Queen Elizabeth II will be farewelled on Monday in the UK’s first state funeral since Winston Churchill’s in 1965.
Thousands of people have already travelled to London to show their respects and thousands more are expected to line the city’s streets to watch the procession, while others will gather in more than 20 cathedrals around the UK streaming the service.
In Australia, the funeral will be broadcast on most major news channels.
What will happen today?
The Queen’s coffin has been lying in state at Westminster Hall since 5pm Wednesday, after making the journey from Balmoral Castle in Scotland.
Thousands have queued for up to 14 hours at a stretch for a chance to pay their respects. At 6.30am London time (3.30pm AEST), the final members of the public will be admitted to see the Queen’s coffin and the lying in state period will come to an end.
At 10.44am local time (7.44pm AEST), the Queen’s coffin will leave Westminster Hall and make the eight-minute journey to Westminster Abbey in the state gun carriage of the Royal Navy, previously used for the funerals of King Edward VII, King George V, King George VI and Sir Winston Churchill. It will be drawn by 142 Royal Navy ratings. The procession will be led by the pipers and drummers of the Scottish and Irish Regiments, the Brigade of Gurkhas and the Royal Air Force – about 200 musicians. King Charles III and members of the royal family will follow behind.
At 11am UK time (8pm AEST) the funeral service will begin.
The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, will be among the 2,000 people to attend the funeral. The service will be conducted by the Dean of Westminster, David Hoyle, with scripture passages read by the UK prime minister, Liz Truss, and the secretary general of the Commonwealth, Patricia Scotland. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, will give a sermon.
The service will wrap with a two-minute silence at 11.55am (8.55pm AEST) and Reville, the national anthem, and a lament by the Queen’s Piper will be played, ending the service at 12pm (9pm AEST).
At 12.15pm (9.15pm AEST) a procession will carry the Queen’s coffin out of Westminster Abbey, through London, past Buckingham Palace to Wellington Arch, where it will be transferred to a hearse. The hearse will reach Windsor at 3pm (12am AEST) and join a procession to St George’s Chapel, where a smaller committal service will be held to lower the coffin into the royal vault. That service will be attended by about 800 people.
A private burial service will be held in the King George IV Memorial Chapel at Windsor with just the royal family in attendance, at 7.30pm. The Queen will be buried with her late husband, Prince Philip.
How can you watch the funeral in Australia
Guardian Australia will begin its rolling coverage at 1pm, AEST. You will be able to follow along at theguardian.com/au.
Channel Seven will begin its broadcast of the funeral at 12pm, break for news from 6pm to 7pm, and then return to the funeral broadcast from 7pm to 12am.
Nine News will begin its broadcast at 3pm, break for news from 6pm to 7pm, then continue the funeral coverage from 7pm to 1am.
The ABC will begin its live coverage from 4pm, switching at 5pm to the BBC’s coverage of official dignitaries arriving. It will then broadcast the BBC’s coverage of the funeral itself, which will begin at 8pm.
10 Bold will cover the funeral from 8pm to 10pm.
