LONDON (AP) — Britain and the world are saying a final goodbye to Queen Elizabeth II at a state funeral that drew presidents and kings, princes and prime ministers. Crowds massed along the streets of London to honor a monarch whose 70-year reign defined an age. In a country known for pomp and pageantry, the first state funeral since Winston Churchill’s was filled with spectacle. Royal Navy sailors drew the gun carriage carrying Elizabeth’s coffin to Westminster Abbey. King Charles III and his sons Princes William and Harry walked behind as pipers played. Pall bearers then carried the coffin into the Abbey. Around 2,000 people ranging from world leaders to health care workers gathered to mourn her. The funeral drew to a close with two minutes of silence observed across the United Kingdom.
A two-minute silence has been observed across the United Kingdom in memory of Queen Elizabeth II as the late monarch’s state funeral service drew to a close in Westminster Abbey. Britain’s royal family, along with hundreds of world leaders and dignitaries gathered at the Gothic abbey in London for the service Monday, lowered their heads as Household Cavalry trumpeters played “The Last Post.” The congregation then observed a two-minute silence before singing the national anthem. A lament, played by the Queen’s Piper, brought the service to a close. After the funeral the queen’s coffin was to be laid to rest at Windsor Castle.