Palace Sets Date for Queen's Funeral

Queen Elizabeth's state funeral will take place on Sept. 19, at Westminster Abbey in London, officials announced Saturday. "We will carry out our duty over the coming days with the heaviest of hearts, but also with the firmest of resolve to ensure a fitting farewell to one of the defining figures of our times," said Edward Fitzalan-Howard, the duke of Norfolk, who is the peer in charge of state occasions, Reuters reports. Officials said the service would be "a fitting farewell to one of the defining figures of our times," per the AP. Buckingham Palace said King Charles has requested a period of mourning to be observed until seven days after the funeral. The schedule for the journey of the queen's coffin includes:

• Sunday: The oak coffin, which now is draped with the royal standard of Scotland, will be taken from the ballroom at Balmoral, the Scottish estate where Elizabeth died, to the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. Holyroodhouse is the official residence in Scotland of the British monarch.
• Monday: A procession will accompany the queen's remains to St Giles' Cathedral, where public visitation will take place, per the BBC. Members of the royal family, including the new king, are scheduled to be in the procession, per the Guardian. A 24-hour period of public visitation will begin.
• Tuesday: The queen's remains will be flown to an air force station near London in the evening, accompanied by her daughter, Princess Anne, then driven to Buckingham Palace.
• Wednesday: Draped in the royal standard, the coffin will be taken in a slow procession that will include a military parade and family members to Westminster Hall, where it will lie in state until next Monday, the day of the funeral. There, the public will be invited to file past Elizabeth's coffin.
• Sept. 19: The funeral will be held at Westminster Abbey, where Elizabeth was married and crowned queen. After the service, her coffin will be taken to Windsor Castle for interment in St. George's Chapel.

(More Queen Elizabeth II stories.)