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The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
National

Australians join world farewell to Queen

Remembering Queen Elizabeth II

Australians have watched live telecasts of the Queen's funeral service at Westminster Abbey and have a day of mourning this week to pay their respects to the long-reigning monarch.

Thursday has been declared a one-off public holiday when a national memorial service will be broadcast from Parliament House in Canberra.

All state and territory leaders, as well as justices of the High Court, will attend the service.

On Monday night Australian time, the Queen's body was taken from London's Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey for a funeral service attended by many world leaders, including Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

A committal service was held at St George's Chapel at Windsor following the funeral.

In Sydney, mourners filled the pews at St Andrew's Cathedral to watch the live screening of the funeral following a solemn choral service and 45 minutes of bells ringing.

People in the church stood as footage showed the Queen's coffin being carried into Westminster Abbey, thousands of kilometres away.

Simon Perdriau, who attended the service, said: "I've been crying for the last 10 days, and I'll cry tonight as well."

People watched a livestream of the Queen's state funeral at St Andrew's Cathedral in Sydney. (Steven Saphore/AAP PHOTOS)

Mr Albanese was among more than 2000 people attending the funeral, and was joined by Governor-General David Hurley and a small delegation of Australians.

Horse trainer Gai Waterhouse was among the mourners at Westminster Abbey.

Mr Albanese said he and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton would give short tributes to the late monarch at Thursday's memorial service.

Australian Idol star Anthony Callea will perform at the service.

On Tuesday morning AEST, the Queen was buried in a private ceremony alongside her husband Philip, who died last year aged 99.

She was laid to rest in the The King George VI Memorial Chapel, where her father, mother and sister are also buried.

Protocols set in place dictate that the Australian day of mourning will be held the day after the prime minister and governor-general return from the UK.

When parliament returns on Friday, politicians will have the opportunity to express their condolences to the royal family.

Corgis, pony play role in Windsor farewell

The Queen's corgis and one of her favourite ponies have played a poignant role in the final farewell to their devoted owner.

The neatly groomed young dogs - Muick and Sandy - one on a red lead and one on a blue one - were brought into the Windsor Castle quadrangle for the arrival of the Queen's coffin ahead of her committal service in St George's Chapel.

Emma the Fell Pony, owned by the Queen for 26 years, was stood on the grass at the side of the Long Walk, on the approach to the castle.

It was a moving sight as the solitary horse stood in a gap between the hundreds of thousands of floral tributes in the care of the Queen's trusted stud groom and manager at Windsor Castle, Terry Pendry.

Pendry, in his bowler hat, black jacket and riding boots, bowed his head as the coffin passed.

Read the full story here.

Aussie TV hosts fail to recognise UK PM

TV presenters on Australia's Nine News failed to recognise United Kingdom Prime Minister Liz Truss as she arrived at Westminster Abbey for the funeral of the Queen.

The mix-up happened on Nine as it was covering the funeral, attended by prime ministers and presidents from around the world - including Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

But it was the UK prime minister, admittedly only a few days in the job, who drew blanks from presenters Peter Overton and Tracy Grimshaw.

The pair were commentating on the proceedings when Truss arrived with husband Hugh O'Leary.

"Who is this?" Grimshaw asked.

"No, hard to identify, maybe minor royals, members of the.... I can't identify them," Overton responded.

"We can't spot everyone unfortunately," Grimshaw said.

"They look like they could well be local dignitaries, it is hard to see, we are looking at the back of their heads mostly."

The pair appear then to realise the mistake, with Overton telling viewers: "I'm just told that was Liz Truss, the new prime minister in the distance that we could see, hopping out of that car."

The mix-up inevitably prompted some mockery online, with the funeral in London beamed across TV screens in Australia and around the world.

Truss became prime minister on September 6, replacing Boris Johnson after a leadership contest.

Government House bathed in purple for Queen's farewell

Images of the Queen through the decades were also beamed on to Government House in Canberra on Monday night. Picture by Jake Sims

The Governor-General was in London to farewell the Queen, so the public was invited to Government House in Canberra Monday night to say goodbye to not only Britain's longest-serving monarch, but someone they all felt they knew.

As part of arrangements to recognise and remember the contributions of Queen Elizabeth II, Government House extended the invitation to members of the public to watch the live broadcast of Her Majesty's State Funeral.

On Monday night, the house was bathed in royal purple as images of the Queen through the decades were beamed onto its white walls. It made for a stunning welcome to 300 everyday Canberrans who registered to be there after seeing the invitation on the Governor-General's Facebook page.

Full story here.

Australian Associated Press, with PA, Reuters and Megan Doherty

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