London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Sep 03, 2025

Queen Elizabeth II: A day-by-day guide from now to the funeral

Queen Elizabeth II: A day-by-day guide from now to the funeral

The Queen's coffin is in Balmoral, but soon will embark on its journey to the nation's capital ahead of her state funeral on Monday 19 September.

People will be given the chance to pay their respects to the Queen, as her body will be placed in the Palace of Holyroodhouse and Westminster Hall for people to see her coffin - a tradition known as lying in state.

King Charles III will also embark on a tour of all four nations that make up the UK.

Here is your guide to what will happen, day by day.


The Queen's oak coffin, which sits in the ballroom at Balmoral Castle, will be transported by her gamekeepers to a waiting hearse.

Her body will depart Balmoral at around 10:00, proceeding slowly on the six-hour journey to Edinburgh along more than 175 miles (280km) by road.

The coffin will arrive at the Palace of Holyroodhouse - the official residence of the British monarch in the Scottish capital - and lie in the Throne Room.

In London, the King will meet with the Secretary General of the Commonwealth at Buckingham Palace. He will later host in the palace's Bow Room the High Commissioners from the countries of which he is head of state.


King Charles will begin the day with a visit to Westminster Hall, where both Houses of Parliament will meet to express their condolences.

Accompanied by Camilla, the Queen Consort, the King will travel by air to Edinburgh. It is part of Operation Spring Tide, the codename for his first trip around around all four nations of the United Kingdom as king.

In the afternoon, the Queen's coffin will travel by procession to St Giles' Cathedral, accompanied by the King and members of the Royal Family.

The Queen's body will lie in rest at St Giles' and members of the public will be able to view her coffin, which will remain under continuous vigil for 24 hours.

The King will then return to Holyrood, where he will have an audience with the Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. He and the Queen Consort will then attend the Scottish Parliament where they will receive a Motion of Condolence.

In the evening, King Charles will hold a Vigil with members of the Royal Family at St Giles' Cathedral.


Princess Anne, the Queen's only daughter, will accompany the Queen's coffin from St Giles' Cathedral to Edinburgh airport, and then by plane to RAF Northolt.

The Queen's final flight from Scotland to London is expected to arrive shortly before 19:00.

From there it will travel to Buckingham Palace, the official residence of British monarchs in London since 1837. The coffin's arrival at the palace will be witnessed by King Charles III and Camilla, the Queen Consort, before it goes to rest in the Bow Room.

Before that, the King and Camilla will visit to Belfast in Northern Ireland. They will then travel on to Hillsborough Castle to view an exhibition on the Queen's long association with Northern Ireland.

King Charles will then meet with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Chris Heaton-Harrris MP, as well as other party leaders. He will also receive a message of condolence led by the Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

After a meeting with religious leaders, King Charles and Camilla will attend a prayer service at St Anne's Cathedral, and then return to London.


The Queen's body will travel in a public procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall shortly after 14:00.

Her coffin will be carried on a gun carriage of the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery, and will be accompanied by a military parade as well as members of the Royal Family.

King Charles will lead the procession behind the carriage, which will be draped in the Royal Standard.

Crowds will be able to watch as it makes the journey along Queen's Gardens, The Mall, Horse Guards and Horse Guards Arch, Whitehall, Parliament Street, Parliament Square and New Palace Yard.

The journey is expected to last around 40 minutes.

There will also be large television screens set up for the occasion especially in the capital's Royal Parks.

Once in Westminster Hall, the coffin will rest on a raised platform known as a catafalque and topped with the Imperial State Crown, orb and sceptre.

Each corner of the platform will be guarded 24-hours-a-day by soldiers from units that serve the Royal Household.

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby will conduct a short service attended by King Charles and other members of the Royal Family, before the Hall is opened to the public.


The day marks the first of four full days that the Queen's body will lie in state in Westminster Hall, where she will remain until the morning of the state funeral.

The closed coffin will be placed upon a raised platform and the public will be able to file past and pay their respects.

Details will be released later on how people can take part, but it is expected that hundreds of thousands of mourners will be able to pay their respects in the 11th-Century building, the oldest part of the Palace of Westminster and the heart of the British government.

Lying in state is a traditional formality given to the sovereign, the current or past Queen Consort, and sometimes political leaders - although no former prime minister has laid in state since Winston Churchill in 1965.


The Queen's coffin will lie in state for the second full day in Westminster Hall, where people will be able to pay their respects.

The King and Camilla will travel to Wales, marking the final of his visits to all four nations of the United Kingdom as king.


The Queen's coffin will lie in state for the third full day in Westminster Hall.


The Queen's coffin will lie in state for the fourth full day in Westminster Hall.


During the morning the Queen's lying in state will end, and the coffin will be taken in procession to Westminster Abbey for the state funeral, which is a Bank Holiday in the UK.

Among the guests that will join members of her family will be senior UK politicians and heads of state from across the world.

Following the funeral, the coffin will travel in procession from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch, from where it will travel to Windsor.

The state hearse will then take the coffin along the Long Walk to St George's Chapel in Windsor Chapel, where a committal service will take place.


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
Pickles are the latest craze among Generation Z in the United States.
Deadline Day Delivers Record £125m Isak Move and Donnarumma to City
Nestlé Removes CEO Laurent Freixe Following Undisclosed Relationship with Subordinate
Giuliani Seriously Injured in Accident – Trump to Award Him the Presidential Medal of Freedom
EU is getting aggressive: Four AfD Candidates Die Unexpectedly Ahead of North Rhine-Westphalia Local Elections
Lula and Putin Hold Strategic BRICS Discussions Ahead of Trump–Putin Summit
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
Investigations Reveal Rise in ‘Sex-for-Rent’ Listings Across Canada Exploiting Vulnerable Tenants
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
×