VIPs, dignitaries and mourners are gathering in the capital to say a final farewell to the late monarch, who died at Balmoral in Scotland on September 8 aged 96.
8.28am
A car registered to the German embassy has arrived at the security cordon around the Royal Hospital Chelsea as world leaders continue to meet before travelling to Westminster Abbey.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is understood to be attending the Queen’s funeral.
Other delegations to have arrived recently include Slovenia, Croatia, Nigeria and Malawi.
8.25am
Crowds are starting to grow in the capital amid final preparations for the Queen’s funeral, with proceedings set to start at 10.44am.
8.18am
A car registered to the Irish embassy was among a group of diplomatic cars to arrive in Chelsea with a police motorbike escort.
Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin is one of the dignitaries expected to attend the funeral.
Pranav Bhanot and Nancy O’Neill arrived at Westminster Abbey just after 8am.
A long-serving nurse, Ms O’Neill was recognised for her efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mr Bhanot, from Chigwell in Essex, helped deliver 1,200 free meals during the pandemic.
Both are attending the funeral after being named in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.
8.11am
The doors of Westminster Abbey opened at 8am, ahead of the arrival of the first mourners for the Queen’s funeral.
The King’s Guards trooped through the Abbey’s gates, with two soldiers stationed at the metal gates awaiting the start of proceedings.
7.58am
The world’s media has gathered outside Westminster Abbey ahead of the Queen’s funeral later this morning.
Access in and around central London is tightly controlled as TV and radio crews prepare to broadcast to millions if not billions of people around the world.
A massive scaffold has been erected in front of the Abbey for the media, awaiting the first members of the congregation, who are expected to arrive after 8am.
We come together to give thanks for a long life, lived in service to her people and her Saviour, Jesus Christ.
— Archbishop of Canterbury (@JustinWelby) September 19, 2022
7.50am
Police officers prepare on The Mall in London ahead of the Queen’s state funeral:
Members of the armed services walking down Horseferry Road to get into position:
7.47am
Shortly after 7.30am, dignitaries began to arrive at the Royal Hospital in diplomatic cars with dark windows.
The first vehicle to cross the police cordon was registered to Sudan.
Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Sudan’s military leader, is expected to attend the Queen’s funeral.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) September 19, 2022
7.45am
Chrissy Heerey, the last person to see the Queen lying in state, visited the coffin in Westminster Hall twice.
After first queuing at 5.15pm on Sunday and going through the hall at 1.15am, she rejoined the queue at 2.30am.
She said: “(I wanted to go the second time) because it’s so quick and it’s so momentous. I didn’t feel as though I’d done it justice.
“There were a lot of people (inside Westminster Hall) but everybody was very solemn, everybody was very respectful.
“Everybody gave each other room so they could have that final moment.”
7.38am
NHS medic and author Dr Amir Khan said people may not just be mourning the late monarch today – which could bring back painful memories.
A day of reflection
A day that will be difficult for many who have lost their own loved ones ❤️
Grief is the price we pay for love, however you’re feeling, know you’re not alone#queensfuneral #QueenElizabethII pic.twitter.com/x1ACKWh97d
— Dr Amir Khan GP (@DrAmirKhanGP) September 19, 2022
7.32am
Early on Monday morning, police officers formed a ring of security, blocking off streets surrounding the Royal Hospital Chelsea where foreign heads of state are due to gather to be transported in buses to Westminster Abbey.
The home of the Chelsea pensioners was cut off to the public by uniformed officers and security barriers ahead of the dignitaries’ arrival.
Photographers, television cameras and journalists gathered on the edge of the security ring hoping to catch sight of the bus convoy.
— Autumn Brewington (@Autumnsan1) September 19, 2022
7.31am
Mourners have complained that they were given “false hope” they would be able to attend the Queen’s lying-in-state after queuing through the night without wristbands.
Pauline Pearce, who queued in central London for seven hours, said “constant misinformation” was given to those in the queue.
Ms Pearce, who was dubbed the “Hackney heroine” after she was filmed confronting rioters in 2011, said: “All of us have felt angry today.”
“We were sent from one point to another and living off the false hope that they might let us in. At one point they said they were going to open the gates, then suddenly they didn’t. There was no empathy at all from the organisers.”
Fiona Harper, 60, said organisation of the last night of queuing was characterised by “inaptitude” with confusion about where wristbands were to be handed out.
Ms Harper said: “The problem was that we were all lead to believe that you picked up your wristband at the end of the queue. So, we were querying for an hour and a half before they told us there were no more wristbands.”
7.25am
The second last person to see the Queen lying in state was Sima Mansouri, 55, originally from Iran, who lives in South Croydon, London.
Her love for the Queen dates back to the 1970s, when her cousin was a flower girl for a royal visit in Tehran.
Ms Mansouri said: “It was a boiling hot day and my poor cousin has got very fair skin, blonde hair and blue eyes.
“The Queen came out of her plane and was more concerned with my cousin burning in the sun than being a royal.”
“She said, ‘Can someone please get this little girl out of the sun?’ Then she kissed her and grabbed the flowers.
“I thought it was amazing.”
7.16am
All railway lines between Slough and Paddington are blocked due to damage to overhead electric wires, Great Western Railway (GWR) said.
This is disrupting journeys for mourners attempting to travel to London for the Queen’s funeral from Reading or Heathrow Airport.
Services run by GWR, Heathrow Express and the Elizabeth line are affected.
⚠️Train services running to or from these stations will be cancelled or delayed by up to 90 minutes.
⚠️Disruption is expected until 10:00
⚠️Check your journey at https://t.co/U53eoQQs6C
— GWR (@GWRHelp) September 19, 2022
The lines between Reading and Newbury are also closed due to a person being hit by a train.
This is causing GWR trains to be diverted, delaying journeys to the capital.
7.12am
The last person leaving the Queen’s lying in state at Westminster Hall was Chrissy Heerey, a serving member of the RAF from Melton Mowbray.
She said: “It felt like a real privilege to do that.
“I’d already been round once, I went in at 1.15 this morning.
“It’s one of the highlights of my life and I feel very privileged to be here.”
7.10am
With the lying in state coming to an end, the Queen has finished her final duty in Parliament – an institute she visited frequently during her 70-year reign.
She delivered her first Queen’s Speech at the State Opening of Parliament on November 4 1952.
As monarch she only missed three state openings – in 1959 and 1963 when she was pregnant with Andrew, the future Duke of York and Edward, who would become Earl of Wessex and then in May this year as her health faltered.
On that occasion the then-Prince of Wales opened Parliament, a role which will be his by right from now on as King.
6.48am
Prince George and Princess Charlotte will attend the Queen’s state funeral, the order of service has shown.
6.45am
The last people who queued through the night to witness the lying in state left Westminster Hall at 6.30am.
Members of parliamentary staff then followed, with Black Rod Sarah Clarke, 56, the last to walk past the coffin.
6.33am
The Queen’s lying in state at Westminster Hall has ended.
6.11am
Mourners who queued for hours through the night without wristbands have vented their frustrations at police after being turned away from the Queen’s lying-in-state.
Dozens of mourners were prevented in the early hours of Monday from advancing any closer to Westminster Hall by police at the entrance to Victoria Tower Gardens next to Lambeth Bridge.
Albert, who joined the queue without a wristband at 10pm last night, was one of those not allowed into Westminster.
He said the Government’s official live feed was not kept up-to-date with information that no more wristbands would be given out.
“The communication has been terrible,” said Albert after queuing in central London for over six hours.
He added: “There were loads of people who joined the official queue based on the website, but never received wristbands.”
“And in the queue they didn’t give us any information – just to be disrespectful to us when we got here (Lambeth Bridge) in the end.“
6.08am
Hundreds of people are still streaming out of Westminster Hall after seeing the Queen lying in state.
They are among the final people to see the Queen’s coffin, with the lying in state expected to finish at 6.30am.
They have been waiting for hours, with the queue closing after 10.30pm on Sunday.
6.05am
How to watch on television
The BBC’s special programming will air from 8am until 5pm on BBC One and iPlayer, with BSL signed coverage on BBC Two.
ITV’s programming will start at 9.30am, and all the day’s programming – from 6am to midnight – will be broadcast simultaneously on the main channel and five digital channels and the ITV Hub, the first time the broadcaster has done so.
6am
The Queen’s funeral service will be conducted by the Dean of Westminster, with the sermon given by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The Prime Minister and the Secretary General of the Commonwealth will read lessons, while the Archbishop of York, the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and the Free Churches Moderator will say prayers.
Towards the end of the service, the Last Post will sound, followed by two minutes of silence to be observed in the abbey and around the UK.
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