Royal funeral telecast live

By REBECCA WALSH

Television New Zealand will screen coverage of the Queen Mother's funeral live and uninterrupted on Tuesday night.

The funeral procession and service will be bigger in terms of pomp and ceremony than that for the Princess of Wales in 1997.

TVNZ spokesman Glen Sowry said considerable interest was expected in the service, given the stature of the Queen Mother, who died on Easter Sunday (NZT).

At 9.35pm, Judy Bailey will introduce a One News special featuring uninterrupted BBC coverage from 9.55pm until midnight.

Yesterday, the body of the 101-year-old Queen Mother was taken from the Queen's Chapel at St James's Palace to Westminster Hall, where it will lie in state until the funeral service at Westminster Abbey.

Tuesday's coverage will follow the funeral procession from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey. It will end as the coffin is transported to Windsor Castle, where the Queen Mother will be buried beside her husband, King George VI.

Sky News Australia, channel 54 on Sky Digital, will also have extended coverage from 9.30pm. TV3 has no special coverage planned, but will broadcast news of the funeral in its bulletins.

Prime Minister Helen Clark and her Australian counterpart, John Howard, will be among those attending the funeral in London.

New Zealand-born soldier Alistair Munro Duthie is one of the bandsmen in the Scottish First Battalion of the Black Watch who will play a last tribute to the Queen Mother at Westminster Abbey.

Yesterday, four members of the Royal New Zealand Army Medical Corps were among those who took part in a huge procession through London in the leadup to the funeral.

One of the four, Warrant Officer Brendan Wood, from Timaru, will also be an usher at the service.

An ecumenical memorial service for the Queen Mother will be held in Wellington's Anglican cathedral on Wednesday.

A 21-gun salute will be fired from Pt Jerningham during the service.

The Prime Minister has requested that flags remain at half mast until the close of day on Wednesday to coincide with the memorial service and the final funeral rites in Britain.

Feature: The Queen Mother 1900-2002