Queen Elizabeth II's state funeral starts at Westminster Abbey

Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral has begun at Westminster Abbey following the procession of her coffin led by royal family members, including King Charles III, reports Anadolu Agency.

The British capital London is hosting the biggest funeral ceremony globally in decades as the queen is being laid to rest on Monday, 10 days after her death in Balmoral estate in Scotland.

A short procession brought the coffin from the Westminster Hall in the Palace of Westminster to the Westminster Abbey, where the service is being held after the arrival of Charles and Queen Consort Camilla.

People gather on the outside lawns of St.George Chapel at Windsor Castle as they wait for the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II to arrive on September 19, 2022 in Windsor, England [Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu Agency]

People gather on the outside lawns of St.George Chapel at Windsor Castle as they wait for the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II to arrive on September 19, 2022 in Windsor, England [Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu Agency]

Police outrider on a quiet Oxford Street and Regents Street in central London, United Kingdom on September 19, 2022 [Dinendra Haria/Anadolu Agency]

Last visitors into London Queen’s lying-in-state at Westminster Hall, in London, United Kingdom on September 19, 2022 [Lorena Sopena/Anadolu Agency]

Last visitors into London Queen’s lying-in-state at Westminster Hall, in London, United Kingdom on September 19, 2022 [Lorena Sopena/Anadolu Agency]

The service sees the attendance of other royal family members, as well as around 100 heads of state, including US President Joe Biden, and more than 20 royals and many representatives from 200 countries.

A two-minute silence will be observed in the abbey and throughout the UK at the end of the sermon by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.

Following the service, a huge procession will take the coffin from the abbey to the Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner via Parliament Square, White Hall, Horse Guard Road, The Mall, and Green Park.

The state funeral is expected to attract hundreds of thousands of people to central London and it will be broadcast live on television and on big screens installed in Hyde Park.

There will be unprecedented security measures in and around the parliament building, Westminster Abbey, the procession routes, and across other roads leading to central London.

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