"The biggest operation in the history of the London police": the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II will be held today
The focus is on the unprecedented security and logistics operation that will accompany the hundreds of leaders and royalty from all over the world who have arrived in London in the last two days to participate in the ceremony, which will begin at 1:00 PM Israel time.
Ten thousand police officers and two thousand volunteers participate in the operation, which is also supervised by the FBI and MI5 services
Tali Goldstein
09/19/2022
Monday, September 19, 2022, 06:00
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In Westminster Church and in London, final preparations are being made this morning (Monday) before the royal funeral ceremony of Queen Elizabeth II - one of the most logistically complex events in British history.
The royal funeral will be the end of a series of events that were planned with great care and for decades, for the ten days after the Queen's death.
Queen Elizabeth II died on Thursday, September 8, at her home in Balmoral Castle in Scotland, surrounded by her family.
Since the coffin arrived in London on Wednesday, about 400,000 people from Britain and abroad have come to pay their last respects to the Queen and pass by, in Westminster Hall in Westminster Abbey.
Huge queues formed outside Westminster - and waiting times peaked at 25 hours on Saturday.
The queue will close this morning at 08:30 Israel time, when preparations will begin for the removal of the coffin and its journey in London and to Windsor Castle outside the capital.
The Queen, the longest-reigning monarch in the United Kingdom, will be buried in the burial chamber at Windsor Castle alongside her father, King George VI, her mother Mary, her sister Princess Margaret and her husband, Prince Philip.
Yesterday at 10:00 p.m. a minute's silence was observed across the United Kingdom in honor of the Queen, one of the country's and the world's last links to the Second World War era and to another world, where the horrors of the great wars led to some of the most important international diplomatic achievements in human history.
In the video: the president of the country, Herzog passes by the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II (Reuters)
President Joe Biden and his wife in Buckingham Palace (Photo: Reuters)
On video: World leaders flock to Britain for Queen Elizabeth's funeral (Photo: Reuters)
The focus is now on the unprecedented security operation that will accompany the 500 leaders and royalty from all over the world who arrived in London in the last two days, and will participate in the funeral, including the country's President Yitzhak Herzog.
Police chiefs in London and other authorities are preparing for a security "nightmare" at the funeral, according to them, due to the need to protect world leaders as well as the public's desire to mourn properly.
Some compared the scale of the event to the 2012 London Olympics.
The last time Britain witnessed a state funeral was in 1965 when Winston Churchill died.
The mayor of London, Sadiq Kahan, commented last week on "Sky News" about the scope of the mission: "If you think about the London Marathon, Carnival, royal weddings, the Olympics - it's all in one event."
The three police forces that currently operate in London - the Metropolitan Police, the City of London Police and the British Transport Police - began to actually implement the plans immediately after the announcement of the Queen's death was published.
The funeral will be the Metropolitan Police's "biggest police event", Assistant Chief Stuart Kennedy told reporters.
The event is also expected to be "the Metropolitan Police's biggest ever security operation", he said.
The huge logistical operation also included other elements such as emergency medical services, toilets, street cleaning and road closures.
The British government refused to elaborate on the specific "security arrangements".
The White House also declined to elaborate on Biden's security, but said it was working with its British counterparts to ensure presidential security requirements were met.
The FBI will monitor possible threats and share the information with Britain's MI5, it said.
Around 2,000 volunteers and staff from the St John Ambulance Service provided support to around ten thousand police officers, 24 hours a day in London and Windsor.
The fire brigade carried out safety inspections in 40 large transportation centers, hotels, restaurants, shops and more.
10 fire engines and 50 firefighters helped people who were waiting in line to see the Queen's coffin.
More in Walla!
"Security nightmare": leaders from around the world arrived in London for the Queen's funeral
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Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro pays his last respects (Photo: GettyImages)
The funeral service will be shown on giant screens across the UK, including Hyde Park in London;
Centenary Square in Birmingham;
Coleraine Town Hall in Northern Ireland and Holyrood Park in Edinburgh.
The funeral will also be broadcast live in cinemas and churches in the country, as well as on Sky News, BBC and ITV.
According to estimates, about 40 billion people around the world will watch the ceremony.
The funeral is expected to begin at Westminster Abbey at 1:00 PM Israel time.
A king's funeral has not been held in the church since the 18th century (although the Queen Mother was buried there in 2002).
In the same place, the wedding of the Queen with Prince Philip was held 75 years ago, and there a prayer of thanksgiving was held for the prince after his death last year.
2,000 guests will fill the hall - family members, about 500 leaders from all over the world, politicians, monarchs from other countries, public figures and people who worked with the Queen.
The day will begin with the carrying of the coffin from the hall to the church on top of the gun carriage which will be pulled by a company of sailors of the Royal Navy.
The trailer was last seen in 1979 at the funeral of Prince Philip's uncle, Lord Mountbatten.
King Charles and other family members are expected to follow the coffin.
The funeral will be conducted by David Hoyle, Dean of Westminster, with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, officiating.
Prime Minister Liz Truss will be invited to read prayer verses.
Afterwards, the coffin leaves the hall in a foot procession and will pass by the corner of Hyde Park, where it will be loaded into a hearse and make its way to Windsor.
The last journey of the coffin will be on the road that leads to Windsor Castle.
The King and family members will join the motorcade, before the casket is brought into St. George's Church for prayers.
St. George's Church is the church usually chosen by the royal family for events such as weddings, christenings and funerals.
Harry and Meghan got married there, and Prince Philip's funeral was also held there.
The coffin will be lowered into the burial chamber before being buried in St. George's Chapel, alongside King George VI, Queen Elizabeth's father;
the queen mother;
her sister Margaret;
and her husband Prince Philip.
King Charles with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (Photo: Reuters)
Royal participants in the funeral:
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands
King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain
King Philip and Queen Mathilde of Belgium
Juan Carlos I, former King of Spain, and his wife Sofia
Queen Margaret II of Denmark, Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary
King Carl Gustav XVI and Queen Silvia of Sweden
The Herald V and Queen Sonja of Norway
Emperor Naruhito of Japan
The London police are preparing for the funeral ceremony (Photo: GettyImages)
International leaders:
Joe Biden and Jill Biden, US President and First Lady
Yitzhak Herzog and Michal Herzog, President of Israel and his wife
French President Emmanuel Macron
Alexander van der Bellen, Austrian President
Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand Prime Minister
Anthony Albanese, Australian Prime Minister
Gitanas Nausada, President of Lithuania
Ranil Wickremesinghe, President of Sri Lanka
Frank Walter Steinmeier, President of Germany
Yoon Seok-yeol, President of South Korea
Jair Bolsonaro, President of Brazil
Andrzej Duda, President of Poland
Sergio Mattarella, President of Italy
Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
Charles Michel, President of the European Council
Egils Levits, President of Latvia
Paula-May Weeks, President of Trinidad and Tobago
Mohamed Ashtiyeh, Prime Minister of Palestine
Sauli Niinista, President of Finland
Katelin Novak, President of Hungary
Michael Higgins, President of Ireland
Michal Martin, Prime Minister (Tisch) of Ireland
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