Westminster Abbey is the historic church where British kings and queens have been crowned for a millennia.
But for the last third of those 1,000 years, it has not hosted a monarch’s funeral — until Monday.
The Queen's coffin is to be brought the short distance from Westminster Hall, where she has been lying in state since Wednesday, to Westminster Abbey on September 19 for her funeral service at 11am.
It will be mark the first time a monarch's requiem has been held at the abbey for more than 300 years.
Why is Queen Elizabeth’s funeral being held at Westminster Abbey?
The funerals of Elizabeth II’s father, grandfather and every king or queen since 1760 have been held at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.
But the UK’s longest reigning monarch is said to have wanted to break with three centuries of tradition for her own.
She decided that her funeral should instead be held at Westminster Abbey — the first time that will have happened since King George II in the mid-18th century.
The Queen is understood to have played an active role in arranging the details of her final send-off, with planning for the state funeral starting way back in the 1960s.
The 96-year-old is said to have felt Westminster Abbey was a more suitable location for the nation’s farewell.
The historic cathedral can hold a congregation of 2,000 mourners, compared with 800 at St George's Chapel.
Its central London location, situated on the edge of Parliament Square, makes it a more accessible spot for large crowds to gather than at Windsor.
A huge number of people are expected to gather along The Mall and Whitehall, just along from the abbey in London, to pay their respects to the Queen on Monday.
The day has been made a bank holiday, giving millions of people the day off work.
Why Westminster Abbey was important to the Queen
Some of the most significant public events during the Queen’s life took place at Westminster Abbey.
In November 1947, she married her beloved late husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, marking the start of a 73 year marriage.
Only six years later, she would step into the abbey again as Queen, ready to be crowned during her coronation.
Every coronation since the time of William the Conqueror in 1066 has been held inside the gothic building.
In 2002, the landmark venue was where she participated in the funeral to her mother, the former Queen Elizabeth, before her burial in Windsor.
She also saw her grandson William marry Kate Middleton — now the Prince and Princess of Wales, and a future king and queen — there in a lavish ceremony.
The last state funeral held in Britain also took place at the abbey, with war time leader Sir Winston Churchill honoured with a publicly-funded send-off.
The Queen will be surrounded by royalty during her own funeral on Monday.
The tombs of St Edward the Confessor, Richard III, Henry V, Elizabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots are all buried within Westminster Abbey.
She will not join them, however, with her coffin taken to Windsor for a committal service and private burial where she will be laid to rest with her husband, who died in April 2021.
