Elizabeth II, her unprecedented state funeral in 70 years: D+10 day arrives

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The UK and the world bid farewell to the queen of queens. Wesminster Abbey and Windsor Castle are the last stages of this national duel, after ten days of tributes. The D+10 day of the London Bridge operation has arrived.

State funeral in memory of Isabel II and the subsequent burial of the late queen will symbolize the last goodbye of the United Kingdom to what has been its highest institution since 1952. The Elizabethan era will have its definitive end with this funeral after the massive attendance at the funeral chapel in the Palace of Westminster and in an armored city. The Royal House has shared what is the last portrait of the sovereign.

Elizabeth II died on September 8 at her castle in Balmoral (Scotland), after her health had suffered in recent months and just two days after appointing conservative Liz Truss as prime minister. The meeting between the two was the last public image of the queen.

70 years had passed since the death of the previous king, George VI, and although most of the citizens did not experience the splendor of that time, the Government and the Royal House had a detailed protocol that determined what to do in the ten days after the death of Elizabeth II.

Neither the government, led by Trussnor the new king, Charles IIIhave left the script, which has allowed the monarch to tour all the territories that make up the United Kingdom and establish in an organized way the transfer of the remains of Elizabeth II, first to Edinburgh and then to London.

The protocol concludes on the tenth day with a state funeral that starts this Monday, September 19, once the funeral chapel has been closed, enabled since last Wednesday at the headquarters of Parliament.

Members of the royal guard are expected to pick up the coffin again to move it, again aboard a gun carriage, to Westminster Abbey, at the start of a brief funeral procession.

Behind the coffin, King Charles III and other members of the royal family will advance on foot, as happened on Wednesday with the transfer of the coffin from Buckingham Palace to Westminster and, previously, in the Scottish capital.

The procession will conclude at 10:52 am, at which time the procession will enter Westminster Abbey, where all the guests will already be present. Some 2,000 people are expected to attend.

Kings Felipe and Letizia attend, the emeritus, Don Juan Carlos and Doña Sofíaas well as all the European royal houses and leaders of the Commonwealth and other countries that feel close to the United Kingdom, for example the United States Joe Biden or the French Emmanuel Macron. Representing the EU will be the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

The distribution of invitations has corresponded to the British Government, which has reserved the right to veto certain countries based on political criteria. Russia, Belarus, Burma, Afghanistan, Venezuela and Syria cannot attend, while countries like Iran or North Korea will be able to send someone, but at the Embassy level. The guest list has not been made public for security reasons.

The choice of Westminster Abbey as the setting for the funeral is already a symbol in itself, since the temple has not hosted an act of this type since 1760, after the death of George II. Elizabeth II herself would have chosen this abbey, which had already witnessed her wedding and her coronation, to facilitate massive attendance.

The funeral of Elizabeth II’s husband, Prince Philip, was held at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor, in an intimate setting, although a subsequent mass was organized at Westminster Abbey, attended by the then-queen. The image of her alone due to the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic went around the world.

Yes, the funerals of the mother of Elizabeth II, in 2002, and of Princess Diana, in 1997, were held in Westminster, despite the fact that the latter was no longer married to the now king at that time.

The funeral of Elizabeth II will conclude with two minutes of silence that are extended to the entire country, as a last act before a new funeral procession begins at the exit of Westminster Abbey. Members of the royal family will again accompany the coffin, this time to Wellington Arch, where the hearse will be waiting.

After 3:00 p.m., the convoy will arrive in Windsor and, shortly before 4:00 p.m., the coffin with the remains of Elizabeth II will be lifted again to introduce it in the chapel of St. George. The dean of Windsor will officiate a religious service, in the presence of some 800 people.

The burial will take place at 7:30 p.m. and the Government has specified that it will be a private ceremony. The remains of Elizabeth II will rest next to those of her husband, Prince Philip, who died in April 2021 and was initially buried in a provisional grave pending the death of the queen.

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