Monday, September 19 -
Day 10: Queen Elizabeth's coffin arrived at Windsor Castle, her final resting place, on Monday after a day of matchless pageantry that drew world leaders to her funeral and hundreds of thousands of people to the streets to say farewell to a revered monarch.
Well-wishers lined the route her hearse took from London, throwing flowers, cheering and clapping as it passed from the city to the English countryside that she so loved much.
Leaders and monarchs from across the globe gathered in London on Monday to bid farewell to Britain's Queen Elizabeth at a state funeral of inimitable pageantry, marking the passing of a beloved figure who unified the nation through her 70-year reign.
Queen Elizabeth II's coffin was on Monday lowered into the Royal Vault at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, bringing to an end public mourning for Britain's longest-reigning monarch.
The "second Elizabethan age" was symbolically brought to a close when the highest-ranking official in the royal household, Lord Chamberlain Andrew Parker, broke his wand of office.
The "instruments of state" with which she was crowned in 1953 -- the Imperial State Crown, orb and sceptre -- were removed from the coffin and placed on the high altar.
Her eldest son and successor, King Charles III, placed The Queen's Company Camp Colour of the Grenadier of Guards on the coffin.
As the coffin was lowered, a lone piper played a haunting lament.
The queen's titles were read publicly for the last time: "The late Most High, Most Mighty, and Most Excellent Monarch, Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, and Sovereign of the Most Noble Order of the Garter."
Earlier in the day, the royal family, U.S. President Joe Biden, French President Emannuel Macron, and many other world leaders attended her funeral.
All of new UK PM Liz Truss's living predecessors were there plus her counterparts and representatives from the 14 Commonwealth countries outside Britain where Charles is also head of state.
Whether they remain constitutional monarchies or become republics is likely to be the defining feature of Charles's reign.
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby on Monday praised Queen Elizabeth II's life of duty and service to the UK and Commonwealth at the state funeral for Britain's longest-serving monarch.
"People of loving service are rare in any walk of life. Leaders of loving service are still rarer. But in all cases those who serve will be loved and remembered when those who cling to power and privileges are forgotten," he said in his funeral sermon.
The funeral of Britain's longest-serving monarch ended with "God Save the King", the reworded national anthem after her son Charles's accession.
The queen's death has prompted deep reflection about the Britain she reigned over, the legacy of its past, its present state and what the future might hold, as well as the values of lifelong service and duty she came to represent during her 70-year reign.
Huge crowds packed central London on Monday as people from across the United Kingdom and beyond paid their final respects.
It's part of history," said Bethany Beardmore, 26, an accountant whose brother is a Grenadier Guard and part of the ceremonies.
"Not in my lifetime is there going to be another queen."
Beardmore arrived at 9:00 pm (2000 GMT) on Sunday but, fuelled by too much sugar and caffeine, found it impossible to sleep in the cold.
"Everyone was chatting," she said.
Former soldier Jamie Page, 41, served in the Iraq War and took a train from his home in Horsham, south of London, at 5:00 am.
"Sixteen years old, I swore an oath of allegiance to the queen," he said, his military medals glinting in the weak morning sun.
"She's been my boss. She means everything. She was like a gift from god."
Margaret McGee, 72, had arrived from Northern Ireland for the events in a small token of appreciation for the queen's long service and said she had met people from Liverpool, Scotland and Wales.
"She worked so hard all her life, devoted herself to the country," she said.
"She never gave up to the very end, she never had a retirement."
Many people young and old and from Britain and beyond have camped out for days to witness the elaborate spectacle of pageantry, pay their final respects and share a moment of history.
"It's once in a lifetime," said student Naomi Thompson, 22, in the crowds at London's Hyde Park.
"It's a moment of history. She's been around for our lifetime. She's everyone's granny," added engineer Alice Garret, 28.
Others unable to be in London gathered in cinemas and churches around England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to watch the service and procession on big screens.
Auto engineer Jamie Page, a 41-year-old former soldier, stood on Whitehall to observe the funeral procession, wearing his military medals from service in the Iraq war.
"Sixteen years old, I swore an oath of allegiance to the queen. She's been my boss. She means everything, she was like a gift from God," he said.
But on Charles, the oldest person yet to ascend the British throne, Page added: "Who knows, time will tell."
With Elizabeth seen as Britain's final link between its imperial past, victory in World War II and the modern era, many of those lining the streets said they had to bear witness.
"I will talk about this moment to my children," said Jack Davies, 14, camped out for the procession with his parents at Hyde Park Corner, opposite Wellington Arch.
This report was prepared with information from Reuters and Agence France-Presse
