The United Kingdom and the world bade farewell to Queen Elizabeth II on Monday with a state funeral that drew presidents and kings, princes and prime ministers — and crowds in the streets of London and at Windsor Castle — to honor a monarch whose 70-year reign defined an age.
In a country known for pomp and pageantry, the first state funeral since Winston Churchill’s was filled with spectacle: Before the service, a bell tolled 96 times — once a minute for each year of Elizabeth’s life. Then, 142 Royal Navy sailors used ropes to draw the gun carriage carrying her flag-draped coffin to Westminster Abbey, where pallbearers bore it inside and about 2,000 people ranging from world leaders to health care workers gathered to mourn.
The trappings of state and monarchy abounded: The coffin was draped with the Royal Standard and atop it sat the Imperial State Crown, sparkling with almost 3,000 diamonds, and the sovereign’s orb and sceptre.
The hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II arrives at Windsor castle, Britain, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022. The Queen, who died aged 96 on Sept. 8, will be buried at Windsor alongside her late husband, Prince Philip, who died last year. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, Pool)
Kirsty Wigglesworth
But the personal was also present: The coffin was followed into the church by generations of Elizabeth’s descendants, including King Charles III, heir to the throne Prince William and 9-year-old George, who is second in line. On a wreath atop the coffin, a handwritten note read, “In loving and devoted memory,” and was signed Charles R — for Rex, or king.
“Here, where Queen Elizabeth was married and crowned, we gather from across the nation, from the Commonwealth, and from the nations of the world, to mourn our loss, to remember her long life of selfless service, and in sure confidence to commit her to the mercy of God our maker and redeemer,” the dean of the medieval abbey, David Hoyle, told the mourners.
The service ended with two minutes of silence observed across the United Kingdom, after which the attendees sang the national anthem, now titled “God Save the King.”
The day began early when the doors of Parliament’s 900-year-old Westminster Hall were closed to mourners after hundreds of thousands had filed in front of her coffin.
Members of the royal family attend the Committal Service for Queen Elizabeth II at St George's Chapel, at Windsor Castle, Windsor, England, Monday Sept. 19, 2022. The Queen, who died aged 96 on Sept. 8, will be buried at Windsor alongside her late husband, Prince Philip, who died last year. (Ben Birchall/Pool via AP)
Ben Birchall
Monday was declared a public holiday in honor of Elizabeth, who died Sept. 8 — and hundreds of thousands of people descended on central London to witness history. They jammed sidewalks to watch the coffin wend its way through the streets of the capital after the service. As the procession passed Buckingham Palace, the queen’s official residence in the city, staff stood outside, some bowing and curtseying.
Mark Elliott, 53, who traveled from the Lake District in northern England with his wife and two children to watch the procession, got up at 1:30 a.m. to stake out a good viewing location near the palace.
“I know we don’t know the queen, but she’s been our head of state for 70 years, you feel as though you know her, you feel as though she’s part of the family. It is kind of moving,” he said.
King Charles III, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, from left, follow the hearse with the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II moving towards St. George's Chapel at the Windsor Castle, in Windsor, England, Monday Sept. 19, 2022. The Queen, who died aged 96 on Sept. 8, will be buried at Windsor alongside her late husband, Prince Philip, who died last year. (AP Photo/Jon Super, Pool)
Jon Super
The hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II arrives at Windsor castle, Britain, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022. The Queen, who died aged 96 on Sept. 8, will be buried at Windsor alongside her late husband, Prince Philip, who died last year. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, Pool)
Kirsty Wigglesworth
People watch the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on a screen in Hyde park, London, Monday Sept. 19, 2022. The Queen, who died aged 96 on Sept. 8, will be buried at Windsor alongside her late husband, Prince Philip, who died last year. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
Nariman El-Mofty
The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II is pulled after her funeral service in Westminster Abbey, in central London Monday Sept. 19, 2022. The Queen, who died aged 96 on Sept. 8, will be buried at Windsor alongside her late husband, Prince Philip, who died last year.(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, Pool)
Vadim Ghirda
The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II is carried in a hearse along the Long Walk towards Windsor Castle during her funeral procession in Windsor, England, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022. (Lee Smith/Pool Photo via AP)
LEE SMITH
The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II is carried in a hearse along the Long Walk towards Windsor Castle during her funeral procession in Windsor, England, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022. (Lee Smith/Pool Photo via AP)
LEE SMITH
Members of the royal family follow the coffin during the Committal Service for Queen Elizabeth II at St George's Chapel, at Windsor Castle, Windsor, England, Monday Sept. 19, 2022. The Queen, who died aged 96 on Sept. 8, will be buried at Windsor alongside her late husband, Prince Philip, who died last year. (Ben Birchall/Pool via AP)
Ben Birchall
The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II is carried in a hearse along the Long Walk towards Windsor Castle during her funeral procession in Windsor, England, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022. (Lee Smith/Pool Photo via AP)
LEE SMITH
The hearse carrying the coffin of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II drives through Windsor Castle ahead of the committal service for Queen Elizabeth II at St. George's Chapel, in Windsor, Monday Sept. 19, 2022. (Peter Nicholls/Pool via AP)
Peter Nicholls
Members of the royal family follow the coffin during the Committal Service for Queen Elizabeth II at St George's Chapel, at Windsor Castle, Windsor, England, Monday Sept. 19, 2022. The Queen, who died aged 96 on Sept. 8, will be buried at Windsor alongside her late husband, Prince Philip, who died last year. (Ben Birchall/Pool via AP)
Ben Birchall
A mounted detachment of the Royal Artillery stand guard as the Royal Hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II leaves Wellington Arch, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022, in London, as the funeral procession continues on to Windsor Castle. (Clive Rose/Pool Photo via AP)
Clive Rose
Soldiers from the Grenadier Guards escort the State Hearse as it carries the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the Royal Standard with the Imperial State Crown and the Sovereign's Orb and Sceptre, as the Ceremonial Procession arrives at Windsor Castle, England, for the Committal Service at St George's Chapel, Monday Sept. 19, 2022. (Andrew Matthews/Pool Photo via AP)
Andrew Matthews
The funeral cortege of Queen Elizabeth II borne on the State Gun Carriage of the Royal Navy travels at Wellington Arch in London, Monday Sept. 19, 2022. The Queen, who died aged 96 on Sept. 8, will be buried at Windsor alongside her late husband, Prince Philip, who died last year. (Daniel Leal/Pool Photo via AP)
Daniel Leal
The Ceremonial Procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II on the Long Walk makes its way to Windsor Castle for a committal service at St George's Chapel in, Berkshire, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022. (Beresford Hodge/Pool Photo via AP)
Beresford Hodge
Prince William, Prince Harry and Peter Phillips follow the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II as it is pulled after her funeral service in Westminster Abbey, in central London Monday Sept. 19, 2022. The Queen, who died aged 96 on Sept. 8, will be buried at Windsor alongside her late husband, Prince Philip, who died last year.(AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda, Pool)
Vadim Ghirda
The funeral cortege of Queen Elizabeth II borne on the State Gun Carriage of the Royal Navy travels at Wellington Arch in London, Monday Sept. 19, 2022. The Queen, who died aged 96 on Sept. 8, will be buried at Windsor alongside her late husband, Prince Philip, who died last year. (Daniel Leal/Pool Photo via AP)
Daniel Leal
The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II with the Imperial State Crown resting on top, borne on the State Gun Carriage of the Royal Navy proceeds past Buckingham Palace in London, during the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, Monday Sept. 19, 2022. The Queen, who died aged 96 on Sept. 8, will be buried at Windsor alongside her late husband, Prince Philip, who died last year. (Jenny Goodall/Pool via AP)
Jenny Goodall