London

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II was laid to rest on Monday at the royal chapel next to her beloved husband Prince Phillip, who predeceased her in 2021.

Only members of the British royal family, led by her successor King Charles III, attended the private ceremony.

Earlier, in a hour-long church service at the Abbey, which has existed and expanded since 960 AD and is located in central London, Elizabeth, who reigned for 70 years, was given the grandest of final farewells.

She had got married at the same Abbey 75 years ago.

President of India Droupadi Murmu was among the many global dignitaries present at the proceedings.

Also present were Emperor Naruhito of Japan, President Joe Biden of the US and President Emmanuel Macron of France.

The live television coverage was projected on big screens at spacious locations around Britain. Tens of thousands camped overnight in such places to ensure they got a ringside view of the ceremony.

125 cinemas in the country reportedly showed the ceremonies live as well.

The scale of global interest was unprecedented. Increasingly, from 8 a.m., accredited reporters hovered around the Abbey. This day was inevitable and had been planned for years by the royal household.

Nevertheless, the organisers gave themselves 11 days' time between Elizabeth's death to her funeral to get it right.  

At 6.30 a.m. local time on Monday, the last of the estimated three quarter of a million mourners filed past the coffin lying in state at Westminster Hall in the Houses of Parliament opposite the Abbey.

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15 minutes before the service commenced, the coffin was ceremonially moved in a gun carriage with soldiers in accompaniment from Westminster Hall to the Abbey. Charles, his brothers Andrew and Edward, sister Anne and sons William and Harry followed the body on foot.