By one estimate, as many as 4 billion people could be watching as the funeral of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II takes place on Monday, September 19 beginning at 11 a.m. BST (3 a.m. PT). As many as 750,000 people are predicted to travel to London for the state funeral and pay their respects as the queen lies in state, per the UK’s Guardian. Among those waiting in line 12-plus hours to pay their respects was David Beckham. The service at Westminster Abbey is likely to be among the biggest single ceremonial events staged in the U.K. since World War II.
See the coverage plans for news networks in the U.S. and the UK below, along with U.S. and UK livestreams of the event, which will broadcast in more than 200 countries and begin as early as midnight PT.
Ahead of the service, the queen’s lying-in-state at Westminster Hall will end at 6:30 a.m. local time Monday. At about 10:35 a.m., group of bearers will lift her coffin onto the gun carriage that was used for the funerals of her grandfather George V, her father George VI, Queen Victoria and Winston Churchill.
Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life And Duty To Service — Photo Gallery
It will convey the Queen’s casket from Westminster Hall to nearby Westminster Abbey, where the ceremony will take place. The new King Charles III, as well as princes William and Harry, will walk behind the coffin. World leaders including President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern, Australia’s Anthony Albanese and Canada’s Justin Trudeau will arrive shortly thereafter.
As the ceremony begins, Prime Minister Liz Truss and the secretary general of the Commonwealth will speak. Then
a sermon will be given by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
A two-minute silence will be observed across the nation, which will include noise from airplanes as Heathrow will stop all arrivals and departures for half an hour. The close of the service will be marked by reveille, the national anthem and a lament played by the Queen’s piper.
The casket will then be conveyed to Windsor. The route will be lined by the armed forces and guns will be fired every minute. The Sebastopol Bell and the Curfew Tower Bell will each toll.
A committal service will take place at St. George’s Chapel at 4 p.m. local time. The Dean of Windsor Castle and with a congregation including the Royal Family and some of the Queen’s personal staff will lead that ceremony. The Archbishop of Canterbury will pronounce the blessing and those in attendance will sing “God Save the King.” Prior to the final hymn, the Imperial State Crown, the Orb and the Sceptre will be removed from the Queen’s coffin and placed on the altar.
The Queen will be buried in the King George VI Memorial Chapel with her husband Prince Philip, who died last year.
The funeral will use 213 full HD cameras placed in Westminster Abbey, St George’s Chapel and Westminster Hall. 14 OB trucks will transmit from 10 locations and the entire broadcast will be sustainably powered by hydrogen and vegetable oil, according to the BBC.
You can watch the ceremony live below.
U.S. COVERAGE
ABC News
ABC News’ coverage will feature on-the-ground reporting led by World News Tonight anchor David Muir with 20/20 co-anchor Amy Robach, chief foreign correspondent Ian Pannell, senior national affairs correspondent Deborah Robert and foreign correspondent James Longman in London, correspondents Maggie Rulli in Scotland, and Lama Hasan and Will Reeve in London as well as royals contributors Omid Scobie, Robert Jobson, Imogen Lloyd Webber, Victoria Murphy and Ailsa Anderson.
Good Morning America will have coverage next week. As part of the season premiere, GMA3: What You Need to Know will broadcast live from London, with co-anchors T.J. Holmes and Robach covering the events following the queen’s passing and King Charles III’s ascension to the throne.
Nightline will also feature coverage of the queen’s celebration of life with co-anchor Juju Chang live from London.
ABC News Radio is offering live anchored coverage of all major events related to the queen’s passing. In addition, ABC News Radio is offering stations multiple status reports per hour as well as two-ways with reporters and experts during morning and afternoon drives.
ABC NewsOne, the affiliate news service of ABC News, will be reporting live from London with multiplatform reporters Ines De La Cuetara and Faith Abubey and reporter Patrick Reevell.
BBC America
The network will air the funeral live and uninterrupted starting at 4 a.m. ET on Monday.
Additionally, the network will air the special “A Tribute to Her Majesty The Queen,” featuring special interviews with her children and those who have worked with her and public figures, starting at 8 p.m. ET the evening before. There will be an encore of the special at 11:30 p.m. ET.
CBS News
On Monday, CBS Mornings co-hosts Gayle King and Norah O’Donnell will anchor a CBS News Special Report live from London covering the state funeral. The special coverage will air on CBS and live stream on the CBS News Streaming Network. CBS News’ special coverage will also feature CBS News Royal Contributors Tina Brown, Julian Payne, Roya Nikkhah, Amanda Foreman and former BBC Royal Correspondent Wesley Kerr.
Comprehensive coverage will be featured across CBS News & Stations’ broadcasts and platforms including CBS News Radio, CBS Newspath and CBSNews.com.
CNN anchors Erin Burnett and Anderson Cooper will be live from London for CNN’s special live coverage on Monday beginning at 5 a.m. ET. They will be joined by Christiane Amanpour, Max Foster and Richard Quest in London and Don Lemon.
As the Royal family, heads of state and mourners arrive for the historic state funeral of the Queen, CNN will have reporters throughout London, including at Westminster Abbey and along the procession route, as well as at Windsor Castle.
Nada Bashir, Matthew Chance, Bianca Nobilo, Nic Robertson, Isa Soares, Anna Stewart and Clarissa Ward will provide minute-by-minute updates on the ground, while Zain Asher and Julia Chatterley will offer their unique perspectives from New York. CNN Royal Historian Kate Williams, CNN Royal Commentator Sally Bedell Smith and CNN Contributor Trisha Goddard will contribute to CNN’s special live coverage with their expert analysis and insights.
Full live coverage will be available across CNN’s global digital platforms. CNN’s coverage of The State Funeral Of Queen Elizabeth II will stream live, without requiring a cable log-in, from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. GMT / 5 a.m.-1 p.m. The stream will be available on CNN.com and across mobile devices via CNN’s apps for iOS and Android. It can also be viewed on CNN apps for Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire, Chromecast and Android TV.
CSPAN
The event will be covered live on C-SPAN, C-SPAN Radio, C-SPAN.org & C-SPAN Now beginning Monday at 5:30 a.m. ET.
Fox News Media will offer live coverage of the ceremonies and proceedings through the funeral on Monday. Fox News Channel’s executive editor and anchor of The Story Martha MacCallum will continue lead of the network’s coverage live from London.
Beginning at 4 a.m. ET on Monday, FNC will present live special coverage, pre-empting Fox & Friends through 9 a.m. ET. Anchoring from The Canada Gate at Buckingham Palace, MacCallum will be joined by Fox & Friends co-host Ainsley Earhardt and TalkTV’s (News UK) Uncensored host Piers Morgan.
Fox News Digital will share nonstop updates in a live blog on FoxNews.com, while Fox News Audio will also provide coverage across all platforms, including Fox News Headlines 24/7, the Fox News Hourly Update Podcast and Fox News Radio affiliates nationwide.
MSNBC
MSNBC will provide live special coverage of the funeral from London beginning at 3 a.m. ET on Monday. Chris Jansing will anchor the special coverage.
At 5 a.m. ET, co-hosts Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski and Willie Geist — joined by Katty Kay — will anchor a special edition of Morning Joe from London.
Beginning at 10 a.m. ET, Andrea Mitchell, Katy Tur and Chris Jansing continue special coverage through the end of the services.
In advance of the services, NBC News Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel anchored a special program, “The Constant Queen,” on Saturday.
NBC News
NBC News’ Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Lester Holt will anchor special live coverage of the funeral services on Monday beginning at 5:30 a.m. ET.
Additionally, Holt will anchor that evening’s NBC Nightly News live from London at 6:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. CT.
Today.com and NBCNews.com will live stream the network’s special coverage, along with NBC News Now and Today All Day.
PBS
PBS is offering viewers the BBC’s live uninterrupted coverage on Monday, from 4 a.m.-noon ET (check local listings) on PBS, PBS.org and the PBS Video app.
The BBC primetime special, The State Funeral of HM Queen Elizabeth II, airs that night from 8-9:30 p.m. ET (check local listings) on PBS, PBS.org and the PBS Video app.
UK COVERAGE
In the UK, the country will virtually grind to a halt for the day and hours worth of coverage from Westminster Abbey will be available on the BBC, ITV and Sky News, before schedules return to something resembling normality. An incredibly rare ad ban means that no commercials will play for the 24-hour period, meaning that even though ratings will be astronomical, the day will not be a cash cow for the commercial broadcasters.
BBC
On the BBC, coverage begins at 8 a.m. BST (12 a.m. PT) as the crowds begin to gather and rolls through to 5 a.m. BST (9 a.m. PT), taking in the official ceremony from 11 a.m. BST (3 a.m. PT). Led by Huw Edwards, Kirsty Young, Fergal Keane, David Dimbleby and Sophie Raworth, the coverage will be available on both BBC One, BBC Two and BBC News and will be followed by The One Show: Our Queen Remembered and an Events of the Day highlights package at 8:30 a.m. BST (12.30 a.m. PT) on BBC One. Simulcasts will be in place on other BBC radio stations and BBC Sounds. Allan Little will be inside Westminster Abbey, with analysis from Royal Correspondent Jonny Dymond and commentary from different points along the procession route from Ken Bruce, Mishal Husain, Emma Barnett, Clive Myrie, Adele Roberts, John Murray, Mike Costello, Rachel Burden, Nuala McGovern, Chris Mason, Jamie Coomarasamy, Andrea Catherwood and James Naughtie.
Major shows including the launch episode of Strictly Come Dancing have been delayed by a week until after the ceremony.
Here’s the BBC’s livestream:
ITV
ITV will air the coverage during the same stretch of time as the BBC and also follow up with a highlights show and then extended news special. The commercial broadcaster will start the day with a Good Morning Britain funeral preview special and later show a documentary film chronicling the events of the past 10 days. Tom Bradby, a personal friend of Harry and Meghan Markle’s, and Julie Etchingham will host, joined by special guests and royal experts for their reflections and analysis. Mary Nightingale will lead coverage from Westminster Abbey, while Royal Editor Chris Ship will be in London and Windsor. Rageh Omaar will be with the armed forces at Wellington Barracks. Nina Hossain will be on the Long Walk in Windsor speaking to people paying their respects. Charlene White will be with mourners in London.
Sky
Sky News’ coverage will begin at 5 a.m. BST (9 a.m. PT) with host Kay Burley live at Westminster Abbey before Anna Botting and Dermot Murnaghan take over from 9 a.m. BST (1 a.m. PT). At 7 p.m. BST (11 a.m. PT), a new host, Mark Austin will reflect on the day from Buckingham Palace, looking back at the events and key moments, ahead of a round-up show at 9 p.m. BST (1 a.m. PT).
Tomorrow, the schedules are expected to return virtually back to normality bar some tribute programing remaining in place.