A stern-faced Prince Andrew wore medals pinned to a morning suit as he followed coffin of his mother the Queen during historic procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall this afternoon.
The disgraced Duke of York – along with Prince Harry – was told he couldn’t wear his military uniform for the service, unlike other members of the family, including King Charles III and William, the Prince of Wales.
As the coffin left the Palace at exactly 2.22pm, silence fell among the thousands-strong crowd, while a muffled drum draped in black was beaten at 75 paces per minute.
The coffin was draped in the Royal Standard, with the Imperial State Crown on a velvet cushion with a wreath of flowers atop, and carried on a gun carriage of King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery.
Directly behind the coffin walked Andrew, along with the King, the Princess Royal and the Earl of Wessex, followed by the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Sussex and Peter Phillips.
Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, the Duke of Gloucester and the Earl of Snowdon were behind.
The Band of the Scots Guards and the Band of the Grenadier Guards are playing funeral marches throughout the procession, starting with Beethoven’s Funeral March No.1.
The pace and route have been carefully mapped out to allow the procession to reach Westminster Hall at precisely 3pm.
A stern-faced Prince Andrew (right) wore medals pinned to morning suit as he followed coffin of his mother the Queen during historic procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall this afternoon
The Duke of York walked alongside his brothers, Prince Edward and King Charles III, and his sister Princess Anne
Silence fell among the thousands-strong crowd as a muffled drum draped in black was beaten at 75 paces per minute
King Charles III, Princess Anne, Princess Royal, Prince Andrew, Duke of York and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex walk behind the coffin during the procession for the Lying-in State of Queen Elizabeth II
Earlier this week, Andrew (second-right) was heckled by a protester as he followed his mother’s coffin through Edinburgh
More than 320 members of Armed Forces personnel helped move The Queen’s coffin in procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall for the lying-in-state of The Queen
Earlier this week, Andrew was heckled by a protester as he followed his mother’s coffin through Edinburgh.
The young man was filmed shouting ‘Andrew, you’re a sick old man’ as the disgraced Duke of York, 62, passed behind his mother’s hearse.
Seconds later footage show’s the heckler being shoved to the ground by angry mourners, as others in the crowd continued to shout ‘God Save the King’.
The youngster was then helped up and pulled away by a police officers, as those grieving the late Queen continued to push him.
He was then dragged away from the road he yelled ‘disgusting’ and ‘I’ve done nothing wrong’ as Prince Andrew, along with his siblings King Charles, Princess Anne and Prince Edward continued to walk behind the hearse carrying the Queen’s coffin.
Andrew, a Falklands War veteran who was exiled from public life amid the fallout from his role in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, was not allowed to wear military dress for the occasion and instead wore a morning suit.
The prince will have to appear in civilian clothes at all the other public events to mourn his mother, although an exception will reportedly be made as a special mark of respect for the Queen at the final vigil in Westminster Hall.
Andrew gave up his HRH status and was stripped of all his honorary military roles, including Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, over his friendship with Epstein and allegations made by one of the paedophile’s ‘sex slaves’ Virginia Roberts that the royal sexually abused her when she was a minor under American law – claims that culminated in a bombshell US lawsuit and a multimillion-pound out of court settlement with no admission of liability. The Duke of York has consistently denied the allegations.
The sun shone as the procession moved onto The Mall in central London and members of the crowd threw yellow roses into the road as the gun carriage passed them.
The Queen’s coffin was wheeled along The Mall on a gun carriage as the procession made its way to Westminster Hall.
A crown was placed on a purple cushion on top of the coffin which glistened in the afternoon sunshine.
The crown was positioned in front of a wreath made up of white roses, spray white roses, white dahlias and a selection of foliage, including pine.
A wreath made of pine from the gardens at Balmoral and lavender from the grounds of Windsor adorned the coffin. Among the foliage were also white roses and dahlias, as well as rosemary and pittosporum.
A Guard of Honour formed by the King’s Guard mounted on the paved area in the forecourt of the palace.
A detachment of the Life Guards, as well as household cavalry and the household of the Queen, walked in front of the coffin.
After the procession had passed, the crowd outside. Buckingham Palace erupted into applause.
Also forming part of the procession were loyal members of the late Queen’s staff, including two of the Queen’s Pages and the Palace Steward, who walked directly in front of the coffin.
The Pall Bearers were 10 former and serving armed forces equerries to Elizabeth II, who were at her side in uniform throughout her reign, supporting her at engagements and organising her public diary.
Other devoted members of the Queen’s household who processed included her top aide, private secretary Sir Edward Young.
There too was the Master of the Household at Buckingham Palace, Vice Admiral Sir Tony Johnstone-Burt.
Big Ben is tolling at one-minute intervals as the procession makes its way to the Palace of Westminster.
The procession poignantly passed the statue of the Queen’s parents King George VI and the Queen Mother which overlooks The Mall.
The Imperial State Crown, worn by the Queen on the way back to Buckingham Palace after her Coronation, glittered in the daylight as the crowds held aloft their phones to capture the scenes.
A number of people could be seen wiping away tears as the Queen’s coffin made its way down The Mall.
Members of the public held up their phones to film and take pictures of proceedings, with a number standing on their tip-toes to catch a glimpse of the procession.
At Horse Guards Parade, crowds of mourners, many in tears, applauded as the Queen’s coffin and procession entered the vast ceremonial parade ground, with the bells of Big Ben continuing to sound every minute.
The Queen’s coffin moved under the Arch of the Horse Guards briefly out of the sunlight before arriving on Whitehall.
Crowds on Parliament Street were eagerly waiting for the procession to walk past. People could be seen standing on a raised part of the His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs’ building. The windows and balconies along the street were also filled with onlookers.
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