London: Queen Elizabeth’s hour-long state funeral, the first in Britain since the death of her first prime minister Winston Churchill in 1965, will take place today at Westminster Abbey in London.
The funeral will bring to an end 11 days of national mourning across the United Kingdom that has seen the personal sorrow of the royal family play out in the glare of intense international attention.
World leaders will join Britain’s royal family, its political elite and members of the military, judiciary and charitable organisations at the state funeral.
The funeral will be shown by around 125 cinemas across Britain, while parks, squares and cathedrals will also set up viewing screens for the huge ceremonial event, the government said on Saturday.
While the leaders of the European Union, France, Japan, India and many other countries will attend, those of Russia, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Syria and North Korea were not invited.
After the televised service, the Queen’s coffin will be transferred by royal hearse to Windsor Castle, west of London, for a committal service. That will be followed by a family-only burial in which the queen will be laid to rest alongside her late husband Prince Philip, her parents and her sister.
