Before hosting the Queen’s funeral, Westminster Abbey presented some of the best moments in her life. Here’s a look back at some key dates in the history of sovereignty:
1937 : Elizabeth II’s father, King George VI, was crowned on May 12, five months after the abdication of his brother, King Edward VIII. “Finally, the office became boring and there were only prayers,” the 11-year-old princess said in a handwritten message.
1947 : Elizabeth says yes to Philip on November 20. Relinquishing the titles of Greece and Denmark, the latter becomes Duke of Edinburgh.
1953 : Elizabeth II is crowned on June 2. After all, it was the first televised coronation in front of 27 million Britons out of a population of 36 million. The ceremony lasted nearly three hours, with 8,251 guests lining the bleachers, and 129 countries and territories being officially represented. In 2018, she described the cab ride as “horrendous” due to her discomfort. 1973 : On November 14, Princess Anne married Army Lieutenant Mark Phillips, the first of the Queen’s children. Unusually, this Olympic gold medalist did not take the title. The couple divorced in 1992.
1986 : After Charles and Diana married in St. Paul’s Cathedral in 1981, Elizabeth II’s second son, Andrew, married Sarah Ferguson on July 23. Andrew and “Fergie”, two daughters (Beatrice and Eugenie) divorced in 1996, but remain close.
1997 : The Queen is blamed for her seeming distance after Diana’s death. Nearly a million people gather to watch the funeral on September 6 and about 2.5 billion are behind their televisions. As the procession moved past Buckingham Palace, the Queen bowed her head. In his eulogy, Diana’s brother Charles Spencer slammed the royal family.
2002 : Queen Mother Elizabeth’s funeral on April 9 marks the end of an era. She was 101 years old and was the last empress of India. More than 200,000 people follow each other in front of his coffin to pay their respects.
2011 : On April 29, William and Kate’s biggest royal wedding in a generation, watched by two billion viewers worldwide, breathes new life into the British monarchy after years of crisis. The Queen allows Prince William to rip up the original guest list to put in their friends and lesser dignitaries. 2022 : On March 29, Elizabeth II paid tribute to her husband, Prince Philip, who died at the age of 99, nearly a year ago.
Sunday 11:30 a.m.: Funeral of the Century
Monday is a public holiday in England for the state funeral of Elizabeth II. 11 days after the Queen of England’s death, the funeral will take place from noon. We know how they will unfold.
Around 2,000 guests, including heads of state and government from around the world, will take their seats at Westminster Abbey, where Elizabeth II was crowned in 1953.
The funeral will begin at 11 am local time in France. They will be chaired by the Dean of Westminster, David Hoyle. The sermon will be delivered by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, the spiritual leader of the Anglican Church, who is the formal head of British sovereignty. An hour later, the ceremony will conclude with the National Anthem.
The coffin will be pulled from a gun carriage towards Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner, near Buckingham Palace, followed by the royal family and procession, accompanied by the sound of Big Ben and cannons. This course should be crowded throughout.
After this last procession, Elizabeth II will be buried in private on Monday at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in west London, alongside her father King George VI and her husband Prince Philip.
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