Mourners gathered outside Westminster Abbey stood in respectful silence on Monday as Queen Elizabeth’s coffin was carried from the historic church at the end of her official state funeral.
The queen’s family, including her son King Charles III, escorted the coffin from the medieval cathedral to a military procession that began taking her to Windsor Castle as huge crowds watched from the streets of London.
RCMP members were near the front of the procession which also included members of the armed forces from Canada and from across the Commonwealth.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, were seen outside the church shortly after the roughly hour-long service. They officially led the Canadian delegation that was led to the church hours before the funeral began.
They were seated a few rows behind Governor General Mary Simon and her husband, members of the Canadian delegation seated closest to King Charles III and other high-ranking royals.
A procession of decorated Canadians, including holders of the Victoria Cross, the George Cross and the Orders of Chivalry, passed through the church on their way to their seats. Actress Sandra Oh, holder of the Order of Canada, Olympian Mark Tewksbury and artist Gregory Charles walked near the front of the procession.
The Canadian delegation also included former Governors General Michaëlle Jean and David Johnston, as well as former Prime Ministers Kim Campbell, Jean Chrétien, Paul Martin and Stephen Harper.
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The UK’s first state funeral since Winston Churchill’s was full of spectacle: 142 Royal Navy sailors drove the gun carriage carrying the late queen’s coffin to Westminster Abbey, with King Charles III and his sons, Princes William and Harry, walking behind as the pipers played. Pallbearers carried her coffin to the abbey, where some 2,000 people, from world leaders to health workers, gathered to mourn her. Before the service, a bell rang 96 times, once a minute for every year of her life.
“Here, where Queen Elizabeth married and was crowned, we gather from across the country, from the Commonwealth and from the nations of the world, to mourn our loss, to remember her long life of selfless service and with the sure confidence to commit ourselves. her to the mercy of God our maker and redeemer,” the dean of the medieval abbey, David Hoyle, told mourners.
The state funeral marked the culmination of 10 days of tribute and mourning following the queen’s death on September 8 at the age of 96.
The official state #funeral for Queen Elizabeth concludes in #London as mourners look on. #CDNPoli #QueenElizabethII
Everyday dignitaries and mourners have descended on London in recent days to pay tribute to the UK’s longest-reigning monarch and Canada’s longest-serving head of state.
After the funeral, the queen will be transferred to a hearse and taken to Windsor Castle, where she will be buried in St George’s Chapel next to the late Prince Philip, her husband of almost 74 years.
His death has caused a wave of pain and affection throughout the world.
In London, an entire park near Buckingham Palace was filled with floral tributes as people waited up to 24 hours in line for a chance to see the queen’s coffin at her funeral in Westminster Hall.
Crowds have increased in the areas surrounding the royal residences and Westminster, prompting large numbers of police and security personnel to cordon off entire sections of the city with metal barricades in an effort to control traffic.
Some members of the public have been camping out for days in the hope of getting a front row seat to the funeral procession as the queen’s coffin passed by.
Fredericton’s Tim Thompson pitched a tent on the flag-lined road leading to Buckingham Palace early Sunday morning to ensure he had a good view.
As a military member of the Cadet Instructors Cadre, he said it was worth spending a night in the cold to pay his respects to Canada’s former commander-in-chief and head of state.
Thompson, who also queued for 13 hours to attend the queen’s funeral earlier in the week, said she had mixed emotions surrounding the funeral. While the event is sad, he said he was proud and happy to see different nations come together to mourn the queen.
“We have a shared pain that we’re going through, so it’s good to see that camaraderie between Canadians, Australians and Brits,” he said in an interview.
Evert McLaughlin, a Toronto native living in London, said he felt “surreal” living through such an important moment.
“I think it still means a lot to a lot of Canadians,” he said of the queen outside the park where people were laying flowers.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on September 19, 2022.