King Charles III led the family procession, flanked by his siblings and children. Princes Harry and Andrew were not wearing military uniforms since they are no longer working royals.
The service in Westminster Abbey was attended by world leaders, dignitaries and other royal families. The hymns drew on moments from the queen’s long life. One hymn, The Lord’s My Shepherd, was sung at her wedding in 1947. Musicians performed an anthem composed for her coronation in 1953.
The bouquet atop the coffin was cut from the gardens of Buckingham Palace, and from the residences of William and Charles. It also included myrtle, which the queen carried in her wedding bouquet.
Prince George, 9, and Princess Charlotte, 7, joined the procession, following the coffin of their great-grandmother through the abbey. It was reminiscent of a more traumatic death, when their father William and his brother Harry walked behind their mother Diana’s coffin after she died in a car crash in Paris at 36.
George is second in line to the throne, after his father.
Charlotte wore a horseshoe brooch, a gift from her great-grandmother who loved horses. She is third in line to the throne.
At the conclusion of the Westminster Abbey ceremony the crowd sang Britain’s national anthem, now “God Save the King,” swapping queen for king to mark a new royal era.
Pipe Major Paul Burns of the Royal Regiment of Scotland then played a traditional lament called “Sleep, dearie, sleep.” Burns would play beneath the queen’s window for 15 minutes every morning at 9 a.m. whenever she was staying at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Holyrood House or Balmoral Castle.
The procession to Wellington Arch
The procession continued to Wellington Arch, led by four horses from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Harry and William, in another echo of Diana’s funeral, trailed their grandmother’s coffin side-by-side. It was one of their few public appearances together since Harry chose to leave royal life and move to California, causing a rift in the family.
The final departure from London
From Wellington Arch, the queen left London for the last time. Her family saluted the hearse as it began the drive to Windsor, some 22 miles outside of London, where the queen will be buried.
Once in Windsor, the coffin traveled down the Long Walk, a more than 2.5-mile stretch created by King Charles II in the late 17th century. The tree-lined road connects Snow Hill — where it’s said King Henry VIII awaited news of the execution of Anne Boleyn — and Windsor Castle.
Throngs of people crowded to view the hearse, which Elizabeth helped design so its glass windows and roof would make the coffin more visible to the public.
Two of the queen’s beloved corgis, Muick and Sandy, as well as her beloved pony Emma, watched as well.
The Windsor service in St. George’s Chapel was more intimate than the events in London. Guests included family members and royal household staff.
The crown, orb and scepter were removed from the queens’ coffin before it was lowered into the royal vault, a symbol of the crown passing on. A visibly emotional Charles was named sovereign as “God Save the King” echoed through the chapel’s halls.
Later in the evening, a private burial ceremony is scheduled to take place, concluding a day of remembering and mourning Queen Elizabeth II.
Ruby Mellen reported from Washington, D.C. William Booth, Karla Adam, Annabelle Timsit, Adam Taylor and Libby Casey contributed to this report.
