Queen's funeral details confirmed on momentous day as King Charles III official named new monarch

Further details of the The Queen’s state funeral in Westminster Abbey on September 19 have been revealed after a momentous day which began with Charles being officially named the new monarch and saw royals greet well-wishers across the country.

A Bank Holiday has been confirmed for the day of the funeral with schools also likely close.

The plans unveiled on Saturday include a four-day lying in state at Westminster Hall from September 14.

The Queen’s oak coffin – which has been lying at rest in the Ballroom at Balmoral Castle covered in a Royal Standard of Scotland with a wreath of flowers on top – will be taken by road to the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh on Sunday, on a slow six-hour journey by hearse, to allow mourners gathered in the towns and villages to pay their respects.

The funeral will take place on Monday, 19 September

On Monday, the coffin, which will be at rest in the Throne Room, will be taken from Holyroodhouse in procession along the Royal Mile to St Giles’s Cathedral, before being taken by air by RAF plane to London on Tuesday.

The Queen will lie in state for “four clear days” in Westminster Hall, arriving there in the afternoon of September 14, until 6.30am on the morning of her funeral, a senior palace official said.

A spokesman for the King said the monarch’s main focus will be leading the royal family and nation in mourning over the coming days.

King Charles III paid tribute to the reign of the late Queen, “unequalled in its duration, its dedication and its devotion”, as he was formally declared the nation’s new monarch.

During a poignant and sombre meeting of the Accession Council, the King spoke movingly about his mother and the grief his family is experiencing, but said the “sympathy expressed by so many to my sister and brothers” had been the “greatest consolation”.

Watched by the Queen, the new Prince of Wales and more than 200 privy counsellors – including six former prime ministers – the King pledged himself to the task now before him and the “heavy responsibilities of Sovereignty”.

The Prince of Wales later paid his own, moving tribute to his grandmother, saying it would be “some time” before her loss “will truly feel real”.

He also said his children would have “memories that will last their whole lives” from their time spent with the Queen, adding he would “honour her memory” through supporting his father, the King.

William said: “On Thursday, the world lost an extraordinary leader, whose commitment to the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth was absolute. So much will be said in the days ahead about the meaning of her historic reign.

“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. My wife has had twenty years of her guidance and support. My three children have got to spend holidays with her and create memories that will last their whole lives.

“She was by my side at my happiest moments. And she was by my side during the saddest days of my life. I knew this day would come, but it will be some time before the reality of life without Grannie will truly feel real.”

The Earl Marshal, who has overall responsibility for delivering the funeral, said it would be chance to repay a heartfelt debt by carrying out the Queen’s last wishes.

He described how he and colleagues from within the Royal Household, the Armed Forces, the Police, and other institutions of Church and State would be carrying out their duties over the coming days with “heaviest of hearts” but with “the firmest of resolve to ensure a fitting farewell to one of the defining figures of our times”.

The duke added: “While His Majesty The King was speaking about his family, I think it applies to us all when he said in his broadcast yesterday that ‘We owe her the most heartfelt debt’.

“I think we can, in some way, repay that debt by carrying out her last wishes in delivering Her Majesty The Queen’s funeral.

After the coffin moves on Sunday, it will rest in the Throne Room at Holyroodhouse until the afternoon of Monday.

It will then travel in a procession to St Giles’ Cathedral, along the Royal Mile with the King and other key royals following behind on foot, and Camilla, now Queen Consort, and other royals following by car.

The people of Scotland will be able to pay their respects when the coffin lies at rest for 24 hours in St Giles’ guarded by Vigils from The Royal Company of Archers, in what will be seen as a mini lying in state.

Continuous Vigils will be kept, including one by the King and members of the royal family at 7.20pm.

When the Queen’s coffin is flown to London by RAF aircraft to RAF Northolt on Tuesday evening, it will be accompanied by the late monarch’s only daughter the Princess Royal, before being moved to rest at Buckingham Palace’s Bow Room.

A procession on September 14 will see the coffin, adorned with the Imperial State Crown, be transported on a gun carriage of The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster ready for the Lying in State in Westminster Hall.

The King, members of the royal family and senior staff of the late Queen and King’s households will walk slowly behind in a dignified silence without music in a route that will take 38 minutes.

Buckingham Palace declined to give details of which royals would join the procession, but it will undoubtedly be senior royals including the Queen’s children, as well as the Prince of Wales.

A palace official described it as a silent procession with no music playing, which would be “relatively small and personal” compared to vast ceremonial procession for the state funeral on the Monday.

After the coffin arrives at Westminster Hall, the Archbishop of Canterbury will conduct a short service attended by the King and other royals, after which the lying-in-state will begin.

On the morning of the funeral, the coffin will be taken in a grand military procession from the Palace of Westminster to Westminster Abbey for the state funeral, and afterwards taken by state hearse for a committal service.