London: Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin arrived at Westminster Abbey on Monday for a grand state funeral attended by 2,000 guests including leaders from around the world, reports news agency AFP.
In a tradition dating back to Queen Victoria’s funeral in 1901, the state gun carriage bearing the coffin was hauled to the abbey by Royal Navy sailors, followed in a solemn procession by King Charles III and other senior royals.
The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in a Royal Standard and adorned with the Imperial State Crown and the Sovereign’s orb and sceptre today arrived during the State Funeral Service for Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, at Westminster Abbey in London.
The first bells for the late Queen began to ring outside Westminster Abbey. In the run-up to the funeral, the bells rang once every minute to commemorate the 96-year-old monarch’s life.
The late monarch’s son and current ruler – King Charles III, his sons and siblings are in the front row and also walked behind the Queen’s coffin.
Queen Elizabeth’s great-grandchildren George and Charlotte followed the coffin in Westminster Abbey.
King Charles III, his sister Princess Anne, and his brothers, Princes Andrew and Edward, as well as Princes William and Harry, followed Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin.
