British Royals

The King’s Body Guard, formed of Gentlemen at Arms, Yeomen of the Guard and Scots Guards, change guard duties around the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II inside Westminster Hall, on Sunday. Adrian Dennis/pool via AP

An elaborate plan is set for Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral Monday, when a service will take place at London’s Westminster Abbey before her coffin is buried at Windsor Castle.

The proceedings will begin at 10:44 a.m. British Summer Time – 5:44 a.m. Eastern – when the Royal Navy will hold a procession to transport the queen from Westminster Hall, where she is “lying at rest,” to nearby Westminster Abbey. Elizabeth got married there in 1947 and was crowned there in 1953.

The funeral is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. and end with two minutes of national silence just before noon.

Here’s what we know about where to watch:

The Washington Post will stream the funeral and related events beginning Monday at 5:30 a.m. Eastern.

Major television networks will also air the proceedings. NBC News’s Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Lester Holt will anchor live coverage starting at 5:30 a.m. Easterne. ABC’s coverage will begin at 5:30 a.m. Eastern and can also be streamed live on Hulu.

BBC television coverage will air on several of its channels, led by Huw Edwards, Kirsty Young, Fergal Keane, David Dimbleby and Sophie Raworth, beginning at 8 a.m. BST; Martha Kearney will lead radio coverage. BBC World Service English will carry the events to radio stations around the world. The broadcaster’s iPlayer service will stream the events as well.

Fox News will begin live coverage at 4 a.m. Eastern with anchor Martha MacCallum and hosts Ainsley Earhardt and Piers Morgan reporting from London.

The app, website and YouTube channel for the British news outlet Sky News will also broadcast the proceedings, beginning at 5 a.m. BST and ending at 11 p.m.

Sirius XM radio will broadcast several outlets’ coverage, including from BBC World Service (Channel 120), CNN (116), Fox News (Channel 114), MSNBC (Channel 118) and NPR (Channel 122). Local member stations will also carry NPR’s coverage.

Daily life in Britain is expected to largely pause Monday in honor of the queen. The day will be a public holiday, with some hospitals rescheduling non-urgent surgeries, and sporting and cultural events changing their plans. Some flight schedules at London’s Heathrow Airport will be changed to limit noise during the funeral.

The proceedings follow four days of people waiting in miles-long lines, snaking through central London, to pay their respects to the queen. “The Queue,” as Britons quickly dubbed it, had been managed with stewards, wristbands and toilets along the way. It got so long that authorities on Friday temporarily stopped people from joining it.

Where will Queen Elizabeth II be buried?

The queen’s final resting place will be at Windsor Castle, near London. She will be buried next to her husband, Prince Philip, at St. George’s Chapel.

After the queen died Sept. 8 at Balmoral Castle, a royal estate in Scotland, her body was flown to London via Royal Air Force. A procession transported her from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, where for four days she lay at rest, which is akin to lying in state.

On Monday morning, the queen will be transported to Westminster Abbey for the funeral. Her coffin will later travel in a procession to Wellington Arch and then to St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. A committal service will take place in the chapel.

Who will attend the queen’s funeral?

Hundreds of world leaders, including presidents, prime ministers and fellow monarchs, are expected to attend, complicating the landscape for security officials trying to keep them safe. President Biden and first lady Jill Biden have accepted invitations to be there.

Among the other leaders expected to be present are New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and Japanese Emperor Naruhito.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will be notably absent, according to state-run media. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russians respected the queen for her wisdom and global authority but that the Kremlin was “not considering” sending Putin to the funeral. The Russian leader has a tense relationship with the West and has drawn intense criticism and economic sanctions since his invasion of Ukraine began in February.


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