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Queen Elizabeth’s II Funeral - World Leaders And Royalty Attend


World leaders and royalty gather for Queen's funeral.

As reported by the BBC, World leaders have arrived at Westminster Abbey for the state funeral of Britain's longest-reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II.

King Charles III will lead a sombre procession behind his mother's coffin on the short journey from Westminster Hall to the abbey shortly.

The abbey's bell has started to toll once a minute ahead of the service which will begin at 11:00 BST.

It marks the end of 10 days of events across the UK since the Queen's death.

US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and Canadian Prime Minister are among the world leaders who have arrived at the abbey, while six former British prime ministers are also present.

Before the service begins, the Queen's coffin will be conveyed - in the first of three processions throughout the day - through Parliament Square, a distance of about 820ft (250m).

The Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex will once more walk side-by-side behind their father, the King, who will walk alongside his siblings, the Queen's four children.

Two of the Queen's great-grandchildren, Prince George, nine, and Princess Charlotte, seven, will also walk behind the Queen's coffin.

Members of the Royal Family are arriving at Westminster Hall as they prepare to make the sombre journey.

Some 2,000 mourners will bid farewell to the Queen at the state funeral, including 500 dignitaries - with presidents, prime ministers and foreign royalty among the guests.

There will also be members of many European royal families, including Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and Denmark, as well as the Emperor and Empress of Japan.

Former prime ministers Theresa May, Tony Blair, David Cameron, Gordon Brown, John Major and Boris Johnson have all entered the historic abbey ahead of the ceremony.

Others who have arrived include Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and the UK's chief medical adviser Prof Chris Whitty.

About 200 people who were recognised in the Queen's birthday honours also received invitations.

As London prepares for as many as one million visitors for the historic occasion, roads and bridges are closed to traffic and an unprecedented security operation is under way.

All public viewing areas for the procession are already full, London's City Hall said.

Millions of people will be watching the funeral across the country and most workplaces are closed for a bank holiday.

The event is also expected to be watched by millions around the world, with the Queen the head of state for 14 realms throughout the Commonwealth.

For those not invited big screens have been put up in cities across the country, while some cinemas, pubs and other venues are also showing the once-in-a-generation event.

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