Queue closes The queue to visit the lying in state of Queen Elizabeth II has been closed, and no one will now be allowed to join it, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport announced at 10.40pm on Sunday. On Wednesday afternoon, a ceremonial procession transported the coffin from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall where the Lying-in-State period began. The announcement of the queue’s closure had been expected throughout the day on Sunday as waiting times hit a peak of 14 hours at 10am. By 9pm the waiting time was seven hours as the last crowds filed through, with people collecting wristbands for entry at London Bridge. The final mourner will view the coffin at 6.30am on Monday before the state funeral. The royal family and the country will say a “last farewell” to Queen Elizabeth II during a state funeral at Westminster Abbey on Monday in which nine-year-old Prince George and his seven-year-old sister, Princess Charlotte, will walk behind their great-grandmother’s coffin. George and Charlotte, now second and third in line to the throne, will follow their parents, the Prince and Princess of Wales, as the coffin is carried through the abbey in front of a 2,000-strong congregation including world leaders. Police have described the security operation, with more than 10,000 officers on duty, as the biggest in Britain’s history. Eighteen members of Queen Elizabeth II’s family, led by the King, and including the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, will be present. Here are some further details about Monday’s state funeral. Members of Foreign Royal Families, Heads of State, and Overseas Government Representatives are received at the Great West Door by the Dean and Chapter of Westminster and are conducted to their seats in the Lantern. Readings include 1 Corinthians 15: 20–26, 53–end, and Psalm 42: 1–7. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, will take the sermon. Queue closes The queue to visit the lying in state of Queen Elizabeth II has been closed, and no one will now be allowed to join it, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport announced at 10.40pm on Sunday. On Wednesday afternoon, a ceremonial procession transported the coffin from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall where the Lying-in-State period began. An unseen portrait of the Queen has been released by Buckingham Palace on the eve of her funeral. The photograph, taken in May before the platinum jubilee celebrations, shows the monarch smiling in her Windsor Castle home. The Queen is wearing her favourite three-strand pearl necklace, pearl earrings and her aquamarine and diamond clip brooches which were an 18th birthday present from her father George VI in 1944. She wore the brooches when she addressed the nation on the 75th anniversary of VE Day in 2020 and for her diamond jubilee televised speech in 2012. The image was taken by photographer Ranald Mackechnie, who also took the jubilee portrait of the monarch. For the Queen’s state funeral, which will take place at 11am at Westminster Abbey on Monday, the service is conducted by The Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle MBE, Dean of Westminster. The service is sung by the Choir of Westminster Abbey and the Choir of the Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace, (Joseph McHardy, Director of Music) under the direction of James O’Donnell, Organist and Master of the Choristers, Westminster Abbey. The State Trumpeters of the Household Cavalry are led by Trumpet Major Julian Sandford. The Fanfare Team of the Household Division Bands is conducted by Lieutenant Colonel David Barringer MBE, Commanding Officer, Household Division Bands. The organ is played by Peter Holder, Sub-Organist, Westminster Abbey. Before the service, the tenor bell is tolled every minute for 96 minutes, reflecting the years of Queen Elizabeth II’s life. At the end of the service, following The Last Post, two minutes’ silence, the Reveille, and the national anthem, the Queen’s Piper, Warrant Officer Class 1 (Pipe Major) Paul Burns, will play the traditional lament Sleep, Dearie, Sleep. Before the service, the tenor bell will be tolled every minute for 96 minutes, reflecting the years of the Queen’s life. The Dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle, will say in The Bidding: “Here, where Queen Elizabeth was married and crowned, we gather from across the nation, from the Commonwealth, and from the nations of the world, to mourn our loss, to remember her long life of selfless service.” Prince George and Princess Charlotte to attend Queen"s funeral Prince George and Princess Charlotte will attend the Queen’s state funeral, the order of service has shown. The nine-year-old and his seven-year-old sister will walk through the gothic church with the royal family, in procession behind the Queen’s coffin as it is carried by the military bearer party. Their grandfather, the King with the Queen Consort will process immediately behind the coffin, followed by the Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, then the Duke of York, followed by the Earl and Countess of Wessex, and then the Prince and Princess of Wales. George and Charlotte, who called the Queen “Gan Gan”, will be together, behind their parents, walking side-by-side in formation, followed by their uncle and aunt the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and other members of the royal family. The second and third in line to the throne are also expected to be at the committal service in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle afterwards. The prince and princess’ four-year-old brother Prince Louis is not expected to be there. The front page of Monday’s Guardian. King Charles III thanks the nation on eve of his mother"s state funeral The King said in a written message issued by Buckingham Palace: “Over the last ten days, my wife and I have been so deeply touched by the many messages of condolence and support we have received from this country and across the world. “In London, Edinburgh, Hillsborough and Cardiff we were moved beyond measure by everyone who took the trouble to come and pay their respects to the lifelong service of my dear mother, The late Queen. As we all prepare to say our last farewell, I wanted simply to take this opportunity to say thank you to all those countless people who have been such a support and comfort to my family and myself in this time of grief.” King Charles III and other members of the royal family may be caught in light showers as they join the Queen’s funeral procession in Windsor where the former monarch will be laid to rest. The crowds expected to gather in London and Windsor for the event are unlikely to experience heavy rain, but the Met Office said light showers may fall before the committal service begins at 4pm. Temperatures along the procession route will reach highs of 18C, which is around average for this time of year, forecasters said. The morning of the funeral at Westminster Abbey is expected to stay dry, with a slight chance of showers after 1pm. Meteorologist Alex Burkill told the PA news agency: “There is a small chance of the odd shower through the afternoon, most likely around 3pm or 4pm.” The state hearse is expected to join the procession, which will already be in position in Windsor, at 3.06pm. The King and other royal family members will join the procession on foot at 3.40pm.