King Charles met with emergency services workers involved in the preparations, delivery and policing of Queen Elizabeth’s State Funeral on Saturday morning (17.09.22).
The 73-year-old monarch – who automatically became King following his mother’s passing on September 8 aged 96 – thanked them for their support and time ahead of the funeral on Monday (19.09.22).
A tweet on the official Royal Family Twitter account read: “This morning The King thanked emergency services workers for their support ahead of the State Funeral for Her Majesty The Queen.
“The King met key staff who have been involved in the planning and delivery of the policing, including officers from other forces.”
National Health Service (NHS) staff have been given the honour of walking in front of the coffin when it begins its journey to Windsor, travelling from Westminster Abbey to the Wellington Arch in recognition of their work during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
They will be joined in the procession by officers from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, representatives from the Police Service of Northern Ireland, and members of the British Armed Forces
From Wellington Arch, the coffin will be taken by hearse to Windsor, where the public are expected to line the route up the Long Walk from the Shaw Farm Gate.
The committal ceremony will also be televised but the interment in the King George VI Memorial Chapel will not.
During the committal service, the Crown Jeweller will remove the Imperial State Crown, orb, and sceptre from the coffin and place them on the High Alter, before the Lord Chamberlain breaks his stick of office over the coffin and it is lowered into the royal vault out of view.
The queen and her late husband Prince Philip’s coffins will later be moved to the chapel where they will be interred together.