A final goodbye. The royal family paid their respects to Queen Elizabeth II during an emotional funeral on Monday, September 19.
The event began with a short procession to Westminster Abbey from Westminster Hall, where the late monarch had been lying in state since Wednesday, September 14. King Charles III and his siblings — Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward — led the procession alongside three of the queen’s grandchildren: Prince William, Prince Harry and Peter Phillips.
After the service at Westminster Abbey, the royal family participated in a procession from the church to Wellington Arch, where the coffin was loaded into a hearse to be taken to Windsor Castle. The queen will be buried on the grounds at the King George VI Memorial Chapel alongside her late husband, Prince Philip, who died at age 99 in April 2021. The Duke of Edinburgh was previously interred in the Royal Vault at Windsor’s St George’s Chapel, but his was body was moved to its final resting place ahead of the queen’s funeral so that he could be buried beside his wife of 73 years.
Elizabeth died at age 96 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8. Buckingham Palace announced the news hours after revealing that she had been placed under medical supervision and was “comfortable” at her estate.
The queen’s funeral capped off a week of tributes across the United Kingdom. On September 12, her coffin was moved from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh. It was then flown to London, where it was taken to Buckingham Palace.
On September 14, the coffin was moved from the palace to Westminster Hall, where it stayed until the funeral on Monday. Charles and his siblings followed the hearse bearing the casket in a procession to Westminster.
The queen’s children were followed by her grandsons the Prince of Wales, 40, and the Duke of Sussex, 38, whose presence echoed their participation in Princess Diana‘s funeral 25 years earlier. The Duke of Cornwall and his younger brother were 15 and 12, respectively, when their mother died at age 36 in a car crash in Paris.
“This is such an intensely difficult time for the princes,” an insider exclusively told Us Weekly earlier this month. “They both adored their grandma and it will take some time to process the reality of her passing.”
The brothers both remembered their grandmother in emotional statements shared after her passing. “So much will be said in the days ahead about the meaning of her historic reign,” the Duke of Cambridge said on September 10. “I, however, have lost a grandmother. And while I will grieve her loss, I also feel incredibly grateful. I have had the benefit of the queen’s wisdom and reassurance into my fifth decade.”
Harry, for his part, reflected on Elizabeth’s “everlasting legacy” in a tribute shared on September 12. “Granny, while this final parting brings us great sadness, I am forever grateful for all of our first meetings — from my earliest childhood memories with you, to meeting you for the first time as my commander in chief, to the first moment you met my darling wife and hugged your beloved great-grandchildren,” the BetterUp CIO wrote. “I cherish these times shared with you, and the many other special moments in between.”
Keep scrolling for all the emotional photos from the queen’s funeral.
