World leaders including President Emmanuel Macron of France and President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, have started to arrive to join hundreds of others already waiting for the start of the Queen’s funeral.
Guests started making their way inside within minutes of the end of the Queen lying in state at Westminster Hall, with the last member of the public making their way through at around 6.30am.
Among the first notable faces to join the congregation were Michael and Carole Middleton, two of the grandparents of Prince George, as well as numerous members of the government and other senior politicians, such as Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and London mayor Sadiq Khan.
One of the first royals to arrive was Moroccan Crown Prince Moulay Hassan, who at the age of 19 is representing his father King Mohammed VI.
Irish President Michael Higgins and President of the EU Council Charles Michel are also there.
Soon after three coaches pulled up outside Westminster Abbey and dozens of eminent figures from countries across the world alighted and went into the church as a single bell tolled every minute to mark the 96 years of the Queen’s life.
At around the same time a convoy of black Range Rovers, flanked by police outriders, snaked through central London.
Dignitaries arriving for Queen’s funeral – live updates
Many of the foreign dignitaries are yet to arrive and are due to make their way to the Abbey from the Royal Chelsea Hospital, where they began gathering from about 7.30am before heading to the funeral.
Another of those who arrived early for the service was Tom Parker Bowles, the son of the Queen Consort.
Among the guests due to attend the service are US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and around 500 others from nearly 200 countries and territories.
They include nearly 100 presidents and heads of government, and over 20 royals, according to a Foreign and Commonwealth Office source.
The only countries not invited were Russia, Belarus, Myanmar, Syria, Venezuela, or Afghanistan.
Iran, North Korea and Nicaragua are due to represented at ambassadorial level, but China’s Vice President Wang Qishan is expected to attend as the special representative of President Xi Jinping, despite concerns over China’s treatment of the Uyghur people.
They are expected to be among the 2,000 people gathering at Westminster Abbey to remember the late monarch.
The first vehicle to cross the police cordon at Royal Chelsea Hospital was registered to Sudan. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Sudan’s military leader, was expected to attend the funeral.
Diplomatic vehicles from Australia, Poland, Germany, the European Commission and Italy arrived soon after.
The first guests began arriving at the Gothic medieval abbey shortly after 8am, with the first entering through the east gate.
Early on Monday morning, police officers had formed a ring of security around the Royal Hospital Chelsea, blocking off streets.
The home of the Chelsea pensioners was cut off to the public by uniformed officers and security barriers.
Some dignitaries, including Presidents Macron and Biden had previously joined mourners to see the Queen’s coffin in Westminster Hall.
The operation to keep safe the dignitaries and the hundreds of thousands of members of the public in the capital to see the coffin pass by is one of the biggest security operations ever planned by the Metropolitan Police.
It surpasses the operation for the Platinum Jubilee weekend and the London 2012 Olympics, which saw up to 10,000 police officers on duty per day.
