A man who will be 74 in exactly two months' time, his sister who turned 72 on August 15, his brothers who are 62 and 58 respectively and an uncle who is 78 walked for 38 minutes in an elegant and inspiring ceremony in London on Wednesday afternoon.
King Charles III for he was the 74-year-old man, his sister Princess Anne, his brothers Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, their uncle the Duke of Gloucester, the Princes William and Harry followed the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II as it made its way from Buckingham Palace to the Houses of Parliament.
Queen Elizabeth II will lie in state till Monday morning in Westminster Hall -- where the trial of King Charles I took place before he was executed -- enabling about half a million Britons to pay their homage to the longest serving monarch in the nation's history.
The queen's funeral -- the first State funeral in Britain since Winston Churchill's funeral on January 30, 1965 -- will take place on Monday, September 19, afternoon, an event that will be attended by countless heads of State including President Droupadi Murmu.
IMAGE: The coffin was adorned with the royal standard and the imperial crown placed on top.
The crown is made of gold, it is adorned with 2,868 diamonds, 17 sapphires, 11 emeralds, 269 pearls, and four rubies. Photograph: Daniel Leal/Pool/Reuters
IMAGE: Mounted guards head down The Mall towards Buckingham Palace. Photograph: Vadim Ghirda/Pool/Reuters
IMAGE: The coffin is pulled by a gun carriage of The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery.
It carried King George VI after his death in 1952 and his wife, the Queen Mother, at her funeral 50 years later, in 2002. Photograph: Ian West/Pool/Reuters
IMAGE: King Charles wore his field marshal's uniform and carried the field marshal baton, which his dear Mama presented him when he became field marshal in 2012. Photograph: Maja Smiejkowska/Reuters
IMAGE: While Princess Anne, Prince Edward and Prince William wore military uniforms, Prince Andrew -- who served in the British navy for 22 years -- and Prince Harry -- who served 10 years in the British army, notably in Afghanistan -- were forbidden to do so.
The reason? Prince Harry chose to leave his royal role while Prince Andrew was relieved of his royal duties because of his association with the disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/Pool/Reuters
IMAGE: Queen Consort Camilla and Catherine, the princess of Wales, leave for Westminster Hall. Photograph: Sarah Meyssonnier/Reuters
IMAGE: Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, on her way to Westminster Hall. Married to Prince Edward, she was said to be the queen's favourite daughter-in-law. Photograph: Frank Augstein/Pool/Reuters
Photograph: Cpl Cameron Eden RLC/Pool/Reuters
Photograph: SGT Lee Goddard/Pool/Reuters
Photograph: Toby Melville/Pool/Reuters
Photograph: Aaron Chown/Pool/Reuters
Photograph: Peter Nicholls/Pool/Reuters
Photograph: Kevin Coombs/Reuters
IMAGE: A gun salute is fired by the King's Troop Royal Artillery at Hyde Park. Photograph: Andrew Boyers/Reuters
IMAGE: The coffin arrives at Westminster Hall. Photograph: Alkis Konstantinidis/Pool/Reuters
IMAGE: Pallbearers from The Queen's Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards prepare to carry the coffin into Westminster Hall. Photograph: Ben Stansall/Pool/Reuters
IMAGE: Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Cantebury, left, leads the prayers at Westminster Hall. Photograph: Alkis Konstantinidis/Pool/Reuters
IMAGE: Media attention was focused on Meghan, the duchess of Sussex, seen here at Westminster Hall, who held hands with her husband Prince Harry after the ceremony as she did during the walkabout at Windsor Castle last week. Photograph: Gregorio Borgia/Pool/Reuters
IMAGE: King Charles III; Princess Anne, the Princess Royal; Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex; Prince William, the Prince of Wales; Prince Andrew, the Duke of York; Camilla, the Queen Consort; Sir Timothy Laurence, Princess Anne's husband; Peter Phillips, her son and the queen's eldest grandchild; Sophie, the Countess of Wessex and Prince Edward's wife; Catherine, the Princess of Wales; Princess Beatrice, Prince Andrew's daughter; Prince Edward, the Duke of Kent at the Palace of Westminster. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Pool/Reuters
IMAGE: Queen Elizabeth II rests in Westminster Hall for the Lying-in State. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Pool/Reuters
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com
