Britain bids adieu to the Queen

Queen Elizabeth's coffin was lowered into a vault at Windsor Castle yesterday after a day of inimitable pageantry that drew world leaders to her funeral and huge crowds to the streets to say farewell to a revered monarch.

Hundreds of thousands of 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.

Many more had crammed into the capital to witness the procession and funeral, in a moving tribute to Britain's longest-serving monarch who won global respect during 70 years on the throne.

Inside the majestic Westminster Abbey where the funeral was held, some 500 presidents, prime ministers, foreign royal family members and dignitaries, including Joe Biden of the United States, were among the 2,000 congregation.

Later the attention switched to St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, where some 800 guests attended a committal service ahead of her burial.

It concluded with the crown, orb and sceptre - symbols of the monarch's power and governance - being removed from the coffin and placed on the altar.

The Lord Chamberlain, the most senior official in the royal household, then broke his 'Wand of Office', signifying the end of his service to the sovereign, and placed it on the casket before it slowly descended into the royal vault.

As the congregation sang the national anthem, King Charles appeared to be fighting back tears.

However, the vault will not be her final resting place. Later yesterday, a private burial service was due to be held for the royal family, when the Queen was scheduled to be relocated to the King George VI Memorial Chapel. Here the Queen's coffin will join those of her parents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.

The coffin of Prince Philip will also be relocated so that the Queen can be laid to rest alongside her beloved husband of 73 years.

At the funeral, Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, told those present that the grief felt by so many across Britain and the wider world reflected the late monarch's "abundant life and loving service".

"Her late majesty famously declared on a 21st birthday broadcast that her whole life would be dedicated to serving the nation and Commonwealth," he said. "Rarely has such a promise been so well kept. Few leaders receive the outpouring of love that we have seen."

After the funeral, her flag-draped casket was pulled by sailors through London's streets on a gun carriage in one of the largest military processions seen in Britain, involving thousands of members of the armed forces dressed in ceremonial finery.

They walked in step to funeral music from marching bands, while in the background the city's famous Big Ben tolled each minute. King Charles and other senior royals followed on foot.

The casket was taken from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch and transferred to a hearse to travel to Windsor, where more big crowds waited patiently.

Among those who came from around Britain and beyond, people climbed lampposts and stood on barriers and ladders to catch a glimpse of the royal procession.

Millions more watched on television at home on a public holiday declared for the occasion, the first time the funeral of a British monarch has been televised.

John MacKinnon, a 49-year-old insurance broker from London, added: "The ceremony was perfect in every way.

"Very spectacular, as it should be for a great queen."

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.

"She means everything, she was like a gift from God," he said.

Elizabeth died on Sept. 8 at Balmoral Castle, her summer home in the Scottish highlands.

Her health had been in decline, and for months the monarch who had carried out hundreds of official engagements well into her 90s had withdrawn from public life.

However, in line with her sense of duty, she was photographed just two days before she died, looking frail but smiling and holding a walking stick as she appointed Liz Truss as her 15th and final prime minister.

Despite being reputedly 5ft 3ins (1.6m) tall, she dominated rooms with her presence and became a towering global figure, praised in death from Paris and Washington to Moscow and Beijing. National mourning was observed in Brazil, Jordan and Cuba, countries with which she had little direct link.

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.

All of Truss's living predecessors were there at the funeral 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.