Be part of the historic day: Queen’s final journey to Windsor is extended

Be part of the historic day: Queen’s final journey to Windsor is extended so thousands more can see her pass by and say farewell, writes SAM GREENHILL

• Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to line the streets of the Queen's final journey to Windsor
• Palace officials have changed the route avoiding the M4 motorway so more people will get a final goodbye
• The journey from Westminster Hall to St George's Chapel, Windsor, is expected to take two hours
• The first section through the city will be on a gun carriage before the coffin is transferred to the Royal hearse
• The Queen's funeral: All the latest Royal Family news and coverage

By SAM GREENHILL FOR THE DAILY MAIL

PUBLISHED: 07:12 AEST, 17 September 2022 | UPDATED: 07:19 AEST, 17 September 2022

 

Palace officials yesterday extended the route of the Queen’s final journey – to enable more people to bid her farewell.

Instead of taking the motorway to her resting place in Windsor Castle, she will follow A-roads.

Last night the exact course was revealed, allowing tens of thousands of well-wishers to choose a spot along the route.

 

They will be able to catch a last glimpse of Her Majesty between 1pm and 3pm, after the service at Westminster Abbey.

First the Queen’s coffin will be borne by an extraordinary procession of the State Gun Carriage through London to Wellington Arch, where it will be transferred to the State Hearse at 1pm. Other members of the Royal Family will then travel along the M4 to Windsor, where a second ceremony will be held at St George’s Chapel.

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The route of the Queen's final journey has been announced and her funeral cortege will use A-roads rather than motorways so as many people a possible can see her coffin

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The Queen's final journey will see her taken from Westminster Hall to Windsor where she will be reunited with Prince Phillip

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People have been queuing through the night to pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth at Westminster Hall. Those unable to attend this vigil will have a final chance to see her coffin as it is brought from Westminster to Windsor

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King Charles III last night stood in silence at the head of his mother's coffin as members of the public looked on

But if the former monarch had been driven via the motorway, mourners wanting to say their goodbyes would have been unable to line the route.

The Daily Mail’s Robert Hardman was among those saying earlier this week that the post-funeral route should be extended so more Britons could say farewell. Now the palace has disclosed the route. From Wellington Arch, it will go along the south side of Hyde Park via South Carriage Drive before turning down Queens Gate, and then along Cromwell Road.

The cortege will follow the A4 through west London, going along Talgarth Road via the Hammersmith Flyover, and along the Great West Road.

 

Just before Heathrow, the hearse will switch to the A30 Great South West Road, and travel around the south side of the airport.

It will process along London Road, still the A30, and Staines Road, before crossing the M25 to Windsor Road (the A308) for the final leg to Windsor along a countryside stretch of the River Thames.

The route will take the Queen’s coffin through 25 miles of London streets and villages in Surrey and Berkshire. Last night a Buckingham Palace spokesman said: ‘The route to Windsor is planned with the public in mind.’

The news confirms suggestions that the Queen’s coffin would not travel on the M4, which would have been the quickest route, giving thousands more Britons the chance to pay their last respects as her coffin passes.

Travelling along A-roads west out of London to Berkshire means it will be easier for mourners to line up along the road.

 

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Route of Queen's final journey announced