Westminster Abbey Church is a witness to everything royal from King George VI's marriage to Queen's funeral

London, Sep 17: The funeral of Queen Elizabeth II will take place at Westminster Abbey today starting at 3.30 pm IST. Westminster Abbey is the 753-year-old church where royals have traditionally been married, mourned and buried. About 15 minutes before the service starts, the queen's Royal Standard-draped coffin topped with the Orb and the Scepter will be moved by the State Gun Carriage of the Royal Navy from Westminster Hall where it has been Lying-in-State since Wednesday night. The carriage will then go towards Westminster Abbey. Incidentally, it is the same carriage that carried the coffin of her father, King George VI.

That procession, led by King Charles III and his siblings, will look very much like the procession to take the coffin from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall but shorter.

The royals will be accompanied by ranks of uniformed troops, senior palace officials and even the queen's pages as hundreds of thousands of mourners line the streets of central London to pay respects.

In the Abbey, about 2,000 guests will be waiting for the start of a service that will last about an hour. The Abbey is the final resting place of 30 kings and queens, starting with Edward the Confessor. King George II was the last, in 1760.

The historic church in central London has played quite a significant role in Britain's royal family for nearly a millennium.

Take a look:

1923: Queen Elizabeth's parents, prince Albert -- later King George VI -- and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, wed in the church.

1937: King George VI, Elizabeth II's father, was crowned on May 12 in the church.

1947: Queen Elizabeth II married Philip on November 20 in a ceremony broadcast around the world.

1953: Queen Elizabeth II's coronation took place on June 2 in the church in a service lasting almost three hours.

1997: Princess Diana's funeral was held at Westminster Abbey as nearly a million people lined the streets. When the cortege passed Buckingham Palace, Queen Elizabeth publicly bowed her head.

2002: The April 9 funeral of Queen Elizabeth's mother was held at the church.

2011: Prince William and Kate Middleton married in Westminster Abbey.

2022: The Queen was last at Westminster Abbey in March this year for a delayed memorial service to her late husband Prince Philip, who died in April 2021.