🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.
King Charles III said he was "moved beyond measure" by the outpouring of support after the death of Queen Elizabeth II during a statement the night before her funeral.
World leaders including President Joe Biden and overseas royalty will join royal family members for what is expected to be the biggest event for the police that Britain has ever hosted.
Five hundred dignitaries from around the globe have travelled for the sombre occasion while hundreds of thousands are expected to line the streets for Elizabeth's final journey.
The new king sought to reassure a grieving nation at 10 p.m. London time on September 18, the night before he will lay his mother to rest at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, where her parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and sister Princess Margaret were all interred.
Charles said: "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."
The day will begin as the final members of the public are allowed in to Westminster Hall to see the queen lying in state at 6:30 a.m. London time, on Monday, September 19.
At 10:44 a.m. London time, Elizabeth's coffin will be moved to Westminster Abbey on the back of a state gun carriage of the Royal Navy, the Imperial State Crown, Orb and Sceptre will rest on top and under them, the royal standard.
Following behind will be the king and his family, including his sons Prince Harry and Prince William, as well as Elizabeth's other children, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward.
They will arrive at the abbey eight minutes later, where pall bearers from the Queen's Company 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards will lift the coffin and carry it on their shoulders.
Heads of state, including the great, the good and potentially even a few of the bad, will join the royals and almost 200 people who the queen honored in her birthday list this year for the funeral service, which begins at 11 a.m.
The Dean of Westminster will conduct the service while Prime Minister Liz Truss will be among those to give readings.
The Last Post will be played, there will be two minutes of silence, followed by the National Anthem, and then, close to midday, the funeral service will end.
Next, the queen's coffin will be carried by gun carriage in a procession to Wellington Arch, at Hyde Park Corner, as Big Ben tolls and royal family members walk behind.
NHS staff, police officers and members of the armed forces will also be included in the procession and on arrival minute guns will be fired by The King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery.
From there, a hearse will carry Elizabeth to Windsor Castle, the residence where she spent most of her final years following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A committal service for around 800 people, including the queen's former staff, will be held at 4 p.m. at St. George's Chapel, the same venue as Prince Philip's funeral and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding.
The Imperial State Crown, the Orb and the Sceptre will be removed from the coffin, there will be a final hymn, the king will place the color of the The Queen's Company of the Grenadier Guards on the coffin as the head of Elizabeth's household symbolically breaks a thin, white staff, the wand of office.
The queen will then be lowered into the Royal Vault, the national anthem will be sung, and then finally, after hours spent grieving in the full glare of worldwide public scrutiny, the royals will get a chance to say goodbye in private as they bury her in The King George VI Memorial Chapel, alongside her husband Prince Philip.
Do you have a question about Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles III or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
About the writer
Jack Royston is Newsweek's Chief Royal Correspondent based in London, U.K. He reports on the British royal family—including King Charles ... Read more