The coffin, containing the Queen’s body, will be carried in a silent procession in the afternoon to Westminster Hall in the building that houses the parliament, on a route of around 1,800 metres.
London, Thanasis Gavos
The last night at Buckingham Palace was spent by Queen Elizabeth, with her body resting in the Bow Room, where the staff of the royal household in London had the opportunity to pay their respects.
At 2.22pm local time the coffin with the body will be carried in a silent procession by members of the Royal Cavalry on a killivan (an open gun carriage) to Westminster Hall in the building that houses the parliament, on a route of around 1,800 metres.
The casket will be covered with the royal banner and placed on top of it will be the Imperial Crown, which among other things will be adorned with a gem cut from the world’s largest diamond, known as the Cullinan.
The procession will last 38 minutes and will take place to the sounds of mournful cannon fire from Hyde Park and the bell of the restored Big Ben.
King Charles III, his children Princes William and Harry and other members of the royal family will join the procession on foot behind the kiliband.
At 3 local the coffin will arrive at Westminster Hall, which dates back to the 11th century. In a procession led by the Speakers of the House of Commons and Lords it will be carried by the Queen’s Grenadier Guards into the center of the chamber to be placed on a raised plinth.
After a 20-minute service by the head of the Anglican Church, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, the royals will leave by road for the Palace.
Throughout the popular pilgrimage the coffin will be guarded by members of military units serving the royal house.
On top of the casket will be placed the royal orb and royal sceptre, which bears the largest cut gem from the Cullinan diamond.
The popular pilgrimage will begin at 5 local. The plans of the authorities provide for a queue that will extend up to a distance of eight kilometers.
The worst-case scenario foresees waiting in line for up to 30 hours, so the authorities call on citizens to be sure that they can withstand the inconvenience before taking a place in the queue.
Anyone who arrives will receive a colored and numbered wristband so they can leave the queue for short periods to find a toilet or something to eat before returning.
The government will use Twitter to keep citizens informed of where the end of the queue is, and there will also be updates from the BBC.
The more than 1,000 carers, volunteers and police who will be monitoring the queue have been asked to spot vulnerable and elderly citizens who are feeling unwell in order to provide assistance.
At the same time, there will be a queue dedicated to people with disabilities, in order to speed up their entry into the public pilgrimage hall.
At the entrance, the security checks will be thorough, just like at the airports, and for this reason, people are asked not to bring water and liquids with them, except for a small bag.
The expected inconvenience, however, has drawn criticism from public figures and former Palace officials, who have said the Queen would prefer citizens to have access to a timed ticket.
The popular pilgrimage it will continue 24 hours a day until 6.30am local time on Monday, about four hours before the coffin departs in stately procession to nearby Westminster Abbey for the funeral service.
It is estimated that up to 1 million citizens they will want to say goodbye to Queen Elizabeth in person, but due to security checks and the hall’s capacity restrictions, only about 400,000 people will probably be able to do so.
The queue can be closed several hours earlier than Monday morning, when the authorities consider that the last ones will not have time to pay their respects in person.
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I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
