Britain revealed the details of Queen Elizabeth II's funeral, which is scheduled to take place next Monday, while her fans are still standing in a long queue that extends for miles, waiting for their turn to cast a farewell look at the late coffin at Parliament House in Westminster.

And Buckingham Palace officials announced - today, Thursday - that about two thousand people will attend the state funeral, including leaders of countries and distinguished personalities.

The funeral is scheduled to begin on Monday at 11 am local time (10 am GMT), with a prayer in Westminster Abbey, which witnessed the coronation of the late Queen in 1953, to last for about an hour, after which the horns will sound in a well-known military tune, followed by two minutes of silence. Mourning throughout the United Kingdom.

The body will then be carried on a cannon cart in a huge procession, behind which King Charles and senior members of the royal family will walk from the chapel to Wellington Arch at the edge of the famous Hyde Park, the guns will salute and Big Ben will ring every minute.

This will be followed by the formal procession of the casket to Windsor Castle in west London, where further ceremonies will take place before a service at St George's Chapel attached to the castle.

In a private ceremony later, Queen Elizabeth II will be buried next to her husband, Prince Philip, who died last year.


Historic Ceremony

British officials promised a "honor worthy of the Queen", when talking about the details of the funeral, which will likely be one of the largest ceremonies in the British capital in its history.

With the participation of thousands of military personnel.

The funeral director, Earl Marshall Edward Fitzalan Howard, Duke of Norfolk, England's most noble, said in a press briefing today, Thursday, that the Queen "has a special and immortal place in all of our lives."

"It is our goal and our belief that the coming days will unite people all over the world and resonate with people of all faiths, while fulfilling the wishes of Her Majesty the Queen and her family in an honor worthy of an exceptional queen," he added.

The 65-year-old marshal has spent the past two decades preparing for the Queen's funeral, which is expected to be the largest of its kind in Britain since the funeral of the late Prime Minister Winston Churchill in 1965.

On the other hand, US President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese and French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed that they would attend the funeral, in addition to the Emperor of Japan and dignitaries from royal families.

Britain's new King Charles III will hold an official ceremony on Sunday to welcome the attendees.

The line of mourners stretched for more than 6 and a half kilometers on the banks of the River Thames (Reuters)

Depositors queue

Meanwhile, the queue of mourners waiting for hours to look at the Queen's coffin stretched more than 6 and a half kilometers along the south bank of the Thames, past London landmarks such as Tower Bridge and across Lambeth Bridge as it approached Westminster Hall.

On Wednesday, the Queen's coffin was carried from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, the oldest hall of the British Parliament, in a procession through the streets of central London.

Officials expect about 750,000 mourners to bid their farewells at the Queen's coffin until 6:30 a.m. local time (5:30 a.m. GMT) next Monday.

Some of the mourners came from abroad, quickly leaving their bags at nearby hotels to join the slowly moving queue to reach Westminster Hall.

Among the mourners were former British Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband Philip.

The organizers have made arrangements for queuing lengths of 16 km, amid expectations that more mourners will arrive, especially on the weekend on Saturday and Sunday.