Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-serving British monarch, will be honoured with a full state funeral at Westminster Abbey on September 19. Roughly 2,000 attendees are expected to attend the funeral at Westminster Abbey as Britain bids final farewell to the Queen.

London's transport authority said it was preparing for around a million people to visit the British capital on Monday for Queen Elizabeth II's state funeral.

Across the country, some 250 extra train services will run, including some overnight trains. Peter Hendy, chairman of Network Rail, said Monday would see the biggest public transport operation since the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

More than 100 Heathrow Airport flights will be cancelled to prevent aircraft noise from disturbing the funeral and the queen's committal service at Windsor Castle afterwards. The west London airport said 15 percent of its 1,200 flights due to take off or land on Monday would be disrupted.

The event is scheduled to be showcased worldwide to the general public. Here’s what is known so far about the funeral service:

Palace of Westminster to Westminster Abbey

Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin will, on the morning of September 19, be carried to Westminster Abbey, where the funeral will commence at 11 AM local time.

The coffin, carried from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey at 10:44 AM local time, will be on the state gun carriage drawn by 142 soldiers. Prince William, along with his brother Prince Harry, and the senior members of the royal family will follow the procession.

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Britain’s historic church

At around 8:00 AM, the doors of Britain’s historic church, the Westminster Abbey, will be opened for the roughly 2,000 attendees. The Abbey is historic since it is the place where Britain’s kings and queens are crowned. Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation was held here in 1953. It is also the place where she got married to Prince Phillip in 1947.

The funeral service

The ceremonial services will begin 15 minutes before the funeral service. It will be conducted by the Dean of Westminster, David Hoyle, along with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the newly appointed Prime Minister Liz Truss. The end of the funeral will be marked by a short bugle call that will be played followed by a two-minute national silence.

How and where to watch the funeral service?

Multiple platforms and stations will be televising the funeral on Monday. Here is how you can witness the events of September 19 unfolding in Britain.

Television

The funeral is expected to begin at 11 AM local time. On TV, various broadcasting platforms such as British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC One, BBC News), National Broadcasting Company (NBC), Cable News Network (CNN), American Broadcasting Company, Sky News, and Fox News will be telecasting the event.

ALSO READ: In Pics | Queen Elizabeth II's final journey: Coffin placed at Westminster Hall

Streaming

If not television, you can also witness the live coverage of the event on various streaming sources by Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN.org, C-SPAN Radio, and C-SPAN application). Other platforms that will be streaming the live coverage of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral include YouTube channels of ITV News channel and Sky News. In addition, YouTube TV, BBC, and Peacock Premium will also cover the last rites live.

(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)

First Published:Sept 17, 2022 3:11 PM IST