Queen Elizabeth's Funeral: What to Expect and How to Watch

Buckingham Palace is making final preparations for the state funeral of the queen who died Sept. 8 at 96 and her private interment later Monday.

Her death at her beloved Balmoral Castle summer retreat ended the monarch's 70-year reign.

Here's what we know about the funeral ceremony:

When Is Queen Elizabeth’s funeral service?

On Monday, Sept. 19, the queen's coffin will be taken from Westminster Hall to nearby Westminster Abbey in London for a state funeral that begins at 11 a.m. BST / 6 a.m. EST.

Officials said the funeral will be the biggest international event Britain has hosted in decades.

How to Watch Live Coverage

Millions of people around the world are expected to tune in to watch Queen Elizabeth's funeral service, which will be broadcast across major television networks and streamed online.

NBC News will carry special coverage of the funeral.

Where will she lie in state and for how long?

The queen's coffin was transported from Buckingham Palace to Parliament on a gun carriage, with the king and other royals walking behind.

It has been placed in Parliament's medieval Westminster Hall, where the archbishop of Canterbury conducted a short service.

The queen will lie in state for four days, until the morning of her funeral. Members of the public will be able to pay their respects and troops will keep a round-the-clock vigil.

Tens of thousands were standing in a line Thursday that snaked for more than four miles along the River Thames in London, waiting to file in silence past her coffin.

On Friday evening, King Charles III and his siblings will stand vigil at their mother’s coffin for 15 minutes as it lies in state.

Who’s expected to attend the funeral?

British officials say some 500 foreign dignitaries will attend Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral, but invitations have not been sent to the leaders of Russia, Belarus or Myanmar.

U.S. President Joe Biden was among the first to announce that he would be flying in with his wife, Jill Biden.

France’s Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Italy’s Sergio Mattarella, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro are among the presidents attending.

Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and Spain’s King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, as well as former Spanish monarch Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia, are also due to travel to London for the occasion.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday his official delegation to Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral next week will include racehorse trainer Chris Waller and wheelchair tennis star Dylan Alcott.

Waller and Alcott are among 10 “everyday Australians” who will represent Australia at Monday’s state funeral at Westminster Abbey in London, Albanese said.

“It was a request from the palace that 10 everyday citizens who make contributions to the local communities be invited to the queen’s funeral,” Albanese told reporters in Canberra.

At least one Pacific neighbor leader, Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape, has accepted Australia’s offer of help to get to the funeral.

Also among the 2,000 funeral guests will be nearly 200 people honored by the late queen for their work responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and in sectors including charities, healthcare and education.

Public to Pay Last Respects as UK, World Mourns Elizabeth II

Where will Queen Elizabeth be buried?

Following the State Funeral in London, the queen's coffin will then be driven in the state hearse to Windsor for a committal service at St. George's Chapel near Windsor Castle, attended by 800 people, including members of the queen's household and Windsor estate staff.

At the end of the service, the coffin will be lowered into the Royal Vault and the sovereign’s piper will play a lament. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, will pronounce the blessing and the congregation will sing “God Save The King.”

Members of the royal family will then hold a private burial service at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, where the queen will be interred with her late husband, Prince Philip, who died last year at 99.