'Final farewell' - British newspapers reflect ahead of Queen's funeral

"God Bless" read the headline in the Sun newspaper and "Final Farewell" read the headline in The Times, both showing a previously unseen portrait of the Queen released by Buckingham Palace on the eve of her funeral.

Britain, world leaders and royalty from across the globe will gather later on Monday at a state funeral of inimitable pageantry.

At 6.30 a.m. (0530 GMT), an official lying-in-state period ends after four days in which hundreds of thousands have queued to file past the casket of Britain's longest-reigning monarch at London's historic Westminster Hall.

They, like many across the globe including U.S. President Joe Biden, had wanted to pay tribute to the 96-year-old who had spent seven decades on the British throne.

"You were fortunate to have had her for 70 years," Biden said, "We all were."

Shortly before 11 a.m., the oak coffin, covered in the Royal Standard flag with the Imperial State Crown on top, will be placed on a gun carriage and pulled by naval personnel to Westminster Abbey for her funeral.

Tens of millions in Britain and abroad are expected to watch the funeral of the monarch, something which has never been televised before.

It will end with the Last Post trumpet salute before the church and the nation falls silent for two minutes.

Afterwards, the coffin will be brought through central London, past the queen's Buckingham Palace home to the Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner, with the monarch and the royal family following again on foot during the 1.5 miles (2.4 km) procession.

From there, it will be placed on a hearse to be driven to Windsor Castle, west of London, for a service at St. George's Chapel. This will conclude with the crown, orb and sceptre - symbols of the monarch's power and governance - being removed from the coffin and placed on the altar.

The Lord Chamberlain, the most senior official in the royal household, will break his 'Wand of Office', signifying the end of his service to the sovereign, and place it on the casket.

It will then be lowered into the royal vault as the Sovereign's Piper plays a lament, slowly walking away until music in the chapel gradually fades.

Later in the evening, in private family service, the coffin of Elizabeth and her husband of more than seven decades Prince Philip, who died last year aged 99, will be buried together at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, where her parents and sister, Princess Margaret, also rest.