Following the recent news of Queen Elizabeth II’s death at age 96, the former monarch’s funeral service is set to take place next Monday, September 19, in Westminster Abbey.
According to BBC News, the Queen will lie in state in Westminster Hall until next week’s funeral service, with mourners having 24/7 access, should they want to offer their condolences. Soldiers will also be stationed there day and night to guard the area.
After the monarch’s death last Thursday, September 8, many news outlets in the United Kingdom began to ditch their original programming for up-to-date coverage on the Royal Family. Meanwhile, U.S.-based reporters were making plans to visit England for their own reporting on the big news.
The BBC is currently streaming as the Queen’s coffin lies in state, offering those who can’t make it in person an opportunity to pay their respects.
Americans interested in tuning into the Queen’s funeral next week have a few options to choose from, with NBC News, ABC, CNN and Fox News all providing live coverage of the service, according to the US Sun. ITV and BBC One will also be providing all-day coverage of Monday’s funeral service for those who want to witness the global news event and commemorate the Queen’s passing.
Michelle Donelan, a culture secretary in the United Kingdom, recently spoke with BBC News about an anticipated crowd to view Queen Elizabeth II as she currently lies in state, revealing, “We are expecting extremely large queues which could go up to 30 hours.”
Royal Family spotted amid procession
Early on Wednesday, the late queen of England’s coffin was transported from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall for public viewing.
Her grandsons, Prince William of Wales and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, walked with their father, now King Charles III, in a procession to Westminster Hall on Wednesday afternoon.
As Monsters & Critics previously reported, Kate Middleton wasn’t in attendance when her husband and other members of the Royal Family rushed to Balmoral Castle last week amid concerns for the Queen’s state of health.
However, she and Meghan Markle were both pictured alongside their husbands in all-black attire as they left the Westminster Hall Wednesday.
Preparing for the worst
Though Queen Elizabeth II lived a full life, various media outlets have been preparing for her death, and potential media coverage, over the years.
Per Variety, Marc Burstein, a senior executive producer at ABC News, stated that he’s “literally been thinking about this for many, many years,” while Chris Shaw, an editorial director of UK-based news production company ITN admitted to preparing for Queen Elizabeth II’s death “several times each decade” for over 30 years.
Now that the Queen has passed away, mourners around the globe can tune in via livestream to witness Her Majesty’s funeral ceremony from their own homes.
Come Monday, which will also be considered a bank holiday in the United Kingdom, the Queen’s coffin will arrive in Westminster Abbey, where her official funeral service is set to be held at 11:00 a.m. (BST)