The funeral will bring to an end 11 days of national mourning across the United Kingdom
Queen Elizabeth II will be laid to rest on Monday, after a state funeral - the first in Britain since the death of her first prime minister Winston Churchill in 1965 - attended by leaders from around the world and a historic last ceremonial journey.
Here are the top points in this big story:
- The funeral will bring to an end 11 days of national mourning across the United Kingdom that has seen the personal sorrow of the royal family play out in the glare of intense international attention.
- More than 2,000 people, including heads of state from US President Joe Biden to Japan's reclusive Emperor Naruhito, packed Westminster Abbey, whose 1,000-year history has been tied to royal coronations, marriages and funerals.
- A vast television audience is expected to watch the funeral worldwide and live online, in a sign of the enduring fascination with the woman once described as "the last global monarch".
- The Queen's coffin was carried on the same gun carriage used for her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria's funeral. Huge crowds gathered in near silence to watch as the queen's flag-draped coffin, topped with the Imperial State Crown, her orb and sceptre, was carried slowly to a gun carriage from parliament's Westminster Hall where it has lain in state since last Wednesday.
- The Queen's eldest son and successor, King Charles III, dressed in ceremonial military uniform, followed the solemn procession, alongside his three siblings.
- After an hour-long procession that passes Buckingham Palace, the coffin will be taken west by road to Windsor Castle, where thousands had lined the route since early morning.
- Some 6,000 military personnel have been drafted in to take part in proceedings in what Britain's highest-ranking military officer has called "our last duty for Her Majesty the Queen".
- While the leaders of the European Union, France, Japan, India and many other countries attended, those of Russia, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Syria and North Korea were not invited.
- After the televised service, the Queen's coffin will be transferred by royal hearse to Windsor Castle, west of London, for a committal service. That will be followed by a family-only burial in which the queen will be laid to rest alongside her late husband Prince Philip, her parents and her sister.
- Queen Elizabeth reigned for 70 years and 214 days - the first British sovereign to celebrate a platinum jubilee. She died aged 96.
