The body of the late Queen has left Buckingham Palace, her home for the past eight decades, for the final time.
The body of the late Queen has left Buckingham Palace, her home for the past eight decades, for the final time before lying in state at Westminster where hundreds of thousands of mourners will pay their respects over the next four days.
The casket, draped with the Royal Standard, was carried by gun carriage drawn by the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery. The Imperial State Crown sat on a velvet cushion next to a wreath of white roses which included pine from the gardens of her beloved Balmoral estate in Scotland and lavender and rosemary from the gardens at Windsor Castle.
Wednesday’s procession was designed as a small and personal occasion ahead of the state funeral on Monday. Her coffin was also accompanied by members of the military, her closest personal staff and the new King’s household.The Band of the Scots Guards and the Band of the Grenadier Guards played funeral marches throughout the procession, starting with Beethoven’s Funeral March No.1.
The Queen’s children are expected to pay their own tributes, standing guard around the coffin — a tradition known as the Vigil of the Princes. Around 500 dignitaries from across the world are expected to pay their last respects to the long-reigning monarch. They will join members of the Royal family, UK prime ministers past and present, and key figures from public life at Westminster Abbey - the historic church that can hold around 2000 people.Invitations to the Queen’s state funeral have not been sent to Syria, Venezuela or Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.
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