Britain is mourning the loss of Queen Elizabeth II, who will be remembered with a series of events leading up to her funeral next week. For part of the 10-day period, the queen will lie in state. Here’s how the public will be able to pay their respects at her coffin.
A procession Monday carried Queen Elizabeth’s coffin down the Royal Mile, a thoroughfare through the old city of Edinburgh, to St. Giles’ Cathedral. After a service to celebrate the queen’s life and her connection to Scotland, she will lie in state at the cathedral for 24 hours, offering members of the public their first opportunity to visit and pay their respects in person.
On Tuesday, a Royal Air Force plane will carry the queen’s coffin from Edinburgh to London, where it will rest for a night at Buckingham Palace.
Then from Wednesday, September 14 to the day of the funeral, Monday, September 19, the queen will lie in state at the Palace of Westminster in London, the U.K. government announced.
Ahead of this, a ceremonial procession will take the queen’s coffin from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall. Members of the public can watch this in person along the route or at a screening in London’s Hyde Park. The procession will be broadcast live and live-streamed on the CBS News app.
Once at Westminster, the Archbishop of Canterbury will conduct a short service, and then members of the public will be able to walk past the queen’s coffin to pay their respects. The coffin will be closed and raised on a platform called a catafalque. It will also be draped in the Royal Standard flag. The Orb and Sceptre, which are a part of the Crown Jewels and are used at the monarch’s coronation, will be placed on top.
The coffin will be guarded around the clock. Visitors can file past the coffin 24 hours a day, but those wishing to attend should expect long lines — possibly overnight. They will also have to go through airport-style security to get in.
The visiting will begin at 5 p.m. on Wednesday and end at 6:30 a.m. on September 19, the day of the funeral.
Westminster Hall is where King Charles, the queen’s son and heir, gave a tribute to his late mother — his first address to Parliament as king — on Monday.
The procession to Westminster will travel a route past several London landmarks, including the Queen’s Gardens and Mall outside of Buckingham Palace, the Horse Guards and Parliament Square.
