Thousands of members of the armed forces from the UK and abroad have taken part in the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II – one of the grandest ceremonial events in living memory.
A procession involving the military, the Royal Family and those who have dedicated their lives to service of the Queen, gave the late monarch a final farewell full of pomp and pageantry ahead of her burial in Windsor. Military personnel from the UK and the Commonwealth marched through London while others lined the route, providing guards of honour or undertaking other ceremonial duties.
The Queen, who was head of the armed forces and served as their commander-in-chief, had a close personal relationship with the military and they accompanied her on processions throughout the day. The first, and shortest, of the processions on Monday carried her coffin to Westminster Abbey for the funeral service. The second took her from the Abbey to Wellington Arch, where the coffin was transferred to the State Hearse for the road journey to Windsor. In Windsor, her coffin joined a third procession to St George’s Chapel in the castle’s grounds. But the main focus was the journey through central London. The cortege, led by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, was made up of seven groups, each with its own band. Members of the armed services from the UK and the Commonwealth, the police and the NHS were also involved. Source: bbc.com/news
Tuesday, April 21, 2026
