Final service before the Queen’s private burial to be at St George’s Chapel

The final public service for royal family members to say goodbye to the Queen before her burial will be held at St George’s Chapel in Windsor.

Located at the top of the Long Walk in the Berkshire town, the hallowed establishment will host a televised committal service at 4pm on Monday.

St George’s Chapel is steeped in royal history, and it is where the Queen bid farewell to her beloved husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, in a Covid-secure funeral like no other last year.

Following the Queen’s funeral on Monday, the coffin will be taken to the chapel by state hearse in slow procession.

The King and members of the royal family will take part in centuries-old traditions and say their final goodbyes before the private burial.

Prime ministers from Commonwealth countries, and past and present members of the Queen’s household will be among the congregation in the chapel.

The Dean of Windsor will conduct the service, with prayers said by the Rector of Sandringham, the Minister of Crathie Kirk and the Chaplain of Windsor Great Park.

The chapel’s choir will sing, and after the penultimate hymn, the imperial state crown, the orb and the sceptre will be moved from the Queen’s coffin to the altar.

After the final hymn, the King will place the Queen’s Company Camp Colour of the Grenadier Guards on the coffin, while the Lord Chamberlain breaks his Wand of Office and places it on the coffin.

The Dean of Windsor will say a psalm and the Commendation while the Queen’s coffin is lowered into the royal vault.

After this, the Sovereign’s Piper will play a lament and the Archbishop of Canterbury will pronounce the blessing, before the congregation sings the national anthem.

The Queen attended a multitude of services at the chapel, including many Christmas Day and Easter celebrations, as well as several major family occasions.

These included the confirmation of the then-Duke of Cambridge in 1997, and the weddings of three of her grandchildren – Peter Phillips, the Duke of Sussex, and Princess Eugenie – before Philip’s funeral in 2021.

St George’s Chapel is also the resting place of 10 monarchs.

The remains of Henry VIII and the beheaded Charles I are entombed there, along with the bodies of the Queen’s parents, George VI and the Queen Mother.