that said and tapped on a new app from out there. i mean at you think of it, the welcome kit with the main the been get close that out as it is here, every step of the way i'm going to go with fans across the globe. things can expect some strong support hearing with the spotlight on milton, central america, and canada bill gilbert birthplace, finishing qualifying pull. will the us mexico, puerto rico right in the welcome deb on al jazeera. ah ah, ah,

hello again. this is al jazeera, at our special coverage of the state funeral of queen elizabeth the 2nd in london. i'm adrian said again, it is just after 800 hours g m t 9 a m in london. and a few hours from now, the world will turn a page in history as it says farewell to queen elizabeth. the 2nd, the british monarch 70 year reign of course, witnessed the fall of imperialism, the wise of democracies. it's beginning. saw the dawn of mass media making the queen's coronation, one of the 1st global television events, her funeral to day may be one of the most watched ever. you are, of course, looking at live pictures set from london, thousands of people from all over the world of braves. the cold stood a long queues over night to pay their last respects that would lead us or in the british capital, paying tribute to when the president joe biden said,

had lived her life, the people she served with grace and wisdom. let's take you live now to westminster abbey, where that funeral will take place in a little under 2 hours from now out here as jona. how is that jonah set the scene for us? well, adrian, as i speak to you 2 hours away now from the start of the state funeral in westminster abbey, behind me there is a distinct sort of quiet, reverential hush about the only things you can hear. a helicopter hovering overhead . and the voices of journalists like me, commentating 2 countries all over the world. the final preparations, of course underway for this enormous occasion will be the biggest state occasion in all likelihood ever held in this country and in this city. and as i look at the scene of westminster abbey, behind me, the door to the abbey, guarded by the quantity of gods, the most senior regiments, the queen's god. of course, on the perimeter of the abbey, guarded by smart,

uniform, black, uniform, bobbies. with this for these helmets are there is an enormous, bristling air of security around westminster. this whole precinct has been transformed into security fencing. crowd battery has lots and lots of police on hand military units on hand to support them as well. it goes a 1000000 people are expected to descend on central london to see what they can, all the service and the big screens and the procession that will follow it. and of course, all taking place as well in front of a congregation made up of dozens and dozens of world leaders, presidents, prime ministers, royalty from all over the world. these a state funeral like no other and coming as it does, of course, at the culmination of a period of national morning in this country in which we've witnessed the queen's final journey beginning all the way back to the moral the place where she died. her

favorite home in the scottish highlands, her coffin draped in the roll standard, bearing the imperial crown. born from there to edinburgh, as she lay in state for 2 days, and then down to london, where she lay in state in westminster, hall inside the palace of westminster for 4 days. and 5 nights as hundreds of thousands of people stood in line, day and night to file slowly past her coffin. and of course we've witnessed in this period as well. the passing of the 2nd is to be an age that began in 1952, which the world in this country have changed so much. and the birth of a new era for the british monarchy and the king charles the 3rd and the king. and the queen consort camilla, have completed in this period of morning a tour of the kingdom visiting scotland, northern ireland and wales. but now it is time for the final farewell. and as i say in a couple of hours time, that will take place here. and as i speak to another code as arrived, bringing some of those v, i please, the dignitaries, the members of the 2000 strong congregation that will be witness to the state

funeral in the journal. what will happen in the hours after the funeral time? well, the funeral itself, of course, will begin. let's go there 1st. at westminster hole in the queen's casket. her casket is borne by state, gun carriage, just 20 minutes or so before the funeral begins for a short distance. here to the abbey, the king and the royal family. following behind the service itself will take about 55 minutes conducted by the dean of westminster and with a sermon delivered by the archbishop of canterbury in roughly 55 minutes after it begins. in fact, i say roughly, of course it will be point to the minute after it began, my last post will sound it will be a 2 minutes national silence. the national emphasis will be sung gold, said the king, as it is now of course. and then as the queen's personal pipe of plays a lament,

a coffin will be transferred once again onto the state gun carriage. and it will set off on a street procession, taking her from the abbey. here a long, white whole host gods. parade for mile constitutional hill all the way to wellington arch before being transferred into the state, hers for the 2 hour or so journey to windsor where there'll be a committal service later in the afternoon. a final committal service, and then a very private internment service. in front of family only where she will be laid finally to rest of the family vault alongside her husband, prince philip, and her mother and her father joan or just picking up on on something you said a few moments ago. got a coach arriving there with, with more dignitaries, were expecting what around 2000 people to be among the that the congregation seated inside at westminster abbey for the funeral. it's, it's quite a major logistics operation, isn't it?

to, to, to get these dignitaries in and then again out of, for of westminster abbey, before and after the service. it's an extraordinary operation. i'm not sure whether you are looking at me or whether you are looking at live pictures of the abbey as we speak. but there is a line of dignitaries leaving the coach that is parked outside the front of the abbey. now entering the doors of the abbey, having been greeted by the dean of westminster. the very reverend david hoyle, if they go in, i can't see who they are. this moment you may be able to, it's about the 3rd coach that has gone in. but yes, as you, as you described there, i mean, an absolute, logistical, and security. mammoth. this operation is it's the likes of which this city has, as frankly ever seen. there are thousands upon thousands of world leaders in attendance here that the heads of state presidents, prime ministers,

is also royalty. it goes from europe, from asia, from the middle east. representatives of almost all of the $195.00 countries of the world. they floating over the course of the weekend. they will fly out very quickly, most of them straight after the funeral because of course, most of them will then be heading to new york together even general assembly. but in the brief space of time that they spend here, those who may have seen the queen's coffin lying in state over the weekend in westminster horse. some of the mother met the king. some of them would have met the prime minister. all of that would have had to be very closely guarded and secure. it doesn't say this area has become a security fortress and for very good reason. today is public holiday there in the united kingdom, many businesses have closed even shops, which you might expect to be at to remain open on, on a public holiday. that means that, that many people not having to work on a free to,

to either watch on television or attend in person or at least go to london and on witless state the procession following the funeral. a lot of people have chosen to do that. the capital is very busy, isn't it? absolutely. as i said, a little earlier up to a 1000000 people expected in central london. this morning. i walked through, i park yesterday afternoon and there are enormous screens set up there. they're viewing places at other points as well. a number of cinemas showing the service live. and then of course, there is the route of that procession, and people have been camped out overnight along the mile. other strategic points, whitehall over there, parliament square, and so on. guarding that pref, precious position at the rail. so yes, that, that will be a lot of people who will come here who will want to see it in person. an awful lot more of course, will be watching on television. i think as you were pointing out the top of the bulletin, adrian, this would be an app so that the immense televised state funeral as well and this

country enjoying if i could use that word a bank holiday. so people certainly not going to work if they can. many will watch the funeral. of course not everybody, and it's not pretend which is absolutely everybody's back around the quarter of people in this country, according to opinion, polls don't express wholehearted positive views about them. okay. but one imagine meant, imagine that even many of them will want to watch for the moment. juna, many things don't, don't hold at westminster abbey. let's bring in royal historian at owens is in london studio. ed. what are your thoughts right now? while i'm watching the crowds build, i was walking through central london last nights and already that were that were campus on the mold. clearly this has drawn huge interest both within the united kingdom. but within the wider world,

there isn't an estimated potential television audience today of 4000000000. that's more than half the world's population. whether we will see that many people really tuning in would be fascinating to see. but that's a huge number of people. this is potentially the television event of the century, certainly at this point in time. so it's a, it's a fascinating moment in terms of the level of public interest this, this event is drawing. and what do you think the public interest is, is truly global, as so many people right around the world, but no connection to the u. k. want to, to june in to, to watch what happens in london today. well, here we have to unpack a little bit of the money keys, recent history. we go back 75 years. the monica was still the center of this, this, this, this, this great geopolitical organization called the british empire. and britain had been the,

the biggest imperial power through the 19th century and through the 1st 3 or 4 decades of the, of the 20th century amended the country was this big powerful player on the, on the international stage. and the monarchy was the symbolic glue that held this organization together. the queen's father was of course, the last emperor of india. and what this gave the monarchy was global reach. it gave it global significance, one of the list. but the 2nd great success is when she came to the throne in 52 was easing the transition from empire an empire. let's remind ourselves that had been built on often on force violence coercion to this new geopolitical force called commonwealth, which is a voluntary association of 56 nations who have essentially gathered around a set of values. and it's again held together by the british monarch who acts as head of the commonwealth. now that role is passed to king charles the 3rd. it still

has this global reach the commonwealth. and i think that partly explains why so many nations around the world will have some interest in the events in central london today. at the moment, thanks. vehicles speak to you again in the coming hours that's at owens in london. let's bring in once again, left hand to general simon mail, who's in london studio. he's a retired british army officer. simon general is just wanna get your thoughts once again on the huge security challenge that this feel poses today. well, there's definitely threats, adrian arm, but ter, and they're all well acknowledged. and as we said earlier, you, you, you, you plan for the worst, you hope for the best. ah, it will be of a self policing crowd. as you can see, it's fascinating watching your be of the imagery coming back on your, on your, on your screen some. i've seen a lot of old friends walking into the abbey already. i'm looking at the are the

young soldiers around the place and then i'm looking it, as you can see that the mood in the crowd on, other than the odd person, everybody they're turning out to see the, the monic is not just curiosity, it's, it's emotional bond and so in many ways it's, it's an easy crowd, it's an easy security operation. a compared to the adobe for all match. ah, but to clearly there are, but people who might, might wish to take advantage of a collection of, of highly influential important people are on a day like this all to just ruin some feel make a political statement. and so the police, the security services, the intelligence services, and of course, we'll share that around the, around the globe with of our close allies. will will also be all joined together in a sort of security coalition to ensure that the key element of this, which is the marking of queen elizabeth passing and the opportunity for both the

people of great britain and well white to acknowledge that goes off as peacefully as, as, as, as, as it should do. and the armed forces were course, also involved in that security operation, as they will be that the ceremony itself. and what are we to make of the fact that, that so many detachments of the, the armed forces not from britain, but from, not just from, from brit. but the commonwealth too, will be involved in what we're about to see unfold today. will i think if i understand it rightly, and it may make correct me that via the royal canadian mounted police may well be leading some of the procession. i can see some images you have. all of them are australian contingent, who also feel very strongly about the monarchy. i feel very, very proud and rather jealous of those who are in, in uniform today on the night wherever they are in london. and of course, every one of those young soldiers, sailors, airmen, a policeman. of course,

anybody in uniform will have a family who of, from where whatever part of london, the great britain, even across the world who i suspect we equally proud to see their young son, daughter, husband, father, whatever, ah, in, in uniform as an integral part of this this extraordinary ceremonial of occasion to day out and you say you're jealous to me and it looks like extraordinary hard work. and i'm not sure that i have, i'd have that the discipline or, or the capacity to do what we see. a lot of the members of the armed forces doing in these, in that ceremonial are times that, that these duties that they have to perform ceremonially. i guarantee you would be able to do an adrian i suspect, like like them, you'd be absolutely motivated, fun enough, that sort of chest expand as out there that the the, the weight of the occasion significance of the occasion will absolutely bear down

on every, every young soldier, sailor, airman, ah, my heart really goes out to those extraordinary youngsters who will be the pull bears. we saw them from the roll scottish regiment up at bell moral. we saw them from the grenadier gods are in london, and we'll see them again very shortly. and extraordinary responsibility for people who probably only about 202122. ah. but trust me, every, every person in uniform there will be shoulders back, chest out. stand him 2 or 3 inches taller for being there. and it's one of the great privileges of uniform service, those that we're going to see as we're pulling the gun carriage later than that looks like hard work as well. ah, well of course you have, you have um, you'll put both pullin as and you'll notice a lot of the sailors at the back to make sure the gun carriage which is extremely heavy, doesn't run away. so you got breaks at the back. ah, but again to be

a young sailor ah, service men women selected to pull the coffin, the the, the, the gun carriage of queen elizabeth. the monarch is a huge both responsibility and privilege. they'll feel they honor it for the rest of their lives. there though, remember exactly where they were on the 19th of september, 2022. to sign a general, we will back with you shortly. for the moment many thanks, lieutenant general, simon mailed london. well, queen elizabeth was not only the head of the royal family and the british head of state, she was of course, the head of the commonwealth, a group of $56.00 independent nations, including republics. we have correspondence standing by 3 of those commonwealth nations. of the metal is in new delhi. sarah clark is in sibley, and how to patricia is in johannesburg. we'll go to australia and south africa in just a moment, but 1st i speak to of the natal, who is in new delhi,

a delegation from india. poverty is a funeral in london and out of people that you really feel about what's happening today. the reactions to the queen's death have been rather makes and really underline how the people here are we looking at history. now officially, the government has extended courtesy and respect. last week. the state is of a day of morning and as we speak, the president drop with the moon more is in london for the funeral. but people basil their reactions have been draw the muted and really tell us how in just relations with its former colonial ruler, has evolved and adapted over the last few years. now in that was a colony for about 200 years. and many of those symbols have survived, particularly the buildings. now we're coming to you from a place called cannot place in central new delhi. this is an important business in

shopping district. it was designed and built during the british era. in fact, it was named after a former deal, but that years ago it's name has changed. it is now renamed after a former indian prime minister and press his anti stretch of central new delhi, which is in jazz administrative capital has many of those buildings that have the look and feel of colonial tight that i'm talking buildings like the parliament, the house where the president lives, one of the last few years that have been concerted efforts to rename some of those streets rebuild some of those buildings replace some of those tattoos. the other thing that a queen elizabeth, the 2nd foggy, has done if it has be ignited some of those old conversations and debates about reparations. and also a reassessment of what, you know, the psychological and economic damage of colonial history to countries like india

and poverty. tell us something about how the people personally feel about queen elizabeth, who of course visited india on her on occasion. so again, independence in 1947, just few years before queen elizabeth ascended to the throne. in many ways when she did visit in dad was like a bit of a fresh start. but for many people and especially the younger generation, you know, over the last year she has been looked at. i someone who was the monarch and the head of a country that india has close, diplomatic and create ties with. and also someone who happens to be a bit of a global celebrity. now she visited india 3 times as the head of the commonwealth and also to sort of strengthen ties between 2 nations. you know, she was warmly welcomed by the heads of state of those times, most significant visit was a final one in 1997. this was significant for various reasons. one,

it was there that in dallas, celebrating 15 years of independence, it was also a visit during which she acknowledged one of the most painful chapters of indian colonial history. the gen while about massacre in 1919 british troops open file at a peaceful protest in northern india. british authorities estimate about 400 people were killed. but indian authorities believe that the death toll was in the thousands. the fact that she visited the fight, acknowledge that history also, you know, paid respect to the memorial of mahatma gandhi, a man who fought her country. really, you know, for many people, it was the closest that india was going to get to apology. the focus in india, and now when it comes to the monarchy and cologne in history, is more about focusing on a, you know, deed of fighters, people who got india, that independence looking at britain as a strategic ally. and really sort of reclaiming that colonial narrative to fit the

india off to day. and we're in just times in the world today of these avi, it's old standing and also it's relations with other countries like the u. k. reporting live from new delhi property manufacture date. let's go to australia event, which is to kind of public holiday on thursday. more. queen elizabeth passing sarah clark is in sydney for a sarah. what's the mood look as a over whelming respect. here for the queen of the last tell or days we've seen millions of people come and pay tribute to not just the queen, but her long standing commitment to australia. here in sydney, we've seen beautiful images of the queen are being screened across the styles of the upper house. from the st. thousands of people flocked to the opera house just to see those images. and of course, that long standing commitment goes all back back to 1954. not long after her coronation, where she visited destroyer and about 7 half 1000000 people at turned out in the

straits just to get a glimpse of the queen during his visit. and she's visited australia, 16 times met 16 prime witnesses, and visited every state and territory, which is an epic commitment in itself. and in 2002, she declared her affection an adoration for australia. nothing that it was true solids and longstanding. and we have a lovely story about a secret letter here and in sydney, she had great adoration for the citizens of sydney. back in 1986. she wrote a letter, which has been kept in a vault in the dime of the queen. victoria building to of course was named out to her great, great grandmother. and this was restored to pay tribute to her great right grandmother. and that less i cannot be opened until at 20 i, he is sick. so of that in itself, it shows the relationship between australia and the queen. and i should note that there is a delegation australians now in london, including of course being led by the striving, prime minister, anthony albanese, and 10 are described as ordering. but exceptional strains and quite an eclectic mix

. and we have an educational pioneer. we have a chief medical officer, we have a policeman. we also have the estallion of the year tennis champion dylan, l costs. they are all representing australia and will attend this funeral out 0. sarah clark that live in sydney syrup many thanks. let's go to south africa, then another commonwealth member or 0. how to patricia is in johannesburg. girl, oh, tell us something about both the queen's legacy. as far as south africa is concerned and how people that have reacted to her passing due to they do they really care? while the lead here is rather low key. some people are morning decree in watching the funeral on television, but others are not. and that could a slamming to do with the complicated and sometimes painful history between britain and africa during the colonial years for those who are fascinated by her and mourning her remembering her legacy there. remember the time when she came here

1947 with a family and she toward some parts of the country. back then was during the height of a potato. when there was segregation and black africans were treated as 2nd class citizens, they couldn't even vote. they were exploited, and some historians said that she noticed this and would speak out quietly, a bad house. he felt foul how black people were being ill treated. for example, we are in pa, cursed a fairly up market area in johannesburg. during the a party of years, our, when it been allowed to that on the street corner because of the color of my skin and in a part that ended in 1994. and now my della became the 1st black president of south africa and historian said the queen had a very close relationship with nelson mandela. they spoke a lot that a big bond between them was very, very fond of south africa ad of nelson mandela to day. the relationship between britain and the morning keys out of age, trade and diplomacy. but so africa and other african countries want britain to cheat them under more equal footing. african leaders know that they now have more

options on the table such as china, india, and russia. britain knows this demonic he knows this other western countries know this. so they are trying to cultivate that relationship with other forget other african countries. but jeremy, those people in south africa in other parts of the continent who are morning, the queen, i remember seeing her legacy and remembering her life. i was a serious her with tosh. her that live in johannesburg, retention due to her or elizabeth was named quinn. on february 5th, 1952. she was in kenya at the time. 3 hours outside my ruby, a rural lodge where she was informed of her father's death, observed catherine sawyer has more. now, on the queen's legacy in that country, queen elizabeth was here in central kenya in 1952. and this is where she learned that her father had died. they had come to

a tree house that was here in the region, and she was with her husband as she spent quite, ah, some time, ah right here. i'm watching an elephant into the, on the malls that was drinking water. there are so many memories here. the workers here say that they're selling point is that this is a woman who came as a princess, but then she left as a queen, a most dare garcia. his late father was a cook. in 1952. he was the one who prepared food for their oils on that day. we normally get out of guest coming here asking what she did when she came here and to restore them back to the just she just walked through the bush. and that's why as a tradition or the, i guess i'm not around to come straight to the roach. we normally have a bush walk so that you pick about memory during the queen's range. she did visit

kenya again about to other times and she did come to this lodge where she spent the night and a lot of canyons, though we have spoken to say that the downside of her legacy is colonialism. was catherine sawyer. in kenya, these ally pictures then from westminster abbey, where the funeral of queen elizabeth the 2nd is due to get on the way in a little over 90 minutes from now people arriving the corner complicated operation to get the various signatories heads of state overseas. government representatives, including foreign, royal families, governors, general, prime ministers. and many of them had together at the royal hospital in chelsea and travel under a well what of being described as collective arrangements?

what they made as they put them on the bus to make the journey to westminster abbey . so were, as we wait for that to a funeral service to begin, the queen's coffin will be taken from westminster hall to westminster abbey, and a procession a beginning. and a little over one hour from now, and we will of course, be, be taking you live to all of that to here on out 0. you can witness it for yourself . let's bring in at owens once again, boil historian, and we'll talk more about these westminster abbey in just a moment. i just wanted to ask you briefly though, about the commonwealth and the fact that quinn elizabeth's reign saw really the decline of the british empire. and it had begun before she became queen, but so many of the nations that were that were

a british overseas territories became independent nations and the importance of the commonwealth it's, it's fascinating because when we talk about elizabeth 2nd legacies, we often talk about how she kept this thing called the commonwealth together. what she also did was really ease the transition from a british imperial mentality in the early years of her reign to this new mentality which was about commonwealth. her father had been the last emperor of india. and when india gained its independence, 947, it was the 1st in a series of dominoes to, to essentially leave empire by way of independence. and elizabeth, the 2nd would, would oversee this process, but make it, if you like, palatable, she offered the kind of comfort blanket to members of the british public who witnessing the empire, the supposed greatness disappear, to be replaced by something very different. and i'm not continuity. i think was key to her of 1st 2 decades on the throne. let's talk about westminster abbey,

where the, the, the state funeral will be held today. tell us little something about the importance of, of this building. it. it was where queen elizabeth the 2nd was crowned queen. it was well how coronation took place. indeed, it is the spiritual center of the modern british nation. it has been used regularly by the british monarchy for public events over the last 150 years, but it has a longer history than not. it is the the site where kings and queens have been being crowned and anointed. getting back, we think will must a 1000 years. so it has played this key role within britain's history. more recently, it is this, this, this site for royal spectacle. it's a site for the drama of, of the modern nation. we see unfolding in westminster abbey, really

a statement of what modern britain is now as well. not just, it's not just about commemoration. celebration of the, of the queen's long run. it's about ritual pageantry. the role of the church of england, the role of, of the military, the role of a political dignitaries, as we've been discussing, already more than 500 foreign dignitaries from abroad. i have descended on london for this event and they are present. and this is a reflection, really of britain's ongoing relationships and the significance of britain in manuel as historian ed. what in particular will you be looking out for today? i think i'll be looking at a couple of things. it'll be fascinating to see exactly who is present in the, in the, in westminster abbey for this or that often the monitor. he is, if you like, delivering a kind of statement about the kind of money he wants to be in terms of the guests

that are invited. clearly isn't still a global monitor with global residents. but it is also a mona key that has reached deep into the civil society. so i expect we will see the heads of various charities that are on the receiving end of a royal patronage. it'll be interesting to see them. it also be interesting to see how the crowds respond to the pageantry in the spectacle. this is a moment of morning, a moment of reflection on the life of a list for the 2nd. and yet i think many people gathering in central london say, want to celebrate the moments long life. so i'm wondering, are we going see applause cheering, or are we going see a more on them and speaking of the public, the fact that so many people have wanted to be in london for not just today, but for the lang and state over the past 4 days what became known as the cue, a phenomenon that stretched back watson 6 kilometers of time, times weights of up to 13 or more hours to file past the queen's coffin.

again, as a historian, what are your thoughts on that? oh, well, we've had this kind of royal lying in state 4 times now in the last 100 and, and 12 years getting right back to the, to the queen's great grandfather. edward, the 7 who reintroduced this this ritual because it said a lot of by britain's democratic culture, it, it takes place the lying in state in westminster hole, which is at heart of, of britain's parliament. so it's about a celebration of britain's democracy and the monitors close association with, with britain's democracy. it's also about making monarchy appear popular because it provides an opportunity to. ringback remembers the public ordinary citizens to come and pay final respects to the monarch who has just died on it on it brings them into close proximity with the monex physical remains. and this is seen as an

important symbolic moment in terms of what the modern monica represents. because of course, it wants to demonstrate that it has this wide popular appeal. ok for the moment. many thanks to be, we'll be back with you again shortly. that's set well historian and then in london or as queen elizabeth the 2nd is laid to rest. today al jazeera, stephanie decker took the opportunity to look back at a decades of larger scale funerals, not just in the u. k, but around the world from politicians to religious figures, to icons his horrible. oh, brother loving the sovereign king george the 6th, the law stayed. funeral of a british monarch was in 1952 king george. the 6th, the father in predecessor of the late queen, was laid to rest as the british empire was starting to decline lou, 4 years earlier after opposing colonial rule and being instrumental in india,

gaining its independence from britain. mahatma gandhi had been assassinated, his killing plunged his nation into morning, around 2000000, watched his ashes being scattered over the river ganges, and 2 more political assassinations. just 5 years apart, the funeral of u. s. president john f kennedy was brought calls to millions on t v. as the visual medium was starting to gain momentum. and in 1968 civil rights leader, martin luther king. not a state funeral, but considered just as significant by many millions for the funeral of president of mass grief for politicians to unprecedented scenes in cairo where millions turned out to mourn egypt. second president seen as anti colonialist, a national hero. gammel. abdul nah said. the year was $970.00 in $1089.00 millions to came out in iran to bid farewell to ayatollah hominy. the crowd highly

emotional, a chaotic display of grief. and princess diana, the people's princesses, she was known, killed in a car crash in 1997. her 2 young sons walking behind her coffin in full public view . few who watched that day have forgotten these images. the funeral of pope john paul the 2nd in 2005 not only drew about a 1000000 faithful, but also more than 200 heads of state government in royalty, kings, queens presidents and prime ministers. 6 years later, the state funeral of kim jong il, carefully choreographed and controlled the death of nelson mandela in 2013 was mourned by millions worldwide of to spending nearly 3 decades in prison for demanding equality and fighting south africa's apartheid system. the country's 1st black president was buried in his rural home village of colonel. the most recent

rural funeral, a much smaller affair than queen elizabeth with just 30 guests that of her husband . prince philip died last april at the age of 99. many say the queen never recovered from losing her life partner the body of prince philip will be lay to rest next to his queen once the funeral is over. on monday, the 1st time in history, the funeral of a british hovering will be televised live around the world. stephanie decker, l g 0. as thank you, i live once again to london, then the funeral. do to begin. the service itself in an hour and 22 minutes from now. of course the queen's coffin will be moved from westminster hall to the abbey in procession. that said, she to begin a little over an hour from now i'll deserves jonah hall is at westminster. abbey is with us at once again. live journal. what's happening there?

no. i doing preparations for the funeral now very well on the way. and indeed, the congregation forming quite substantially. now, 2000 people, they will be inside westminster abbey. for the state funeral of queen elizabeth the 2nd and as i speak to you after my shoulder, the 3 rosemont coaches are parked outside. and i think, although it's hard to tell from this distance, who exactly, i think this is the beginning of foreign dignitaries arriving in westminster abbey . we've seen arrivals over the last hour, including british politicians, including other dignitaries, representatives of charities. the queen supported 200 members of the last queen's honors list it as well invited to attend. but i think the security arrangements for this funeral with so many world leaders in attendance. and they

had to take a decision to bring people by coach not 5. their usual security motorcade, some were happy with that. others perhaps less so that having to suffer the indignity of effectively being brought to the queen's funeral by public transport. that pretty smart coaches. and as you see, that, that line of dignitaries being greeted by the dean of westminster, the very reverend david hoyle and they will have about 18 minutes inside the abbey sitting and waiting for the funeral to begin in any 2nd. now he will hear the bell of the be totaling it's been totaling once every minute to signify the $96.00 is of the queen's age. who are we are about 82 minutes away from the beginning of the funeral services agenda. once the, the service itself is what happened? a well, the service will last precisely 55 minutes. and at 55 minutes

past 11 o'clock 10 g m t 5, but it's to noon. the last host will sound they will be a 2 minute national silence, and then a rendition of the national anthem, which now associate god save the king and accompanied by a lament played by the queen's personal piper the queen's coffin draped to course, as it will be as it has been since her death in the royal standard bearing the imperial crown, and the albany, sceptre will be carried out of the abbey, it will be placed to a state gun carriage, and it will begin a street procession. taking her remains from the abbey. here, down broad sanctuary across parliament, square and whitehall, then across horse guards parade, and up the mount. constitutional hill. constitutional hill. i beg your pardon to wellington arch, where it will be transferred to the state her. so then taken on the roughly to our

road journey to windsor where later on this afternoon, there'll be a final committal service in front of 800 guests at saint george's chapel. and then at 7 30 pm, 630 gmc, a very private ceremony. the final, in terms of the queen's casket in the royal vault where she would lie beside her husband for that who died last year as well as her mother and her father, king george, the sick i speak to a marching band of the preparations for the funeral are playing, they are walking down broad sanctuary past the entrance to the abbey. presumably going to take up position for the eventual st. processional will follow. the answer is during a home reporting live that to abby and lets brain once again i left on a general simon male who is in london studio. his retired british shut on the

officer general. good to have you with us. once again, before we come on and talk about what's happening right now, i've been told that you are part of this extraordinary phenomenon that, that's become known in the u. k. simply as the q a. you took your place in line to pay your respects in westminster. hall, ah, and her majesty's coffin, i just wanted to ask you, feel your thoughts on that? why it why you felt that it was important, but someone in your position, i'm sure, could have found a way to the front of the queue. and if you chose to the standard an acute yourself up, i think the q itself, what was, was part of the act of remembrance, really a when i confess that i, when i joined it with my nephew at 1 o'clock in the morning at burnsy, i was not anticipating 14 hours, i mentally had thought 800. let's be optimistic that we'll probably be 6. but i had

to say it felt like a pilgrimage by the end, although one only spent 5 minutes maximum in westminster hall surrounded by the pomp and ceremony over of a royal line in state. ah, the archers, beefeaters, gentlemen, arches, et cetera. the other 13 hours, 55 minutes were, was spent just alongside other members of the bridge public. people who every walk of life. not a single one complaining. i believe it relatively fit. and one was just struck as the longer one was in the queue to an extent all will be a foot. so, and i'm sure everybody else was how glad one was that ter wanted included part of one's act of remembrance the sovereign by, by joining capital t capital q, the q. and my understanding this morning is that something near 700000 people made that pilgrimage. all that took that long wait in the,

in the queue and i think everybody will have felt at the end of it, that they were extremely glad that they didn't as it were. bypass that the experience of it. although obviously the important thing was to buy one's head in front of one's monica at the time. so it wasn't extraordinary. i was all through the night and i took photographs of saint paul's cathedral cathedral at 567, and 8 o'clock in the morning. and there was any back, 200 yards difference between the 1st to the last photograph. but looking back o's, i was delighted to join so many other people in making my mark of respect and remembrance, and military men. and indeed, women are remarkably good at keeping their remote is in check. ah, you know quite know what it is that they're feeling. i mean, what, what did you feel as you stood there in in westminster? oh, well i say i say i think i get a huge amount of rivers. one was overcome by the grandeur, by the sense of history,

that to the, the, the, the, just the scene of the, at the queen's cap of out of me. no, you're on all mat dyess by the yeoman warders. the gentleman her arms, the the young officers from the various guards send up household cavalry regiments . there are the sheer solemnity, and as we all march up into westminster hall, the mood which had been very good humored as you can imagine, but just took on a very, very solemn air as everybody i think, fell within themselves to their own emotions. ah, and was grateful of having had the opportunity which will of course last with us to the end of our days. and i say i did it with my my young nephew. and that was a lovely thing to share along with all the sort of what i recall q buddies. $11.00 made in the course of 14 hours along the embankment. and what are your thoughts are this morning as, as we see these pictures from london now?

events beginning to unfold. ah, the, the coffin itself will begin its journey to westminster abbey in an hour from, from now the service getting underway. an hour and 15 minutes, but it's all beginning to happen now with, with a military precision, isn't it? it all time to the 2nd artist of us. it after he does have to be adrian, as, as you know, in the eds referred to it. ah, that, you know, people will arrive it to the minute and there is precedence of course, you know, see a head, you know, the, the, all the guests arrive and i've seen all the senior military people, all sort of contemporaries of mine or people i worked. ready for all the field marshal some that i recognized so well on the band, the snow for me, not the the band of the ra marines. very, very well known around the world. i see the state bands with the, with a scottish pipers there and that various other in a pipe pipe pipes and drums like c a c a shorter than coming down to coming down the road now. and everybody will be to

a minute will be stepping off. everything will have been timed. ah, and people say, well why, why is the queen's a coffin going to be moved at at? i think it's $1044.00. i think it's because she will arrive at exactly 1052 at at at westminster abbey. and it is a remarkable, ah, it is just a remarkable program of arrangements and the people who are responsible for it are utterly big commended for a foot for pulling this together. because however much you plan for it, the scale of it is, is unprecedented. yes, and all of this, we can see that, that, that the very public spectacle, as you say now and involving so many parts of the british military and the security services happening in the midst of another operation. and no less than a, it is a kind of considerable size but, but actually quite a hidden, you can't see that it's going on unless you're looking very carefully. but that,

and that, that is the security challenge that, that the security that, that leads to, to, to a company of an event of the source were huge adrian, you quite rightly say, and some of it very visible. a lot of policemen there, of course, a lot of military who are not part of the ceremonial procession in support of the police. as i mentioned earlier, my own regiment, quizzed room guards are clearly on the river. probably underneath the are, we all have memories of a guy fawkes under the 5th of november. so underneath that, the capital and over the capital, all, all planes have been diverted. and there will be an that there will be open roll. air force fighters are up above and of course the, the, the whole cyber space will be dominated by the intelligence services and g, c, h q, a no more between potential threat saw, but possible low chatter on various lines of people who might wish the,

the british people or the monarchy or whoever ill will, will all be so. so some of it very, very visible and quite right. it's a deterrent. it's a reassurance i and others, others of it though, the huge apparatus of state design designed to ensure that this god willing will go off. absolutely, as it should do, marking the, the death and funeral of her majesty than a new toby earlier general. they're better as a military man, that you're quite envious of those who are actually taking part in this, whether they're part of the ceremonial or the side of things, all the security operation itself. well, i was very fortunate to us to go and see a members of my old regiment who were basically been billeted somewhere near saint james's park tube station, a young officer who i recruited myself and i was the colonel of the regiment. most of the young soldiers i had, i have to say weren't even alive when i commanded via the regiment are. but it was

lovely to impress upon them the honor that they had by contributing security and the responsibility they had. because they are the eyes and ears in collaborating with the, with the, with, with the, of the police and, and actually the other thing, adrian and you'll recall it from the, or from the olympics. are this wonderful interplay between the great british public and so many visitors who are there and our police and our armed forces. and i said, you know, you will be amazed how friendly people are. they'll be so pleased to see you in uniform and they'll want to engage with you. your job there is to remain alert. look smart. of course, you carry the reputation of the armed forces in your regiment on your shoulders or the act, his eyes and ears. but the interface of the public, because he'll make a great day for you and make a great day for those who have got to stand around for many hours. they're not part of the main celebration. and so the public will be, you know, chatting away with the police, are we chatting away with the,

with the various elements of the security and they'll be, they, they, they like the armed forces um, and for a young soldier there to be engaging with the public i think will be great, a great part of the experience for that while they have a the say, a proper responsible role to play throughout these proceedings. as of course, on for many members of the, the, the armed forces that they will never have taken part in an operation like this before because because of that, because of their age and yet this is something that the british armed forces do so . so very well, it's very well rehearsed and very well practiced, isn't it? well, you've got to remember films like zulu, where you just got the, the very young soldier and behind in the old sweat nigel green. in that case, you know, steady lad steady. and that's the great thing in the military navy officers are there. and then there's a, there's a sergeant major of the queen's guards, squadron who am god bless and at least was born when i was commanding, although he shows hell wasn't serving,

but he's got 20 years experience. and then there were some youngsters there who joined literally 6 months ago. and that'll go for that'll go for the ceremonial ceremonial troops. they are all combat trips. it's always well worth reminding viewers and listeners that every member of the household cavalry, all the gods battalions are all trained infantrymen. ceremonial is what they do as well. ah, but you'll see many afghan and iraq metals on the, on the, on the tunics of, of, of the rob, older members of the guards battalions, the marines, the bands, men, et cetera. and that, so that's a really, really important point. and it just shows that they will do the ceremonial beautifully, but tomorrow they can equally as well be on operation somewhere in the world. and again that something will stream the proud of that we switch between those roles are, but it's very much locked up. we, we honor our ability to support the monarchy, particularly these times a great national great national morning or celebration general mal,

it's been like another really good to one scared by many thanks. indeed, sir, for being with us. and i know that we'll, we'll probably catch up again in a short while, but for the mode so many thanks and eat that, sir. lieutenant general. sir simon, mail that in london, historian, doctor ed owens, his cert with us once again. he's in our london studio. so an hour less than an hour away until the or until the main formalities, sir, begin at yes, we are. but what we're when a single, ready in the, in the streets as we just heard from, from simon, is real emphasis on the military procession. the pattern treat the parades a lot of people will have come to london to share in this moment. to share in this, in this pageantry is one of the great drawers of the british model of the british monica and many thanks to the for from left to spread. i want to bring a joe here who's outside westminster abbey agenda as we was saying to the things

really beginning to ramp up. now. less than an hour that that, that the, the formalities begin when the queen's coughing moves from westman, the whole to westminster abbey. oh yes, i understand. the abiding sensor is one of extraordinary. still, there's barely a breath of wind. no planes flying overhead. they've all been diverted or delayed away from this era. there's no traffic, of course. all you hear apart from the sort of dull rumble of journalists voice is the occasional clip popping of horses hooves. the occasional shouted order to a marching band, the formation of police and sailors, royal navy sailors who have just formed an honor guard along sanctuary. here the route that the queen's coffin will take from victoria hall to the abbey when it begins moving shortly. and that bell is perhaps heard there as i was speaking once

a minute. the bell of westminster abbey totaling the age of the queen, 96 minutes 96 years and a countdown really. as it goes, we're about 75 minutes now from the beginning of the ceremony and co choose beginning to arrive, the congregation swelling aside the abbey. we have seen british politicians arriving local dignitaries, members and representatives of charities. the queen supported as well as military figures and senior clergy. and shortly we will begin to see the foreign dignitaries arriving in large numbers. the very many heads of state and royalty here representing most of the worlds 195 countries for what is going to be a stay funeral like no other. and the biggest event in all likelihood ever to be held in the city in this country. generally,

what happens once the funeral has a funeral service, it itself has entered the funeral service inside westminster abbey will take about 55 minutes. an extraordinary setting, of course, so evocative and rich with history. the 1st coronation royal coronation took place here in 1066, the coronation of william the conqueror down the ages. it has been the scene of coronation and of royal weddings, and of course of royal funerals and 55 minutes after it begins. it will end with the sounding of the last post, a 2 minute national silence, and a rendition of the national anthem. now of course, god save the king and then as a lament is played by the queen's personal piper, her coffin will be borne by the queen's god out of the abbey, on to awaiting state gun carriage. and we'll begin a procession. a st processional will be essentially her final journey,

leaving the abbey going down broad sanctuary across parliament square. and then whitehall horse guards parade. along the mal constitution hill and ending at wellington arch. the streets of course, lined with people up to a 1000000 people expected to descend on central london to try to bear witness in some way to this event that that point it will be placed in the state, hers for the journey to winds up around 2 hours that will take at we're late to this afternoon, there'll be a committal service at saint george's chapel in front of a congregation of $800.00 people and then a very private family only in terms of service at around 7 30 pm this evening. 630 gmc, when the list of the 2nd will be entered in the royal vault, denise and george's chapel joining her husband. prince philip, who died last year, april 2021 and her mother between mother and her father, king george the 6th, and another chime. they're counting down the years of the queen's life,

counting down the minutes to this funeral state funeral service due to begin at 11 o'clock in the morning. 10 g m t i'll just hear us jane. ho holla, i'm sorry. our reporting live from westminster abbey in central london. and as taylor said, that to a funeral to, to get under way in an hour from now the funeral service itself, the queen's constant, will, will be moved from westminster hall to the abbey, beginning in around 45 minutes. from now you can watch it all live here on out to 0. ah.