Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II: A Look Back at Some of Britain’s Biggest Farewells

By James Hookway Updated Sept. 19, 2022 Tap story

Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral will look very different to that of her husband, Prince Philip, who died last year during the height of the Covid pandemic. He was laid to rest in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, the queen looking on alone, dressed in black and masked to comply with pandemic protocols. Her funeral will instead echo some of the biggest public events the U.K. has ever seen, following customs set in part by the farewell given to Queen Victoria, the queen’s great-great-grandmother who died in 1901.

The coffin carrying Queen Elizabeth II outside Westminster Abbey for her state funeral. Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters

Thousands of people went to Hyde Park to watch the broadcast of the funeral. Jose Sarmento Matos/Bloomberg News

King Charles III, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward arrived together at Westminster Abbey for the funeral service. Marco Bertorello/AFP/Getty Images

Camilla, the queen consort, Catherine, Princess of Wales, Prince George and Princess Charlotte traveled down The Mall in London ahead of the service. Paul Ellis/Press Pool

The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II is carried into Westminster Abbey. Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

Many elements of the funeral procession can be traced back to Queen Victoria’s funeral, more than 120 years ago. Hulton Archive/Getty Images

The procession for Queen Victoria, who had been Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, wound through the streets of London. Media Drum World/Zuma Press

The funeral service was held at Westminster Abbey. She was later buried alongside her husband, Prince Albert, in the Royal Mausoleum at Frogmore, in Windsor. The Print Collector/Getty Images

King Edward VII and Kaiser Wilhelm II make their way to Windsor for the burial of Queen Victoria. Media Drum World/Zuma Press

At past funeral processions, some mourners also waited hours to secure a position and pay respects, such as at the 2002 ceremonial funeral of the queen’s mother. Tom Stoddart/Getty Images

At times, the lines of people waiting to pay their respects to the Queen Mother as she lay in state extended for several miles. Getty Images

The Queen Mother, also known as Queen Elizabeth, lay in state at Westminster Hall, as did her daughter.

The Queen Mother was buried at St. George’s Chapel. Huge crowds gathered to view the accompanying processions. Owen Humphreys/Getty Images

Television-viewing figures for Queen Elizabeth II's funeral could surpass that of Princess Diana, who died in a car crash in Paris in 1997. She and Prince Charles, as he was then, had divorced, but Diana was granted a ceremonial funeral. Press Pool

This browser does not support the video element. The palace faced criticism for its initially subdued response to Diana’s death. On the day of her funeral, Prince Charles and his sons, William and Harry, then ages 15 and 12, walked behind her coffin as it was taken to Westminster Abbey for the funeral service. ITN Archive Limited/Getty Images

The young princes were joined by their grandfather, Prince Philip, and Diana’s brother, Charles Spencer. Robert Wallis/Corbis/Getty Images

Mourners for Princess Diana gathered to lay tributes at her home at Kensington Palace. Derek Hudson/Getty Images

The most recent state funeral for a British monarch was that of King George VI, the queen’s father, in 1952. Here his coffin is borne from the train that brought him from Sandringham, where he died, to London. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

King George’s coffin was draped with a royal standard and topped with the symbols of the monarchy: a crown, a scepter and an orb. George W. Hales/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

The Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Margaret attended the arrival of King George’s coffin at Westminster Hall, where it lay in state before the funeral. E. Round/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Large crowds gathered to view King George’s cortege, with some equipped with periscopes or mirrors to get a better view. Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth and her sister, Princess Margaret, wore black veils to their father’s funeral. Derek Berwin/Getty Images

It isn’t only royals who are given state funerals. Britain’s wartime leader Winston Churchill was afforded the honor after he died in 1965. He worked closely with the young Queen Elizabeth and her father, King George VI. Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Larger crowds gathered in London for the former prime minister’s funeral. Henri Cartier-Bresson/Magnum Photos

Queen Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip, seen here at St. Paul’s Cathedral, played a prominent part in Churchill’s funeral, which was attended by leaders from around the world. Getty Images

This browser does not support the video element. A military flyover at Winston Churchill’s state funeral in 1965–the most recent before Queen Elizabeth’s on Monday. Premiere Pictures/Getty Images

Credits

Cover photo: Bettman Archive/Getty Images Produced by: Elissa Curtis Read more: