Britain bids farewell with emotion to Queen Elizabeth

Britain bid farewell to Queen Elizabeth II on Monday with a majestic funeral steeped in tradition and a send-off reflective of the broad popularity she managed to retain over her remarkable seven-decade reign.

Royal family members and dignitaries gathered at Westminster Abbey for a somber service. Presidents, prime ministers, princes and princesses, and other public figures sat side-by-side to pay their last respects -- a testament to her far-reaching appeal and deft diplomacy.

The funeral, which served as both a state and religious service and marked the culmination of 10 days of mourning, honored the Queen with the sort of pageantry that she used to promote the royal family and "brand Britain" throughout her life.

Thousands of people lined the streets surrounding Westminster Abbey and Buckingham Palace to witness the passage of the queen’s casket from Westminster Hall to the church and eventually to Windsor Castle, where she was laid to rest alongside her late husband, Prince Philip and her father, King George VI.
Millions watched the funeral on television at home after a public holiday was declared to mark the passing of the queen.

In the third and last procession of the day, the Queen's coffin was taken past throngs of well-wishers lining the Long Walk to Windsor Castle for her committal service and burial at St. George's Chapel, where she was separated from the crown for the final time.

Later in the evening, she was interred together with her husband of 73 years, the Duke of Edinburgh, in the King George VI Memorial Chapel. An annex of St. George's Chapel, it also houses the remains of the Queen's father, her mother the Queen Mother, and her sister Princess Margaret.

The oak coffin was covered with the Royal Standard flag, the queen’s colours, with the Imperial State Crown on top, placed on a gun carriage and pulled by naval personnel to Westminster Abbey, where Queen Elizabeth was married in 1947 and crowned queen in 1953.

Among 2,000 people in the congregation, there were about 500 world leaders, including US President Joe Biden, Emperor Naruhito of Japan and South African President Cyril Ramphosa.

“All the people of the United Kingdom: our hearts go out to you, and you were fortunate to have had her for 70 years; we all were. The world is better for her,” Biden said after signing a book of condolence.

The service took place in the same abbey nave where, 69 years ago, the Queen was crowned and where, 75 years ago, she was married to her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, who died last year. A sovereign who knew the soft power of spectacle, her coronation was, at her request, broadcast for the first time on television, bringing the splendor of the monarchy to millions around the world. On Monday, all eyes were on her once again.