Queen Elizabeth II death: The Queen's funeral will be 'deeply personal and very difficult'

The Queen and Prince Philip's coffins will later be moved to the chapel where they will be interred together. Photo / Getty Images

The Dean of Westminster says Queen Elizabeth's funeral will be "deeply personal" and "very, very difficult" for the Royal Family.

The Very Reverend Dr David Hoyle will have the huge responsibility of officiating the late monarch's state funeral at Westminster Abbey on Monday and he's admitted he's feeling "nervous" two days before.

Speaking to the BBC's Reeta Chakrabarti, he said of what to expect: "Right at the heart of this is a family funeral we mustn't forget that deeply personal and a very, very difficult thing for the family to navigate. But this is also a celebration of a quite extraordinary life.

"This is an opportunity for us all to mourn all to remember. And this is also a place where we focus, the life of the nation, the Commonwealth, and this is also a place for a bit of hope. That's the job of the church."

People attend a vigil and pay their respects to the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II. Photo / AP

Asked if he's feeling nervous, he replied: "If I sit still for too long, and start thinking about the significance of the moment and the eyes that are on you then yes, honestly, of course I am. There's a huge sense of privilege. I mean, what an extraordinary place to be at a moment like this. There's a bit of a sense of responsibility. I also have around me a quite wonderful group of people. So this place steps up on these occasions. It will be fine."

The queen will be buried with her husband Prince Philip in a private service later that evening.

The 96-year-old monarch passed away on September 8 and her body is currently lying in state at Westminster Hall ahead of the funeral.

Her state funeral will take place at 11am on Monday, with a committal service taking place at St George's Chapel, Windsor at 4pm and she will then be buried with the Duke of Edinburgh - who passed away in April 2021 aged 99 - in a private ceremony at 7.30pm.

Once the lying in state period ends on Monday morning, the coffin will be taken to Westminster Abbey on the gun carriage previously used at the funerals of Queen Victoria, Edward VII, George V, George VI, Winston Churchill and Earl Mountbatten.

The King and senior members of the royal family will walk behind the coffin on its short journey to Westminster Abbey, where world leaders, emergency service workers, representatives of the Commonwealth and the queen's charity patronages will join the wider royal family for a televised service.

Full details of the service have yet to be announced, but lessons will be read by Prime Minister Liz Truss and Commonwealth Secretary-General Baroness Scotland.

Towards the end of the service, the Last Post will be played, followed by a two-minute silence to be observed across the country. A lament played by the queen's piper will then mark the end of the service.

The coffin containing the body of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II leaves Balmoral Castle. Photo / AP

The UK's 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 Altar, 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 Philip's coffins will later be moved to the chapel where they will be interred together.