Monday, September 19, is set to be an historic day as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is laid to rest in a state funeral. It will be the first state funeral since Sir Winston Churchill's in 1965.
And a huge television audience - likely to set records - is expected to tune in to witness the event. The day will begin at 6.30am as the Queen's coffin ends its four days of lying in state at Westminster Hall.
Funeral coverage will of course dominate the schedules of the main TV channels. BBC, ITV and Sky have outlined their plans for the day, reports the M.E.N.
Heavyweights including Huw Edwards, Kirsty Young and David Dimbleby will be among the presenters who will anchor the BBC's TV coverage of the Queen’s funeral. Its special programming covering the historic day will air from 8am until 5pm on BBC One and iPlayer, with BSL signed coverage on BBC Two.
The coverage will follow the funeral service at Westminster Abbey, the procession escorting the late monarch through London to Wellington Arch and then on to Windsor Castle, and the committal service at St George’s Chapel. Huw Edwards and Fergal Keane will be reporting from London while Kirsty Young and David Dimbleby will be stationed in Windsor.
A number of reporters will lead coverage from other areas, including Sophie Raworth at Parliament Square, Anita Rani at the Long Walk in Windsor and JJ Chalmers at Wellington Barracks. Scottish broadcaster Allan Little will offer a first-hand account from inside Westminster Abbey, while sports radio presenter Eleanor Oldroyd will be inside St George’s Chapel.
Royal correspondent Jonny Dymond will provide analysis and a host of famous faces will also commentate from different points along the procession route, including Naga Munchetty, Ken Bruce, Mishal Husain, Emma Barnett, Clive Myrie and Adele Roberts.
BBC World Service English will broadcast the main events of the procession, the funeral and the committal service. For radio audiences, a special programme presented by Martha Kearney will capture the key events in London and Windsor. The programme will be simulcast on BBC Sounds, and the BBC's plethora of radio stations including the channels for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, will air coverage at various times throughout the day. The two-minute silence during the funeral service will be observed across all live stations.
There will be other programming on BBC later in the day related to the Queen. At 6.15pm a special episode of The One Show, entitled Our Queen Remembered, will air, followed by Paddington 2 at 6.50pm in a nod to the Queen's sketch with the Peruvian bear during her Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
ITV will also provide coverage of the historic events, with Tom Bradby and Julie Etchingham hosting the broadcast. Their programming will start at 9.30am and the broadcasters will be joined by guests and royal experts throughout the day, while other reporters will be staged at key landmarks.
Evening News presenter Mary Nightingale will lead the reporting from Westminster Abbey, while royal editor Chris Ship will be in London and Windsor. Rageh Omaar will be stationed with the armed forces at Wellington Barracks, Nina Hossain will be on the Long Walk in Windsor speaking to people paying their respects, while Charlene White will be with mourners in London.
The coverage will be previewed on Good Morning Britain from 6am and followed by ITV Regional News and an extended Evening News. A documentary chronicling the lead-up to the funeral, titled Queen Elizabeth II: A Nation Remembers, will air at 7.30pm.
There will be a further documentary programme focusing on the day’s events, narrated by ITV News’ James Mates. An extended News at Ten presented by Bradby will follow. All the day’s programming, from 6am to midnight, will be broadcast simultaneously on the main channel and five digital channels and the ITV Hub – the first time the broadcaster has done so.
Sky News will have live coverage throughout the day available for free on Sky News and the Sky News App, YouTube and on Freeview. As Her Majesty’s Lying-in-State draws to an end, Kamali Melbourne will be live from Westminster Abbey with early morning updates from 5am. Kay Burley will take over from 7am, outlining how the day will unfold.
From 9am, Anna Botting and Dermot Murnaghan will begin a special broadcast of the funeral procession, with Anna Botting reporting live from Westminster and then coverage of the State Funeral Service at 11am.
Dermot Murnaghan will be reporting live from Windsor Castle as the procession begins to make its way from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch, before concluding at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle via the Long Walk. Throughout the day, Sky Royal Events Commentator Alastair Bruce will provide analysis of the historic events as they unfold.
Jayne Secker will be live from Windsor Castle at 5pm and Mark Austin will reflect on the day from Buckingham Palace, looking back at the events and key moments at 7pm, ahead of a daily round-up show with Johnathan Samuels at 9pm. Anna Botting will then return to conclude coverage for the day with the News at Ten live from Buckingham Palace.
Kay Burley, Sarah Jane Mee and Gillian Joseph will be in crowds in London and Windsor throughout the day. Sky News said it would provide coverage of the funeral on the Sky News App, website, social channels, to commercial radio networks and on special editions of the Sky News Daily Podcast. Sky News will not carry advertising until after the funeral - returning on Tuesday, September 20.
UK networks continue to adjust their schedules around coverage of the Queen’s death. A continuous livestream of the Queen lying in state at Westminster Hall has been set up by a number of broadcasters, including the BBC and ITV. Thousands have tuned in to watch mourners file solemnly past the coffin to pay their respects.
To pay your own tribute to Queen Elizabeth, click here.
