The state funeral for Elizabeth II was held at Westminster Abbey on 19 September 2022 at 11:00 BST, followed by a committal service later that day at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. The Queen was interred in the King George VI Memorial Chapel at St George's. The occasion of her state funeral was a national bank holiday in the UK and a public holiday in Canada, with later commemorative public holidays to be held in Australia (22 September) and New Zealand (26 September).
This marked the first time that a monarch's funeral service is held at Westminster Abbey since George II in 1760, and the first state funeral in Britain since that of Winston Churchill in 1965. In terms of the complexity of logistical planning, diplomatic protocol, and security, Elizabeth II's funeral was the largest such event in the UK since the Churchill state funeral, with up to 500 foreign dignitaries, including heads of state, attending. The timing of the funeral allowed guests who plan to address the general debate of the United Nations General Assembly the following day, sufficient time to fly across the Atlantic to attend. Invitations were issued to every country with which Britain maintains diplomatic relations, with the exception of Russia, Belarus, and Myanmar. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has handled the invitations, communications, and security arrangements via the newly setup headquarters "The Hangar", which includes 300 officials brought in from other departments.
Plans for the Queen's death have existed in some form since the 1960s. The Queen was consulted about all the details included in her funeral plan. The Earl Marshal, the Duke of Norfolk, was in charge of organising the event. Around 10,000 police officers were on duty every day in London during the mourning period, in what has been described as the "biggest security operation it has ever undertaken" by the Metropolitan Police. MI5 and GCHQ have worked in collaboration with counter terrorism police and the Metropolitan Police to provide security for the funeral. Gurkhas and Paratroopers, Royal Navy Police and Royal Military Police, and RAF personnel formed a group of 1,500 military personnel, and Westminster has been inspected by a military Wildcat helicopter. North Yorkshire Police and Humberside Police personnel were deployed to London to provide security. Mounted police officers will provide part of the security in Windsor with the help of drones that record activities on the ground. The Thames Valley Police announced that they would introduce new water patrols for observing busy waterways in the lead-up to the funeral. Officers and their dogs will also be patrolling different areas in Windsor, looking for suspicious items in phone boxes, drains, and bins. Several roads and streets have been closed in Windsor ahead of the committal service. Westminster City Council deployed its "Clean Streets" team to clean up different areas within central London. Hotel prices have also increased in the days before the funeral in London. Extra train services were made available across the country to allow people to travel to and from London and pay their respects for the lying in state and funeral ceremony.
The state funeral was one of the United Kingdom's most watched special television broadcasts, surpassing the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, the previous most watched royal event of the 21st century.
Broadcasting[]
| Country | Networks |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | BBC One, BBC Two, BBC News, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio Cymru, BBC Radio nan Gàidheal, BBC Radio Ulster, BBC Local Radio, ITV, ITV2, ITV3, ITV4, ITVBe, CITV, Sky News, Sky Showcase, Sky Arts, Sky Atlantic, Sky Crime, Sky Documentaries, Sky History, Sky History 2, Sky Max, Sky Sci-Fi, Sky Witness, Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League, Sky Sports Cricket, Sky Sports F1, Sky Sports Arena, Sky Sports News, Sky Cinema Premiere, Sky Cinema Mega Hits, Sky Cinema Hits, Sky Cinema Greats, Challenge, E!, Movies 24 +, Pick, S4C, GB News, TalkTV, LBC, LBC News, Capital, Heart, Classic FM, Smooth Radio, Radio X, Gold, BBC Red Button, BBC iPlayer, BBC Sounds, ITV Hub, Global Player Paused programming during the funeral: Sky Comedy, Sky Nature, Sky Replay, E!, Sky Sports Football, Sky Sports Golf, Sky Sports NFL, Sky Sports Racing, Sky Sports Mix, Sky Cinema Animation, Sky Cinema Family, Sky Cinema Action, Sky Cinema Rom Coms, Sky Cinema Thriller, Sky Cinema Drama, Sky Cinema Sci-Fi & Horror, Movies 24, Ideal World, Ideal Extra, Create & Craft, Craft Extra, Cruise1st TV |
| Worldwide | BBC World News, BBC World Service, Al Jazeera, Bloomberg Television, CNN International, DW-TV, Euronews, France 24, YouTube |
| Asia | Rock Entertainment, Rock Extreme, ABC Australia |
| Australia | ABC TV, ABC News, ABC NewsRadio, ABC Local Radio, Seven Network, Nine Network, Network 10, 10 Bold, SBS, BBC UKTV, Sky News Australia, Sky News Extra, KIIS Network, ABC iview, ABC listen, 7plus, 9Now, 10 Play |
| Austria | ORF 2, ORF 2 Europe |
| Bahamas | ZNS-TV |
| Belgium | Eén, VTM, La Une |
| Brazil | TV Globo, GloboNews, GNT |
| Bulgaria | BNT 1, bTV |
| Canada | CBC Television, CTV, Global, Citytv, Ici Radio-Canada Télé, TVA, CHEK-DT, NTV, CBC News Network, CTV News Channel, CP24, BNN Bloomberg, Ici RDI, Le Canal Nouvelles, TV5 Québec Canada, CPAC, CBC Gem |
| Chile | TVN, Canal 13, Chilevisión, Mega |
| Croatia | HRT 4, Nova TV |
| Czech Republic | ČT1, ČT24, TV Nova, CNN Prima News |
| Denmark | DR1, TV 2 |
| Estonia | ETV2, ETV+ |
| Faroe Islands | Kringvarp Føroya |
| Finland | Yle TV1, Yle Teema & Fem, Yle Areena |
| France | TF1, France 2, BFM TV, LCI, CNews, France Info |
| Georgia | Imedi TV |
| Germany | Das Erste, ZDF, Phoenix, RTL, n-tv, Sat.1, Welt, Tagesschau24, RTL+, Joyn |
| Greece | ERT News, Mega Channel, Open TV, Skai TV, Star Channel |
| Hungary | TV2, FEM3, RTL Klub, Hír TV |
| Iceland | RÚV |
| India | CNN-News18, India Today, WION |
| Ireland | RTÉ One, RTÉ News, RTÉ Player |
| Italy | Rai 1, Rete 4, Canale 5, Real Time, La7, Rai News 24, TgCom24, Sky TG24, RaiPlay, Mediaset Infinity, Discovery+ |
| Japan | NHK General TV, NHK BS1, NHK BS Premium, Nippon TV, TV Asahi, TBS Television, Fuji TV |
| Latvia | LTV1, TV3 |
| Lithuania | LRT televizija, LRT Radijas |
| Mauritius | MBC 3, MBC Sat, Senn Kreol, MBC 7 |
| Netherlands | NPO 1 (NOS), NPO Radio 1 (NOS), RTL Z, BVN |
| New Zealand | TVNZ 1, Three, BBC UKTV, TVNZ+, ThreeNow |
| North Macedonia | MRT |
| Norway | NRK1, TV 2, TV 2 News |
| Philippines | ANC, iWantTFC |
| Poland | TVP1, TVP Info, TVP Kobieta, TVN24, TVN24 BiS, Polsat News, TV Republika |
| Portugal | RTP1, RTP3, SIC Notícias, TVI, RTP Internacional |
| Romania | TVR1, TVR Info, Pro TV, Antena 3 CNN |
| Serbia | RTS1, RTS Svet |
| Singapore | meWATCH |
| Slovakia | Jednotka, 24, Markíza, TV JOJ, TA3 |
| Slovenia | TV SLO 1, POP TV |
| South Africa | SABC News |
| South Korea | KBS, MBC, SBS, YTN |
| Spain | La 1, 24 Horas, Antena 3, TVE Internacional |
| Sri Lanka | Hiru TV, News First |
| Sweden | SVT1, TV4, SVT Play |
| Switzerland | SRF 1, RTS 1, RSI La 1 |
| Thailand | Thai PBS, TNN, TNN2 |
| United States | ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, PBS, Univision, Telemundo, KTLA, WGN-TV, BBC America, C-SPAN, CNBC, CNN, Fox News, HLN, MSNBC, Newsmax TV, NewsNation, Spectrum News, Hulu, NBC News Now, Paramount+, Peacock |