Westminster Abbey Funerals: Diana, the Queen and More

Short answer: the best-known royal funerals at Westminster Abbey are those of Diana, Princess of Wales (6 September 1997), Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother (9 April 2002) and Queen Elizabeth II (19 September 2022). Queen Alexandra’s funeral was held there in 1925. None of them is buried in the Abbey: the last monarch buried there was George II, in 1760.

Diana, Princess of Wales, 1997

Diana’s funeral was held at Westminster Abbey on Saturday 6 September 1997. The day began at 9:08am, when the Abbey’s tenor bell started tolling, and the service opened at 11:00am.

Before the funeral, her body lay in the chapel at St James’s Palace. The service was televised, and Wikipedia gives an average UK audience of about 32.10 million, with an estimated 2 to 2.5 billion watching worldwide. Her brother, Earl Spencer, gave the eulogy. Elton John sang a version of “Candle in the Wind” with new words by Bernie Taupin.

Floral tributes and toys were left at the Abbey’s west gates, and wreaths from overseas heads of state were laid on the green outside. After the service, the coffin went by road to Althorp.

Elizabeth II’s state funeral, 2022

Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral was held at the Abbey on 19 September 2022. The Abbey says it was the first funeral of a monarch there since George II’s in 1760. It was also the first state funeral in Britain since Winston Churchill’s in 1965.

The service began at 11:00am. The Dean of Westminster, David Hoyle, conducted it according to the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, gave the sermon. About 2,000 people attended. It ended with the “Last Post” and a two-minute silence. The Choir of Westminster Abbey sang at the service; see our choir guide.

Before the funeral, the Queen lay in state in Westminster Hall, in the Palace of Westminster, from 14 to 19 September.

The Queen Mother, 2002

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother died on 30 March 2002, aged 101. Her funeral was held at the Abbey on 9 April 2002. The Abbey says she had close ties with the church and asked for her funeral to be held there.

Her coffin had lain in state in Westminster Hall from 5 April, and Wikipedia estimates about 200,000 people filed past over three days. On the day, the Abbey’s bell tolled 101 times, once for each year of her life. After the funeral, the wreath from her coffin was laid on the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, a gesture Wikipedia links to her own wedding day in 1923.

Who is buried at the Abbey, and who is not

A funeral at the Abbey does not mean a burial there. The Abbey says it ran out of space, so later monarchs were buried at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, or in the Frogmore mausoleum at Windsor.

Royal	Funeral at the Abbey	Buried
Queen Alexandra	1925	Windsor
Diana, Princess of Wales	6 September 1997	Althorp, Northamptonshire
The Queen Mother	9 April 2002	St George’s Chapel, Windsor, beside George VI
Elizabeth II	19 September 2022	King George VI Memorial Chapel, St George’s Chapel, Windsor

The Abbey counts 30 royal burials inside the church: 13 kings, four queens regnant, eleven queens consort and two other queens. They include Edward the Confessor, Henry V, Elizabeth I and George II. See who is buried in Westminster Abbey and the royal tombs guide.

The routes of the processions

Each funeral began with a procession through central London.

• Diana, 1997: the coffin left Kensington Palace on a gun carriage and was escorted through Hyde Park, passing Wellington Arch and Buckingham Palace. The Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales, Prince William, Prince Harry and Earl Spencer walked behind it, followed by 500 representatives of her charities.
• The Queen Mother, 2002: a gun carriage carried the coffin about 300 metres from Westminster Hall to the Abbey, with a massed pipe band.
• Elizabeth II, 2022: the State Gun Carriage of the Royal Navy, pulled by naval ratings, took the coffin from Westminster Hall to the Abbey. Afterwards it went in procession to Wellington Arch, then by state hearse to Windsor for the committal service at St George’s Chapel.

You can stand in the same church today. The funerals took place in the main body of the Abbey, which is on the standard visitor route. A guided tour of Westminster Abbey, from $100, adds a guide to tell these stories where they happened.