St George's Chapel: Inside the Windsor building where the Queen will be laid to rest
A look inside St George's Chapel.
The Queen will be laid to rest in St George's Chapel later today (Monday 19 September) following a large state funeral at Westminster Abbey.
The chapel will host a committal and burial service, when she will join her husband, Prince Philip, and her parents in Windsor's royal vaults.
Around 800 people are expected to attend the committal at around 4pm, including members of the Queen’s Household and Windsor estate staff.
Her Majesty's coffin will be driven from London to Windsor in the state hearse and make its way up the Long Walk, which will be lined with members of the armed forces.
On each side of the Chapel are carved stalls of the Knights and Ladies of the Garter, built in the 1400s.
Banners of current members of the Garter hang above the stalls, as well as the coats of arms of more than 700 former members.
The building, which is of Gothic design, is said to be one of the best of its kind in country and has undergone many tweaks by monarchs gone by.
The Queen was known to visit St George's on days such as Christmas Day and Easter.
The majority of those attending St George’s Chapel will not have been at the funeral service in Westminster Abbey.
Many of the household and private estate staff spent years working for and supporting the late monarch, with the committal service a chance to pay their last respects.
Prayers will be said by the Rector of Sandringham, the Minister of Crathie Kirk, the Chaplain of Windsor Great Park, and the Dean of Windsor.
The state hearse will approach the castle through Shaw Farm Gate on Windsor’s Albert Road, moving via the Long Walk, Cambridge Gate, Cambridge Drive, George IV Gate, Quadrangle (south and west sides), Engine Court, Norman Arch, Chapel Hill, Parade Ground and Horseshoe Cloister Arch.
During the service, which will be conducted by Dean of Windsor David Conner, the Imperial State Crown, the orb and the sceptre will be lifted from the Queen’s coffin by the Crown Jeweller, separating the Queen from her crown for the final time.
With the help of the Bargemaster and a Serjeant of Arms, the Crown Jewels will be passed to the dean who will place them on the High Altar.
At the end of the last hymn, the King will step forward and place the Grenadier Guards’ Queen’s Company Camp Colour – a smaller version of the Royal Standard of the Regiment – on the coffin.
Only one Royal Standard of the Regiment is presented during a monarch’s reign, and it served as the Queen’s Company Colour throughout her lifetime.
At the same time, former MI5 spy chief Baron Parker – the Lord Chamberlain and the most senior official in the late Queen’s royal household – will “break” his Wand of Office and place it on the coffin.
The ceremonial breaking of the white staff signifies the end of his service to the Queen as sovereign.