Coffin of Queen Elizabeth II arrives at Westminister Abbey

LONDON — The funeral of Queen Elizabeth II is underway at Westminster Abbey, where 2,000 mourners are gathered to say goodbye to Britain’s longest-reigning monarch.

Pallbearers lifted the coffin from the state gun carriage and carried it inside the Gothic medieval abbey where 2,000 mourners stood as it entered Monday.

The queen’s coffin sits at the center of the abbey after being borne Monday by pallbearers and accompanied by her son King Charles III, and other members of the royal family.

The queen’s coffin is draped with the royal standard and a wreath of flowers including blooms and foliage cut from the gardens of Buckingham Palace and Clarence House at Charles’s request.

They include rosemary for remembrance, and myrtle cut from a plant that was grown from a sprig of myrtle in the queen’s wedding bouquet in 1947.

They included Prince William, his wife Kate and their two elder children George, 9 and Charlotte, 7. Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, also walked behind the coffin.

Dean of Westminster David Hoyle opened the service in the ancient abbey, where Elizabeth was married and crowned.

He said: “We gather from across the nation, from the Commonwealth, and from the nations of the world, to mourn our loss, to remember her long life of selfless service, and in sure confidence to commit her to the mercy of God our maker and redeemer.”

Categories: US & World News