Two-minute silence and piper's lament draws Queen's funeral to an end
The funeral service for HM the Queen, the UK's longest serving monarch, has concluded at Westminster Abbey with a lament played by The Sovereign’s piper.
The 2,000 or so attendees, led by King Charles and other members of the Royal Family, observed a two-minute period of silence that was mirrored across the UK, before singing the national anthem.
State trumpeters from the Household Cavalry sounded the Last Post following the Archbishop of Canterbury’s commendation over the Queen’s coffin and a blessing pronounced by the Dean.
The lament then echoed around the abbey before the coffin was carried from outside, for the short journey to Wellington Arch, followed by the Royal Family.
The emotion of the occasion showed on the faces of the King and Queen Consort as they followed the coffin from Westminster Abbey. The Duke of York was seen to bow his head.
The crowds lining the route were largely still and quiet. Minute Guns were being fired in Hyde Park by The King’s Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, as Big Ben tolled throughout the duration the procession.
Watch ITV's special live coverage of the funeral of HM The Queen
The Queen’s coffin procession passed Buckingham Palace, with members of the public lining The Mall breaking out into a round of applause as the State Gun Carriage moved by.
The King’s Guard turned out in the forecourt of the Palace to give a salute to the coffin at the Queen Victoria Monument.
The Royal Family, had earlier escorted the coffin to the abbey to honour the life of Queen Elizabeth II, after her death at the age of 96.
The State Gun Carriage - the same that carried her father - transported the coffin to the abbey and was carried inside by the bearer party of Grenadier Guards ahead of the state funeral service.
Mourners who “follow the Queen’s example, and inspiration of trust and faith in God, can with her say: ‘We will meet again’,” the Archbishop of Canterbury has said.
Justin Welby told attendees that grief felt across the world arises from the Queen’s “abundant life and loving service, now gone from us”.
The King was seen reading silently from the Order of Service during the prayers while the Queen Consort, seated to his left, listened intently.
The coffin has been draped in the Royal Standard and carries the Imperial State Crown and a wreath of flowers containing plants from the gardens of Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and Highgrove House.
A note on the coffin read: "In loving and devoted memory, Charles R."
The earlier procession, from Westminster Hall, to the sound of bagpipes and with Big Ben tolling, took around eight minutes.
Leading it was around 200 pipers and drummers of Scottish and Irish Regiments, the Brigade of Gurkhas and RAF.
At the King's request, the wreath contains flowers and foliage cut from the gardens of Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and Highgrove House.
This includes foliage chosen for its symbolism: rosemary for remembrance; myrtle, the ancient symbol of a happy marriage, and cut from a plant that was grown from a sprig of myrtle in Her Late Majesty's wedding bouquet in 1947; And English oak, which symbolises the strength of love.
Also included are: scented pelargoniums; garden roses; autumnal hydrangea; sedum; dahlias; and scabious, all in shades of gold, pink and deep burgundy, with touches of white, to reflect the Royal Standard, on which it sits.
Again at the King's request, the wreath is made in a totally sustainable way, in a nest of English moss and oak branches, and without the use of floral foam.
Walking behind the carriage were the King and his siblings, followed by the Prince of Wales, Duke of Sussex and Peter Phillips.
The King and other royals, including the Princess Royal, the Prince of Wales and the Earl of Wessex were all wearing military uniform.
The Duke of York and the Duke of Sussex, who are no longer working royals, wore suits as they marched behind the carriage.
All looked sombre as they followed the carriage towards Westminster Abbey for the Queen’s state funeral.
Once the service began, the King and the Queen Consort sat in the ornate Canada Club chairs, with Camilla next to the Princess Royal, then Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, then the Duke of York and then the Earl and Countess of Wessex in the front row of the south lantern.
Across the aisle was the Prince of Wales, the Princess of Wales, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, and then Peter Phillips and Zara and Mike Tindall.
Directly behind the King was the Duke of Sussex with the Duchess of Sussex behind the Queen Consort. Meghan was sitting next to Princess Beatrice.
The Queen Consort accompanied the Princess of Wales, together with young Prince George, nine, and his sister Princess Charlotte, seven, to the abbey.
Prince George was reading the order of service during the Archbishop of Canterbury’s sermon, while Princess Charlotte was seen whispering to her mother.
The children will be part of the procession following the Queen's coffin after the service - the late Queen, followed by King Charles, and two heirs to the throne in William and George.
More than 2,000 world leaders, national figures from UK life, and leading individuals attended the Westminster Abbey funeral.
US President Joe Biden and the first lady, Jill, arrived shortly after 10am to take their seats. French President Emmanuel Macron moved slowly through the north lantern towards his seat in the south transept with his wife Brigitte.
Former prime ministers Boris Johnson, David Cameron, Sir John Major, Theresa May, Gordon Brown and Tony Blair were also seen arriving at the abbey. Liz Truss, who met the Queen just a couple of days before her death to be invited as new prime minister to form a government, arrived a short time after.
The Archbishop ended his sermon by telling the congregation: “We will all face the merciful judgment of God: we can all share the Queen’s hope which in life and death inspired her servant leadership.
“Service in life, hope in death. All who follow the Queen’s example, and inspiration of trust and faith in God, can with her say: “We will meet again.”
As thousands upon thousands of onlookers gathered along the route the funeral procession will take following the service, massed pipes, which had departed Wellington Barracks, were heard playing on their way to Westminster Hall.
After the service, the coffin will be taken in procession from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch and then travel to Windsor, where thousands are expected to line the route.
Once there, the hearse will travel in procession to St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle via the Long Walk, after which a televised committal service will take place in St George’s Chapel.
Later in the evening, there will be a private interment service with senior members of the royal family.
The Queen’s final resting place will be the King George VI memorial chapel, an annex to the main chapel – where her mother and father were buried, along with the ashes of her sister, Princess Margaret.
Philip’s coffin will move from the Royal Vault to the memorial chapel to join the Queen’s.
The Queen had been Lying in State inside Westminster Hall since Wednesday. The sombre event came to an end at 6.30am on Monday, with the queue closing to newcomers after 10.30pm on Sunday.
The last member of the public to file past the Queen paused momentarily to bow her head before being led by staff from the hall.
Christina Heerey, a serving member of the RAF from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, said she was very privileged to be the last person. She said it was her second time round - having already joined to the queue to see the coffin at 4.45pm on Sunday, going through at 1.15am on Monday - but she decided to join the back of the queue and go round again.
"Because it went so quick and it was such an amazing experience, I didn't feel I did the Queen justice, so I wanted to go round again," she told Good Morning Britain. "I joined the end of the queue and I remained at the end of the queue because I certainly didn't want to take someone else's place.
"I had a friend who queued for 18 hours and 45 minutes, which shows just how well-loved the Queen was. I shall stay for the rest of the day to see as much as I can," she added.
The last person to walk through the hall was Black Rod, the senior official from the House of Lords, who paused, bowed and then brought the Lying in State to an official close.
Queues for the Lying in State reached a peak of more than 25 hours over the past few days, with mourners waiting overnight and in bracing conditions to pay their personal respects to the monarch.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the way the public had responded to the death and how they conducted themselves queuing to pay their respects had been "incredible".
King Charles III and the Prince of Wales greeted mourners in the queue on Saturday, with several people shouting “God save the King” and “God save the Prince of Wales” as each passed.
The Queen's children and grandchildren mounted vigils by the coffin over the last few days, in heart-rending moments to show their love and grief at the passing of their beloved mother and grandmother.
The King and his siblings - the Princess Royal, Duke of York and the Earl of Wessex - stood silent, motionless and with their heads bowed on Friday evening.
In military uniforms and with their hands clasped in front, the grieving siblings stood for just over ten minutes as people continued to file past the coffin of the Queen, Lying in State at Westminster Hall.
Silence fell over the UK at 8pm on Sunday evening, when the country observed a minute's silence to remember the monarch, with people marking the occasion privately at home, on their doorstep and at community events and vigils.
Big Ben tolled to start the beginning of the national moment of reflection and the bell struck once more at 8.01pm as it ended.
The remarkable life of the Queen remembered in our latest episode of What You Need To Know