Final farewell for longest reigning Queen
Queen Elizabeth II has been publicly farewelled in a service that saw hundreds of thousands of people descend on central London to watch her coffin make its final journey to Westminster Abbey.
Before her coffin was lowered into the vault, a teary-eyed King Charles III placed the colour of the grenadier guards on top and the Lord Chamberlain broke his wand of office and placed it alongside.
The Imperial State Crown, the Orb and the Sceptre were taken off the coffin just moments before, marking a symbolic moment of the Queen being separated from the Crown Jewels.
She was then taken to King George VI Memorial Chapel for a private burial, where she was laid to rest alongside her husband Prince Philip.
The Queen’s coffin was taken from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey, with staff bowing and curtseying outside Buckingham Palace as the procession passed by and thousands of people jamming sidewalks to watch her coffin.
Her coffin was borne by pallbearers and accompanied by King Charles III and other royal family members, including Prince William and Kate, Princess of Wales, their two elder children, and Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.
Hours before her funeral, the queue to see the Queen lying in state at Westminster Hall was closed to the public after many spent cold nights waiting to pay respects to the long-reigning monarch.
The last member of the public to view her coffin was Chrissy Heerey, a serving member of the Roal Air Force.
“It felt like a real privilege to do that,” she said.
Describing her experience of going through Westminster Hall twice that day, Heerey said the experience was “one of the highlights of my life and I feel very privileged to be here”.
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