London
CNN
—
A two-minute nationwide silence will be held shortly before the state funeral service for Queen Elizabeth II concludes on Monday, palace officials have revealed.
Buckingham Palace also said that Queen Elizabeth II’s children would mount a vigil around her coffin on Friday evening, similar to their guard in St. Giles’ Cathedral in Scotland earlier this week.
King Charles III will be joined by Princess Anne and Princes Andrew and Edward around the coffin, which is currently lying in state within Westminster Hall in London.
The palace also revealed the King will host a reception for visiting heads of state at Buckingham Palace on Sunday, ahead of the state funeral.
The Queen died a week ago aged 96 at her country home of Balmoral Castle in Scotland.
The palace outlined what to expect during Monday’s ceremonial events for the late monarch in a briefing Thursday.
On the day of the funeral at around 10:35 a.m. (5:35 a.m. ET), the coffin will be lifted from the catafalque where it has been resting by a bearer party founded by the Queen’s Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, and carried in procession from the hall to the State Gun Carriage of the Royal Navy, a senior palace official said.
The gun carriage has also been used for the funerals of previous monarchs, including those of King Edward VII, King George V, King George VI. It was also used for the funerals of the Queen’s first prime minister, Winston Churchill, and her cousin, Lord Louis Mountbatten.
In keeping with previous tradition, the gun carriage will set off at 10:44 a.m. (5:44 a.m. ET) and be drawn by 142 Royal Naval Ratings, who are service personnel, according to the senior palace official.
It will then process on the short journey from New Palace Yard to Westminster Abbey, which will be lined by the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. The procession will be led by a massed Pipes & Drums of Scottish and Irish Regiments, the Brigade of Gurkhas, and the Royal Air Force with musicians numbering 200 in total.
The King, royal family members, and members of both households of the monarch and Prince of Wales will follow directly behind the coffin.
For the journey, the coffin will be flanked by the bearer party, pallbearers founded from Service Equerries to the Queen, in addition to detachments of The King’s Body Guards of The Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms, The Yeomen of the Guard and the Royal Company of Archers.
The service will be conducted by the Rev. David Hoyle, the Dean of Westminster at Westminster Abbey, starting at 11 a.m. (6 a.m. ET).
UK Prime Minister Liz Truss and Patricia Scotland, the Commonwealth Secretary General, will read lessons. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, will deliver a sermon.
Towards the end of the service, at around 11:55 a.m. (6:55 a.m. ET), the Last Post will sound before the two-minute silence is observed.
The state funeral will be brought to a conclusion by the Queen’s Piper, who at noon (7 a.m. ET) will play a Reveille, the National Anthem and a Lament.
This is a developing story – more to come