Princess of Wales & Ukrainian First Lady Meet, How to Watch the State Funeral

Ahead of tomorrow’s State Funeral, it was another busy day as heads of state arrived for the service and paid their respects to Her Majesty The Queen. A new portrait of Her Majesty was released, taken in May by Ranald Mackechnie at Windsor Castle. The aquamarine brooches she is wearing in the photo were given to her by her father, King George VI, on her 18th birthday.

Here are the day’s headlines. 

• The Orders of Service have been released for Westminster Abbey and St. George’s Chapel.  
• The Princess of Wales and Ukraine’s First Lady, Olena Zelenska, met at Buckingham Palace. 
• An extraordinary group of heads of state gathered at Buckingham Palace, arguably the biggest diplomatic reception ever hosted by a monarch.  
• There was a National Moment of Reflection. 

We begin with the Orders of Service for tomorrow, starting with the State Funeral. (You can view the Order of Service here.)

From the Washington Post:

The dean of Westminster, the Very Rev. David Hoyle, will lead the state funeral, with the sermon given by the archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. and Right Hon. Justin Welby.

Before the service, the Westminster Abbey tenor bell will toll once a minute for 96 minutes, with each toll representing a year of Elizabeth’s life. 

Before the service starts at 11 am, a procession will bring the Queen’s coffin from Westminster Hall to the Abbey. It will rest on a gun carriage towed by 98 Royal Navy sailors, a tradition that goes back to the funeral of Queen Victoria. Most members of the Bearer Party will walk behind the coffin from Westminster Hall, while others will join the procession as it enters Westminster Abbey, including Prince George and Princess Charlotte. 

Here you see the children at Prince Philip’s memorial. 

More from The Telegraph’s coverage. 

Buckingham Palace announced Sunday night that Her Majesty’s great-grandchildren, aged nine and seven, would join the procession down the nave at the start of the service. They will walk behind their parents the Prince and Princess of Wales and in front of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, reflecting their place in the line of succession.

The Prince and Princess of Wales are understood to have thought “very carefully” ahead of the funeral about whether to involve their two elder children, who called the late Queen “Gan Gan”.

More about the musical selections from this Hello story. 

including The Lord’s My Shepherd, I’ll Not Want, which was sung at the Queen’s wedding to the Duke of Edinburgh in 1947. The same hymn was also included at the funeral of the Queen’s father George VI in 1952, but with slightly different wording.

Other hymns which will be sung during the funeral service include The Day Thou Gavest, Lord, Is Ended; and Love Divine, All Loves Excelling. The latter song has featured in several royal weddings over the years, including that of Prince William and Princess Kate, Charles and Camilla and Princess Eugenie. 

You can watch the State Funeral online: 

• A feed will be provided by CSPAN (no commentary). 
• The BBC will have the service live on its YouTube channel. 
• ITV will also have the service on its YouTube channel. 
• Sky News also will be live on its YouTube channel.
• The official channel for the British Royal Family will have the services live.  
• ITN’s Royal Family Channel will have the service live on its YouTube channel. 
• BBC America’s coverage begins at 4 am in the US. If you don’t get BBC America, PBS will air the BBC coverage. 
• ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox, NBC, MSNBC, and other US outlets will have live coverage. 
• CTV News and CBC will have live coverage.

From The Telegraph’s coverage. 

After the service the Queen’s coffin will be returned to the gun carriage by the bearer party and a procession will travel to Wellington Arch at Hyde Park, led by NHS doctors and nurses. 

The route will be lined by the Armed Forces from Westminster Abbey to the top of Constitution Hill at the Commonwealth Memorial Gates.

At Wellington Arch the Royal family will watch as the Queen’s coffin is transferred to the new state hearse, whose details the Queen approved, before it begins its journey to Windsor Castle.

At 3.53pm, the procession will halt at the bottom of the West Steps of St George’s Chapel in Horseshoe Cloister.

The bearer party will lift the coffin from the state hearse, from where it will be carried in procession up the West Steps.

And the service at St. George’s Chapel (see it here at The Guardian’s site). This will also be televised.

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Also this evening, there was a one-minute Moment of Reflection in the UK, “an opportunity to reflect on the life and legacy of Her Majesty The Queen,” per Buckingham Palace. Below, the scene at Piccadilly Circus.

Staff and commuters at Waterloo Station mark the moment. 

Prime Minister Liz Truss and her husband, Hugh O’Leary.

And people on the Mall near Buckingham Palace. 

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As mentioned, there was a large diplomatic reception hosted by King Charles this evening. Before the reception, the Princess of Wales met with Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska.

From The Mirror’s coverage

The Princess of Wales has met with Ukraine’s First Lady, ahead of the Queen’s state funeral. Kate Middleton and Olena Zelenska greeted each other at  special reception hosted by King Charles at Buckingham Palace on Sunday evening.

They were pictured sat either side of a fireplace on gingham armchairs with purple orchids on display in the background. Ms Zelenska had earlier visited Westminster Hall to see the Queen lying in state. 

Earlier today, the First Lady visited Westminster Hall at Her Majesty’s Lying-in-State. Here you see her with Ukrainian Ambassador to the UK, Vadym Prystaiko (L); his wife, Inna Prystaiko (2nd L), the First Lady, and, with apologies, a gentleman I do not recognize. UPDATE: With thanks to Mel for commenting, the man on the right is Denys Shmyhal, Ukraine’s Prime Minister.

Last week, President Zelenskyy visited the British Embassy to sign a book of condolence.

From his message. 

On behalf of the people of Ukraine and myself, I express sincere condolences over the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Ukrainian women and men share this great loss. We mourn with the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth of Nations and all subjects of the British Crown. The memory of Her Majesty and her selfless service to her people will forever remain in the history of mankind.”

Many readers will remember when the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge spent time with the President and First Lady in October 2020. 

More from this People story. 

March, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge made a surprise visit to the Ukrainian Cultural Centre in London to hear about the efforts being made to support Ukrainians in the U.K. and across Europe. 

In April, the royal couple visited the headquarters of the Disaster Emergency Committee in London to learn more about their work to support people affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Duke and Duchess at the Cultural Centre in March.

And at the DEC headquarters in April.

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Before tonight’s reception, many visiting heads of state paid their respects at Westminster Hall. Below, Ireland’s Michael Higgins and his wife, Sabina.

Princess Theodora, Queen Anne-Marie, Crown Prince Pavlos, and Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece.

Emperor Naruhito of Japan. 

The King of Lesotho, Letsie III.

King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain. 

Bhutan’s King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Queen Jetsun Pema. 

King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium. 

French President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron.

Queen Margrethe, cousin to the Queen (right), and Crown Prince Frederik (center) from Denmark.

King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden.

King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway. 

Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa of Luxembourg. 

President Biden and Dr. Jill Biden. 

The President and First Lady also visited Lancaster House to officially leave condolences. Dr. Biden said, “Queen Elizabeth II lived her life for the people she served with wisdom and grace. We will never forget her warmth, kindness, and the conversations we shared. May God grant her eternal rest.”

From The Evening Standard’s story. 

US President Joe Biden said the “world is better” because of the Queen. 

Speaking at Lancaster House, Mr Biden said: “To all the people of England, all the people of the United Kingdom, our hearts go out to you.

“You were fortunate to have had her for 70 years, we all were. “The world is better for her.”

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Now for a quick roundup of events around the UK. Inside the Palace of Westminster, the procession of people past Her Majesty’s coffin continued.

As the Queue to see her Lying-in-State closed.

The shift changes for those guarding her coffin continued.

And the maintenance of things like candle wax was attended to.

Inside Westminster Hall, a ray of sunlight shines on a guard and mourner. 

These are earlier scenes of the Queue from this morning. 

The line as it passes the London Eye this afternoon.

The Queue tonight as the sun went down.

At Green Park, people still came to view the flowers brought from Buckingham Palace.

At Windsor, the scene at Cambridge Gate. 

And the line to get there. 

In Belfast, Northern Ireland, people leave messages on a wall. 

On the Mall, people are camping out to have a good view.

Some have decorated the barricades.

And outside Buckingham Palace, there was another rainbow, this one shared by Annelise Nielsen, a Sky News Australia correspondent. 

Regarding today’s wardrobe, the Princess repeated the Catherine Walker dress worn for Prince Philip’s memorial service. It looked like she wore a new pair of pumps; UFO No More suggests they are the Aquazzura Purist.