rest at a state funeral

Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest reigning monarch, has been buried in the King George VI Memorial Chapel in St George’s chapel, Windsor Castle, where ten other monarchs lie buried., in a small private ceremony attended by family.

The royal vault at the chapel is the final resting place of several members of the British royal family, but the Queen was interred at an annex known as the King George VI Memorial Chapel. This addition was unveiled at her request in 1969 as a final resting place for her father, whose remains were moved to it from the royal vault.

Queen Elizabeth II was buried there alongside her father, mother, sister and husband Prince Philip. His remains will be transferred from the royal vault, where they have been held since his death in April.

In brief, the Queen’s coffin was taken in a solemn procession from Westminster Hall, where the Queen has been lying in state, to Westminster Abbey for a funeral service at 11:00 a.m. local time (6:00 a.m. ET). The 55-minute service is officiated by the Dean of Westminster David Hoyle. U.K. Prime Minister Liz Truss, whose meeting with the Queen was the monarch’s last official engagement, gave a reading.

A two-minute silence across the U.K. marked the end of the service, along with a reveille, the national anthem, and a royal piper playing a lament.

A gun-carriage carried the coffin throughout the streets of London, arriving at Wellington Arch, Hyde Park, at 1:00 p.m. (8:00 a.m. ET). From there, a hearse brought the coffin to Windsor for internment.

It is an emotional day for the British public as they bid a final farewell to their beloved monarch, who died on Sept. 8 at the age of 96. The country come to a standstill, with businesses and schools closed.

The funeral service held at Westminster Abbey—the Gothic church in central London where the Queen was crowned in 1953.

The prominent mourners were naturally the Queen’s eldest son and successor, King Charles III, along with the Queen Consort, Charles’ two brothers, Princes Edward and Andrew, and his sister Princess Anne. Eight grandchildren are attending—among them Charles’ sons Prince William and Prince Harry and their respective wives the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle. Many other close relatives are among the mourners.

Many other royals—from Europe and further afield—are prominent among the more than 2,000 people attending the Westminster Abbey service. They include Belgium’s King Philippe and Queen Mathilde and King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain. King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands’ are in attendance, alongside Denmark’s Queen Margarethe II and King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway.

Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, attending, were also Jordan’s King Abdullah, Malaysia’s Yang di-Pertuan Agong (the Sultan Abdullah of Pahang), and Bhutan’s King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk.

Among political leaders at the funeral are U.S. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden. China is represented by Vice President Wang Qishan and India by President Droupadi Murmu.

South Korea’s President Yoon Suk-yeol is attending, as are Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia, among others.

Invitations were reportedly not extended to the leaders of Russia and Belarus, on account of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine. The junta in Myanmar, which seized power in a 2021 coup, has also not been invited to send a representative.

Over 800 mourners attended the committal service, followed by the private burial at the King George VI Memorial Chapel at 7:30 p.m. (1:30 p.m. ET).