London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 21, 2025

Queen to lie in state for four full days before state funeral

Queen to lie in state for four full days before state funeral

The Queen will lie in state for four days before her funeral at Westminster Abbey on Monday, 19 September.

The public will be allowed to view the coffin during that time.

Before this, the Queen will be at rest in St Giles Cathedral Edinburgh, for 24 hours from Monday 12 September, with people able to pay their respects.

Her family, politicians and world leaders will attend her state funeral at 11:00 BST. It will be a bank holiday.

The Queen's final journey will begin on Sunday, with her oak coffin being carried by her Balmoral gamekeepers - her own staff bringing her to a hearse that will take her to Edinburgh.

It will drive slowly to the Palace of Holyroodhouse for 16:00 BST.

On Monday afternoon, it will process to St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh, with members of the Royal Family. There will be a service and the coffin will rest here for 24 hours, for people to pay their respects.

The following day, Princess Anne will accompany her mother's body as it is flown back to London. The Queen's coffin will be taken from Edinburgh Airport to Buckingham Palace via RAF Northolt.

On Wednesday afternoon, it will be taken to Westminster Hall, arriving at 15:00 BST. Four clear days of lying in state will happen from Thursday, before the funeral.

Monday 19th's state funeral will be followed by a procession from London to Windsor Castle. The Queen will be laid to rest at King George VI Memorial Chapel at Windsor.

Her journey, beginning in simplicity, will end with the sombre grandeur of the first state funeral that many people will have seen - the last being Sir Winston Churchill in 1965.


King visits nations


Ahead of the funeral the new King will visit Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Prime Minister Liz Truss will accompany him.

A period of national mourning will last until the day of the state funeral, the government has announced. The Royal Family will observe a further period of mourning for seven days afterwards.

Westminster Abbey is the historic church where Britain's kings and queens are crowned - but there has not been a monarch's funeral service there since the 18th Century. Funerals for the Queen's father, grandfather and great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, in the 1900s, were all held at St George's Chapel, Windsor.

Heads of state from across the world will be invited to join members of the Royal Family to remember the life and service of the Queen.

Senior UK politicians and current and former prime ministers are also expected at the televised service.

There is no obligation for organisers to cancel planned events on the day of the funeral but government guidance suggests organisers of sporting fixtures or pre-planned events may wish to adjust timings to avoid clashing with the service or processions.

Some events in the immediate aftermath of the Queen's death were cancelled or postponed.

Football matches in the Premier League, English Football League or in Scotland or Northern Ireland have been postponed until Tuesday, while all games in the Women's Super League, Women's Championship and Women's FA Cup have also been put on hold. A number of horse racing, golf, and boxing fixtures have also been called off.

Large-scale strike actions planned for next week were immediately cancelled, and the Trades Union Congress said it was postponing its annual conference in Brighton.

The King confirmed earlier on Saturday that the day of the funeral would be a bank holiday, when he was proclaimed as monarch at St James's Palace, London

In his speech, he praised the Queen's "unequalled reign".

The King became the monarch after the death of his mother, but the meeting of the privy council of politicians, officials and clergy formally confirmed it.

The packed room, including all of the six living former British prime ministers, repeated the phrase. The proclamation was then read out on a balcony above Friary Court in St James's Palace.

Clerk of the Privy Council Richard Tilbrook proclaimed Charles "King, head of the Commonwealth, defender of the faith", before declaring "God Save the King".

On Saturday evening, the King's car stopped on its way down the Mall and he and Camilla, the Queen Consort, got out to greet some of the thousands of well-wishers who lined the road down from Buckingham Palace.

There were joyful shouts of "God Save the King", as he and his wife accepted bunches of flowers and handshakes.


Watch: Charles III is proclaimed King, in a ceremony broadcast for the first time

Watch: Charles III greets crowds after officially being made King


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
×