The Queen’s funeral: Read the Order of Service for the Westminster Abbey proceedings

Read the Order of Service for The Queen’s State Funeral to be held today at Westminster Abbey.
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The order of service for the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II has been released ahead of today’s proceedings.

Before the service, which takes place at Westminster Abbey at 11am today (September 19), the tenor bell will be tolled every minute for 96 minutes, reflecting the years of The Queen’s life.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Royal Family said: “The Service will pay tribute to The Queen’s remarkable reign and lifetime of service as Head of State, Nation and Commonwealth.”

In a sign of the times, members of the Congregation have been asked to refrain from using cameras, video, or recording equipment and to ensure mobile phones and other electronic devices are switched off.

The Queen’s State Funeral Order of Service has been released The Queen’s State Funeral Order of Service has been released
The Queen’s State Funeral Order of Service has been released

Who is invited to The Queen’s funeral?

Westminster Abbey can hold as many as 2,000 people which today will include members of foreign Royal Families, heads of state, and representatives from overseas governments.

The dignitaries wishing to pay their respects will be received at the abbey’s Great West Door by the Dean and Chapter of Westminster and directed to their seats.

The Queen’s funeral: Full Order of Service

The Queen’s funeral Order of ServiceThe Queen’s funeral Order of Service
The Queen’s funeral Order of Service

The doors to Westminster Abbey will open at 8am and at 10.44am Her Majesty’s coffin will be moved from the Palace of Westminster to Westminster Abbey.

The service begins at 11am and will finish at around 11.55am with the two-minute silence.

A public procession will begin at 12.15pm as Her Majesty’s coffin travels from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch in London.

The procession will then continue from Wellington Arch by the State Hearse to Windsor where The Queen will be laid to rest.

The Queen’s hearse is due to arrive in Albert Road and at 3.10pm.

The Order of Service in full can be downloaded as a PDF via the Westminster Abbey website.

The Queen’s funeral music

Under the direction of organist and Master of the Choristers of Westminster Abbey, James O’Donnell, the Choirs of Westminster Abbey and His Majesty’s Chapel Royal, St James’s Palace, will sing at the service.

A specially commissioned choral piece, ‘Like as the Hart’, will feature in the service, composed by the Master of The King’s Music, Judith Weir.

The spokesperson said: "The piece, inspired by Her Majesty’s unwavering Christian faith, is a setting of Psalm 42 to music and will be sung unaccompanied."

Traditional hymn, ‘The Lord’s My Shepherd’, will also feature. The verse was also sung at the wedding of the then Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten, in 1947.

Following the Sermon, the Choir will sing the Anthem, ‘My Soul, There is a Country’, set by Hubert Parry.

Following prayers at from the High Altar a short anthem, composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams for The Queen’s Coronation in 1953, ‘O Taste and See How Gracious the Lord is’.

The Last Post will be sounded by the State Trumpeters of the Household Cavalry from the steps of the Lady Chapel before a two minutes’ silence is observed across the United Kingdom.

The Reveille will be sounded by the State Trumpeters, before the Congregation sings the National Anthem, ‘God Save The King’.

At the conclusion of the State Funeral, The Sovereign’s Piper of the Royal Regiment of Scotland will play the traditional Lament, ‘Sleep, Dearie, Sleep’.

Organ music before The Queen’s funeral

Before service Westminster Abbey assistant organist, Matthew Jorysz, will play:

  • Fantasia of four parts by Orlando Gibbons
  • Romanza (Symphony no 5 in D) by Ralph Vaughan Williams
  • Reliqui domum meum by Peter Maxwell Davies
  • Meditation on ‘Brother James’s Air’ by Harold Darke
  • Prelude on ‘Ecce jam noctis’ Op 157 no 3 by Healey Willan
  • Psalm Prelude Set 1 no 2 by Herbert Howells
  • In the Country Op 194 no 2 by Charles Villiers Stanford
  • Fantasy on ‘O Paradise’ by Malcolm Williamson
  • Elegy Op 58 by Edward Elgar

Westminster Abbey sub-organist will play:

  • Andante espressivo (Sonata in G Op 28) by Edward Elgar
  • Sospiri Op 70 by Edward Elgar
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