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Adam May & Aaron Morris

Royal guard collapses face first to ground after fainting at Queen Elizabeth II's state funeral

A Queen's guard fell face first to the ground after fainting during today's state funeral.

It happened just after Her Majesty's body had been taken from Westminster Abbey to St George's Chapel, before being laid to rest.

Following the official state service in Westminster which began this morning, the late monarch's coffin was marched by gun carriage to Wellington Arch at Hyde Park.

Read more: Queen Elizabeth II's reign comes to an end with crown removal and wand breaking ritual

The Mirror reports that from there, the coffin was transferred and moved to the royal hearse, before departing the capital one final time and making haste for the Long Walk - where thousands of mourners had congregated. The Queen's long journey to her final place of rest - where she will be reunited with her mother, father King George VI, and husband Prince Philip - began at Balmoral Castle on the day of her death.

It ended with her interment at the castle's St George's Chapel in a private ceremony.

A policeman who had fainted is carried on a stretcher during the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey (Getty Images)

The UK's longest-ever reigning monarch's hearse was strewn with flowers across its roof and windscreen, and at the outskirts of Windsor, a procession was formed. This features soldiers on foot from the Household Cavalry's Blues and Royals, as well as Life Guards, with mounted members of the Household Cavalry regiment.

As the state hearse carrying the Queen's coffin turned onto the famous thoroughfare, there were loud cheers from those who gathered. Among those to be invited to the committal service in Windsor, were prime ministers from sovereign countries, and former British PMs such as Sir John Major, and Sir Tony Blair - both of whom are Garter Knights.

So too were an abundance of the Queen's staff, who worked closely with the late monarch throughout her 70-year reign. Earlier in the day, as the sun shone down across the English capital, a police officer fainted while on duty and was carries away on a stretcher during the event.

The officer collapsed shortly before the procession walked down the Mall, falling forward near Parliament Square. Medics subsequently rushed to his aid before taking him away on a stretcher, just minutes before the Queen's coffin came through.

His condition at present remains unconfirmed, although it is not thought to be serious. A soldier also collapsed, and at least two other military members were helped away at the end of the coffin procession. Each of which required assistance after getting into difficulty at Wellington Arch, where the monarch's coffin was transferred from a gun carriage to the state hearse.

One soldier collapsed to the ground after the Queen departed, while to others were seen being helped away both before and after the transferring of the casket.

A Royal guard also fainted and fell off the podium where he was protecting the Queen's coffin on Thursday as she lied in state, and there were audible gasps from mourners as he fell to the ground. Hundreds of people needed medical attention while queuing to see the Queen Elizabeth II lying-in-state on Saturday, with St John's Ambulance Service confirming at least 259 people received help from their staff.

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