Queen Elizabeth dies: Queen’s funeral set for Sept. 19; William, Harry greet crowds at Windsor

Queen Elizabeth II will lie in state for four days before her state funeral, which will be held at 11 a.m. local time on Sept. 19 at Westminster Abbey in London, Buckingham Palace announced Saturday.

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The coffin of the longest-reigning monarch in the history of the United Kingdom, who died Thursday at Balmoral Castle in Scotland at the age of 96, will depart for Edinburgh Airport on Tuesday and will be flown to London, the BBC reported. Princess Anne, the queen’s only daughter, will be on board the flight, the news outlet reported.

Meanwhile, her grandsons, William and Harry, along with their wives, walked on the grounds of Windsor Castle to meet the crowds, marking the first joint public appearance of the royal couples since Elizabeth’s death on Thursday, the BBC reported. Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, joined Prince William and his wife Catherine at Windsor Castle to view floral tributes left by the public in honor of the late queen, according to The Associated Press.

On Monday, Elizabeth’s body will be taken to St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh. King Charles III and members of the royal family will take part in the procession that will take the coffin from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to the church.

The coffin will remain at the cathedral “to allow the people of Scotland to pay their respects,” Buckingham Palace said.

Elizabeth’s coffin is currently in the ballroom at Balmoral Castle, the palace said.

The casket will be topped with the Imperial State Crown, orb and scepter, according to the BBC.

On Wednesday at 2:22 p.m., the queen’s coffin will be conveyed by gun carriage in a silent procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall in the Palace of Westminster.

The last member of the royal family to lie in state in the hall was the Queen Mother in 2002, when more than 200,000 people viewed her coffin, the BBC reported.

In a short statement posted on social media, Prince William said that while the world has lost a leader, “I, however, have lost a grandmother.”

“I knew this day would come,” William said. “But it will be some time before the reality of life without Grannie will truly feel real.”

“I will honor her memory by supporting my father, the King, in every way I can.”

William and Catherine, the new Prince and Princess of Wales, along with his brother Prince Harry and Meghan, viewed floral tributes outside the grounds of Windsor Castle before shaking hands with people lined up behind barriers at Windsor Castle.

The Prince of Wales, now the heir apparent to the throne, invited the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to join him and his wife to view the tributes, CNN reported.

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William, Kate, Harry, Meghan meet Windsor mourners WINDSOR, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 10: Catherine, Princess of Wales, Prince William, Prince of Wales, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex on the long Walk at Windsor Castle on September 10, 2022 in Windsor, England. Crowds have gathered and tributes left at the gates of Windsor Castle to Queen Elizabeth II, who died at Balmoral Castle on 8 September, 2022. (Photo by Chris Jackson - WPA Pool/Getty Images) (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

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Queen Elizabeth II tributes HONG KONG, CHINA - SEPTEMBER 10: A child puts flowers down to pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II outside the British Consulate General Hong Kong on September 10, 2022 in Hong Kong, China. Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland aged 96 on September 8, 2022, and is survived by her four children, Charles, Prince of Wales, Anne, Princess Royal, Andrew, Duke Of York and Edward, Duke of Wessex. Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born in Bruton Street, Mayfair, London on 21 April 1926. She married Prince Philip in 1947 and acceded the throne of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth on 6 February 1952 after the death of her Father, King George VI. Queen Elizabeth II was the United Kingdom's longest-serving monarch. (Photo by Sawayasu Tsuji/Getty Images) (Sawayasu Tsuji/Getty Images)

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