King leads procession of queen’s coffin through London

London — King Charles, his sons Princes William and Harry and other senior royals joined a solemn procession taking Queen Elizabeth’s coffin as the late monarch made her final journey from Buckingham Palace on Wednesday.

Huge crowds gathered in central London to witness the queen being taken from the palace to parliament as artillery guns fired salutes and Big Ben tolled, the latest in a series of ceremonies  as the nation mourns the queen who died last week aged 96 after seven decades on the throne.

Lying on a gun carriage, covered by the Royal Standard flag and with the Imperial State Crown placed on a cushion on top alongside a wreath of flowers, the coffin bearing Elizabeth’s body was taken in a slow procession from her London home to Westminster Hall. There it will lie in state for four days.

King Charles lead the procession. In a group that followed were princes William and Harry, in a scene reminiscent of when, as boys 25 years ago, they followed the casket of their mother Princess Diana when it was taken on a similar procession through central London.

Guns fired every minute at Hyde Park, while parliament’s famous Big Ben bell also rang at 60-second intervals. The crowds stood in silence as they watched the procession but then broke into spontaneous applause when it passed. Some threw flowers.

A short service followed at Westminster Hall, conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual head of the Anglican Church, as senior politicians watched on. The royals quietly departed, with Harry and Meghan holding hands.

From about 5pm the public will be allowed to file by in a constant stream, 24-hours a day, during four days of lying in state that will continue until the morning of the funeral  on September 19.

President Cyril Ramaphosa will be among global leaders attending the service on Monday. 

People started waiting in line late on Tuesday, sleeping on the street in the rain, to be one of the first to file past the coffin, and there was already a queue about 3km long.

As many as 750,000 mourners are expected to walk through Westminster Hall to pay their final respects. 

The government has warned the queue could stretch for up to 16km along the southern bank of the River Thames, winding past landmarks such as the giant London Eye Ferris wheel and a reconstruction of Shakespeare's Globe theatre.

Culture secretary Michelle Donelan said some people might have to stand in line for as long as 30 hours to file past the coffin before Monday’s funeral.

Speaking to people in the queue, the Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, quipped: “We are honouring two great British traditions, loving the queen and loving a queue.”

In Scotland, about 33,000 people filed past the coffin during the 24 hours it was at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh, but the memorial in London is a much larger occasion.

Royalty, presidents and other world leaders are expected to attend, though no-one from certain nations, such as Russia, Afghanistan, and Syria will be invited.

US President Joe Biden, who has said he would be there, spoke to the new king earlier on Wednesday, the White House said, and “conveyed the great admiration of the American people for the Queen”.

Reuters