Abbey where the late queen was married in 1957. And crowned back in 1953. When she was just 25 years old. Her astounding 70 years on the throne saw a world transformed. From scientific breakthroughs, world war ii, to a changing monarchy. And to her own changing family. Yet, threw it all this remarkable woman endured. Through 14 american president s, 15 british Prime Ministers, through financial crisis and, of course, the troubles through the rise of the internet and the fall of the berlin wall. In a few minutes, the royal navy will begin a procession to transport the queen from Westminster Hall where she has been lying at rest. Queen elizabeth ii led her people for over seven decades on the throne. She was 96 years old. The longest reigning monarch in british history. Along with joe, willie and me, we have u. S. Special correspondent for bbc catty kay. Its wonderful to be with you early this morning as we cover history in the making. Lets set the scene. Last night i posted a picture of a rainbow over london, if you can believe it. But this morning we look at the legacy, this moment and the incredible indelible monday mark that Queen Elizabeth ii made on the world. Its been a remarkable few days here Walking Around. Ive been sorrow. For the most part weve seen people from all over come to london. Its been a joyful time. I was struck by how diverse the guests were. Coming into the city were. And for those in america watching us, they really havent followed Queen Elizabeth closely or the monarchy closely. And ask what is the fuss about . What did she really do . What did King Charles Iii do . She really answered that. 1957 in the first televised Christmas Day speech. When she said i cannot lead you into battle. I do not give you laws or administer justice but i can do something else. I can give you my heart and my devotion to these old islands and to all the peoples of our brotherhood and nation. And what an extraordinary legacy she leaves, willie. The soft power is really exhibited and the funeral, the number of guests from across the globe that are here and really summarized and the cue. And the queue. Summarized by french president macron who said to you, she was your queen. To the rest of the world, she was the queen. Yes. She was the queen. And were seeing this outpouring here in london. For the last several days. The line to see and pass through at Westminster Hall, to see the queens coffin, 12 hours, 14 hours, david beckham, the icon in this country, the soccer leng legend, he waited 12 hours, taking selfies all the while to see this extraordinary woman, to send her off and pay fay final respects. As i look inside Westminster Abbey, you cant think of the scope of her life and history that she was married in that same chapel in 1947 to philip. And she received her coronation there five years later in 1952. And today will be her funeral in that same historic abbey. Somebody said to me, the queen is even working in death. She has brought the world together. She has brought all of the Heads Of State together. Its what she xpent her whole life doing. Was almost being britains top diplomat and britains queen. And she planned this. Everything we are going to watch over the next hour or so, she was involved in the planning of it. Who was invited . The music was going to be played. The procession that were going to see, where the members of the royal family would sit. Every single detail of this. Imagine that. She sat down and said okay, check. Ill sign off on this. So all the people were seeing there today are here. As we watch those filing in, the most important guests are already in place. You started, joe, with one of the first things she said. And i think its really touching. One of the last things she said and that was during the covid crisis when she did a televised address. It was only the fifth televised address by the way, were looking at the president now arriving for the queens funeral. As we watch the pictures, heres what the queen said on april 5th, 2020. I hope in the years to come everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge. She is talking about covid. In the end, better days will return. We will be with our friends again. We will be with our families again. We will meet again. It seemed to me the most significant meeting post covid is actually today. Here. The queens funeral. And there, of course, is joe biden and dr. Jill biden. And the United States was allowed two guests and catty reminded us if we had the wisdom and foresight to remain a colony, we would have been allowed ten guests. As our many members of the commonwealth. But catty, it is fascinating as we watch the most powerful people assembled from across the globe, this speaks to her extraordinary soft power. As in the United States where we often overlook our strengths and focus on weaks in, that happens too with the british people. And they said something the morning she passed. I thought it was so telling. He said that Queen Elizabeth ii took britain from being an ancient empire that even in challenging times such as these thats one of the largest economies in the world. The brits Cultural Impact on the world. Second perhaps only to the United States, the former colony as you pointed out. But this is something that i dont think many people focus on or know. And that is that many of the former colonies have stayed connected to britain. And that the commonwealth which was one of the queens greatest projects during her lifetime has over 50 countries that are members of the commonwealth and 2. 5 billion people across the globe who chose to remain a part of an organization with Queen Elizabeth ii and now King Charles Iii as its head. The queens official title is elizabeth ii By The Grace Of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and her other realms and territories queen head of the commonwealth, defender of the faith. Thats quite a title to conjure with. But with that title incorporates 2. 5 billion people, 56 countries and 14 countries of which she is their queen. So she is not just queen of Great Britain. She queen Head Of State of canada. Queen Head Of State of australia. And 12 other countries Around The World as well. So and what youre seeing today is a reflection of that post Empire Influence that the United Kingdom still has Around The World. It is because of the commitment of the new organization of the commonwealth. Replaced the empire in some ways as a collection of countries. But the last four countries to join the commonwealth have nothing do with empire. So now you have countries wanting to join the commonwealth that werent part of the British Empire as well. A voluntary association. And so much of that really does have to do with Queen Elizabeth ii. And 2. 5 billion people and the governments wanting to be associated with the queens commonwealth. That will be one of the great challenges of charles iii. . Absolutely. And not long before she became queen, right before father died, she traveled on a two week trip to her two or four week trip to canada. You look at the pictures. I was watching documentary footage last night. The throngs of people in the streets. So many warm feelings from the nations. Cant emphasize what she said about the planning of this day and this funeral. This has been in the works for years. And it is planned down to the minute, the number of people you see here are planned. Uniforms are being worn. The dressing of the coffin. The time it takes to get from one location to the other. This day is planned meticulously. The royal family will lead a procession behind the queens coffin to Westminster Abbey. The queens funeral begins at 6 00 eastern, that is 11 00 a. M. Here in london. The Dean Of Westminster will say the blessing. And the archbishop of Kanter Canterbury will say the sermon. Two minutes of silence will be observed. And then the bearer party will take the coffin out. More than 10,000 Police Officers will be on duty for the queens funeral today to ensure that there is not any successful attempts to disrupt todays events. Hundreds of thousands of people already lining the streets here behind us on that Funeral Route from Central London to berkshire where the late queen will be buried. 500 foreign dignitaries for the State Funeral in Westminster Abbey. It will be the biggest ever personal protection operation undertaken by the metropolitan police here. Wow. Much of britains economy on hold today. Queen elizabeth is laid to rest today. It is designated a public holiday. There are sweeping closures spanning every aspect of british life. All schools, most jobs, off today. And a nonurgent medical appointments through the National Health service are canceled. Every Supermarket Chain including the largest one closed today. The Luxury Department stores also closed. Even Fast Food Chains like mcdonalds, they will not open to allow their workers to join in the nations mourning. And the royal family is honoring Queen Elizabeth ii with one last official portrait last night this never before seen picture of the late monarch was shared by the official Instagram Account of the royal family. The picture shows Queen Elizabeths smiling while wearing her standard Pearl Necklace and earrings. She is also wearing a dress with a broach. I believe kate has those beautiful pearls. The she had them on the other day. To understand the queens hive, the queens long reign, her dedication to her job and public service, its important to understand how so much of it was shaped by her uncle. A man she loved dearly and was close to. But also who she and the family felt betrayed by. Believed that edwards led to his early death. She said at times it was not a position she wanted. But it led her on her 21st birthday on april 21st to declare my whole hive, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service. Again, a reaction to the abdication that shaped her entire life and shaped her dedication to public service. That was a really difficult moment for the British Monarchy. The longevity of the monarchy was not assured after edward 8 left. It sent a crisis throughout the institution. And the queen started her reign with this shadow of abdication on her shoulder. She had to make sure the British Monarchy survived and thrived. Her husband came from the greek royal family. They were deposed. She knew there were royal families around europe, russia, greece, that have not survived. It was not guaranteed that the British Royal family would not go the way of some of the other royal families. And that commitment to service to the monarchy, to the institution of the monarchy and to her subjects then in the empire now in the commonwealth was her way of doing all she could during the course of her 70 years on the throne to ensure the health of the British Monarchy. The other thing i think that is so critical about her was her neutrality. Her neutrality was her superpower. The fact that the British Public could look at the queen and project on to her themselves because she never took an opinion on a piece of music, on a piece of architecture, on a political position. And think how incredibly rare that is today as somebody standing the queue said to me, i felt safe with her. She was neutral in this polarized world that we live in, particularly in the United States but here too, that was was that neutrality is a source of safety and comfort. It is essential to the survival of the British Monarchy. And it also made pos ib the evolution from ancient empire to post modern state. Anyone Walking Around london over the last several days saw extraordinary diversity and saw a nation that had passed. Willie though, it is as we continue to look at members filing in, willie, it really is something that perhaps the greatest challenge to her monarchy came after the death of diana. The scenes extraordinary she served and she showed a certain dignity and detatchment, a neutrality. And that was shaken with the death of dianne why as depicted in the movie the queen. She learned a difficult lesson during that time. And understood that sense of detatchment needed to move forward. To a new britain she didnt understand zblcht she won an Academy Award for playing that role, the queen. There is boris johnson. Entering Westminster Abbey as the dignitaries continue to come inside. Caddie, just sort of atmospherics for people watching back in the United States. You and i notice its very quiet out here. It is a funeral today. I walked through hyde park this morning and big screens up and people are gathering. It will be a day to celebrate her life. But there is sadness. For 70 years shes always been there as monarch and for many years before that. And that constantcy ends today. Here we have the former Prime Ministers. All of the former Prime Ministers, liz truss, the current Prime Minister who has been Prime Minister for two days when the queen died. She will deliver one of the readings at the service. Youre right. Today sitting here there is quiet and a sense of solemnness. The last few days ive been here and talking in the queue, my husband stood in the queue for the 12 hours, it was festive almost. Not festive is the wrong word. But celebratory. People were chatting. They were smiling. They were sharing their memories of her. Today as we very different day. There are crowds not very far from where we are. You cant hear any of them. Caddie, as we look at Prime Ministers filing in, i want to be polite on this day, the queens first Prime Minister is Winston Churchill. She had a series of weak Prime Ministers which she privately commented on at time. Anthony eden and aaron wilson, all the way through boris johnson. It was her ability to hold this country together through many failed Prime Ministers over her reign. Having successful premierships. Americans will recognize tony blair. So instrumental around the time after 9 11 and the iraq war. She went through think about the 60s and the 70s in particular in britain. The three day week, the electricity strikes, the power outages. It was a tough time economically. And her presence, as you say, there was this Economic Hardship and then the Union Strikes and thatcher revered probably more american than she here. But that was a divisive period with minor strikes and people raising money for the families of minors. The queen was always there. Interestingly, the queen is one of the some of the labor Prime Ministers were set to be the favorites. She actually got on very well over there. Harold wilson apparently paint as a communist empathizer. Famously she she was skeptical at the beginning. She wasnt sure that they were going to get on. Yet Margaret Thatcher reportedly didnt get on so well with her. There was a female leader. You talk about britain of the 70s. The blackouts. The three day work weeks. It was an extraordinary grim time. S is touch a different time. Again, one of the strongest in the world unrecognizable. What a change over the past 40 years. Were moment as way from king charles making his way to Westminster Abbey. Well bring that you to live. Well kofrn the cover the funeral in the entirety. Morning joe, live coverage of the funeral of Queen Elizabeth ii continues in just a moment. Well be right back. Ii continues in just a moment. 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Learn all the ways to save with amazon. Ice cream is like Whooping Cough, its not just for kids. Whooping cough is highly contagious for people of any age. And it can cause violent uncontrollable coughing fits. Ask your doctor or pharmacist about Whooping Cough vaccination because its not just for kids. Our internet isnt ideal. Ask your doctor or pharmacist about Whooping Cough vaccination my dad made the brilliant move to get us tmobile home internet. Oh. But everybodys online during the day so we lose speeds. Weve become. Nocturnal. Well. Im up. Cmon kids. This. Sucks. Well if you just switch maybe you dont have to be vampires. Whoa. Okay, yikes. Oh sorry, i wasnt thinking. We dont really use the v word. Thats kind of insensitive. We prefer dayadjacent. Ill go manpire. Lets bring in historian john meechum. Anyone that followed the queens life, shes deeply religious woman. Even striking up a friendship with billy graham when billy graham in The 60s And 70s was certainly in our neck of the woods, we say the deep south, was considered royalty. By our family. She and the queen were very close. And her faith was one of the things that defined her. That is very evidence in this service. Tell us about it. Well, there are two things unfolding, the pageantry of state. And there is also the journey and the pilgrimage of a single soul, that of elizabeth ii. And there is a wonderful line in what will be the opening hymn in the abbey, the day gave us has ended. Its thy throne, lord, shall always endure and ernls proud empires pass away. That, in fact this is about the pilgrimage this she undertook in extraordinary circumstances and in theological view she held sheshgs was called by god to this task that she did. It was real to her. The other thing worth noting here is for all the grandeur, the words spoken over her coffin, the gospel thats read, those are foreany christian soul. There is a universal that, you know, they called it democracy of death. There is this fundamental human story that is unfolding as well. It is about the fact that, again, one of the sentences will say, i know my redeemer live edge and shall stand the latter day upon the earth. And by all accounts, Queen Elizabeth i he i knew that as well. And, john, you were so right. She saw herself as being called by god. Its one thing that drove her and why her sense of duty is so deep. I would say when charles echoed her commitment as the head of the church, it may not have sounded as natural coming from the new king as it did from Queen Elizabeth ii. Again, a woman who committed her life to god, who would get on her knees at night and pray to god. Her duty and responsibility were to the people of britain and for her more importantly, to god. The basic drama of her life in so far as we can understand it and the drama thats in a microcosm today is that shes going to be commemorated here in an abbey that is 1,000 years old. All of which unfolds with this expectation what is happening here is about eternity. And so in a temporal secular tweet manic headline driven world, this is genuinely a moment where you sit and you say this is not about the next five seconds. This is about eternity. Right. She was just making a point. Were just making note of the live pictures were seeing right now where king charles and william are making their way now from Clarence House to Westminster Abbey. President biden and dr. Jill biden are in place as the world, willie, prepares to say goodbye to Queen Elizabeth. Yes this is King Charles Iii making his way from Clarence House, that Royal Residence to parliament where the queen is Lying In State. Bear guards will lift her coffin from there and be placed on to a gun carriage and then make its way to Westminster Abbey. The king and his sons, his siblings walking behind on foot. So there you see the live picture of the king. John, as a historian, i have to ask you about the sweep of history. This balcony behind where were sitting right now at Buckingham Palace is the same one where the late queen stood as a princess on ve day. And then moved out into the crowd and celebrated with them. You know, she learned she was going to become an heir when she was 10 years old in 1936 before world war ii. She has seen so much. She participated in so much. Thats the balcony where they invited Winston Churchill, george vi out on v. E. Day. And in some ways thats the herointh of the o 20th century which there is the hinge of our lives. The Tekd World War was a struggle between fascism he and freedom. I would argue between good and evil. And she was there. And she embodied particularly as the war began in 1939 in some ways the hope of what the worlds democracies were fighting for. It was the rule of law. It was mag in a carta, it was liberty under law. It was individual worth over the power of a dictator. And you look at those images and to us theyre sentimental because theyre black and white and it feels hike tom hanks said why do you keep Making Movies About World War Ii . He said well it was good versus evil and grandpa won. Well, grandpa won and in this case, grandma led the way. Its interesting. You talked about how her reign began with the monarchy in question. And over the span of her reign, she met 14 president s and many of them had incredible memories of their time with her. 13 president s, sorry. One off. And it was interesting. I was reading the queen of our times about president obamas take way of his time with Queen Elizabeth and given the shaky start during her reign of the monarchy as a whole, his feeling was he was so struck by how much it matters to people that she represents wartime sacrifice. She represents the acceptance of deol onization. She represents victory in the cold war and she represents the values of a good regulationship. To say she was able to stabilize the monarchy and bring meaning to it is an understatement. Yeah. And here is the continuity. We just saw king charles and his son Prince William who will continue that line. And it is that sense of continuity. Maybe that is why the world is so fascinated and why americans are so interested. About a news sense of continuity and there arent very many people in the does. I mean john, you know, looking at these extraordinary pictures and that sense of i feel like were watching a History Lesson unfold in glorious colors. It was her life and also dates back far, you know, further than. That the gun carriage is 123 years old. The ruby in her crown was said to have been worn by henry 5 into the battle in 1415. If you want some sense of linkage with our past, you are watching it today. The words were about to hear grow out of the book of common prayer. A document that has had profound an impact on the english language as shakespeare and milton. The notion that the Church Of England which was formed out of a political crisis in the 16th century and one of the worlds first reality shows, you know, henry 8 and his wives, the reality of not just the symbols here but what are symbols . Symbols are gateways to substance. Sfligt theyre icons, glimmers, hints, clues to some larger truth. And the uniforms and the jewels and all of that as you say, its not just gaudy. Its not just for morning television. These are living symbols of a cultural, substantive cultural legacy which is that there is an unfolding story that is larger than any of us and to which we owe a duty. And no one executed that duty more faithfully than elizabeth i he i. We, of course, what were seeing now, of course, is extraordinary. Offerously, Queen Victorias funeral represented an arc of history almost as. Were at the beginning of The Guns Of August. Talking about the passing of another era and here we are, mika, with the passing of Queen Elizabeth iis era and the Financial Times farewell to Queen Elizabeth really defined this moment. Many people in britain and the 14 other realms of which elizabeth remained Head Of State had been surprised at the depth of their sorry at her passing. Even some republicans have saluted her. Theyve been surprised too by the extent of the reaction Around The World. Countries as far afield as brazil and cuba with no direct connection to the British Monarchy have held days of mourning. Frances president macron summed up the Global Response by noting that to you she was your queen. To us, she was the queen. A glance at the guest list provides an yfd the soft power she helped her country to project. The 2000 invitees including a include a role call of monarchs from belgium, to elected leaders and of ceremonial Heads Of State. But the val diction for a seven decades long monarch who personified a Global Britain is a time for the government to reflect that no one person can emulate her levels of soft power. And the uk needs to seek and nurture other sources. The Waining Of Monarchies worldwide and the passing of the imperial era make it difficult for such conditions to come together again. Were, of course, watching the Queen Consort Walking in now. Yes. There is Camilla Walking in and behind her, the princess of wales kate middle ton whose wedding we attended to Prince William and perhaps even more poignant than watching the princess of wales is watching her two children. George who is now second in line to the throne after his father Prince William. And princess charlotte. The youngest prince louis is not there. He was little and decided wont attend. George and charlotte, they are the continuity that were speaking about. Right. And there is something about the fact that we know how this Story Barring Smk Tragic will unfold. I think that is reassuring. The crown will pass from king charles to king william to king george. And lets talk about the difficult position that King Charles Iii finds himself in. He is following a legend. I can tell new Southeastern Sec football you never want to follow a legend in any sport or in politics. But in this case, hes following one of the most xrart monarchs that ever reigned over 1,000 year reign. And following him will be an extraordinarily popular king. King william. Which, of course, captured the worlds attention from the moment he was born. And so the question is what does King Charles Iii do stacked between those two figures . And the contrast. The queen talked about how sudden this was for her. She knew her father was ill. The she was in kenya when he died. Didnt know it was going to come so quickly and suddenly. And now here is the moment when queens coffin is lifted, leaving parliament now and loving to that gun carriage of the royal navy for the walk to Westminster Abbey. The gun carriage will be followed by charles, william, harry on foot. And that is the state crown sitting on the coffin, resting on the coffin which she was coronated in. And that crown ultimately will go to king charles. And you heard there the big ben, big ben will ring once every minute during the course of this procession. Part of the solemnity. It is remarkable sitting here as we watch the coffin being carried by the pallbearers to this gun carriage that is 123 years old. This is solemn. The quiet of the moment the momn [ Bagpipes Playing ] of course, the family there. Some in uniform. Some not in uniform. Walk us through it. So here we have 98 sailors carrying the gun carriage. 48 behind. Theyre putting on the ropes in case there is a down hill and have to pull it backwards. But behind them, you can see just behind the carriage, the members of the royal family. You have the queens children, King Charles Iii, princess ann, the princess royal, Prince Andrew, the duke of york, and Prince Edward the royal of essex and Prince Andrew who served in the royal family in, the royal navy. Not in uniform. And behind them you have Prince William and prince harry and prince harry also not in uniform. Because he is no longer a working royal. He has stepped back from his duties. His military duties were also stripped away from him at that point. He was allowed to wear his uniform one time during his funeral this period of mourning. But to day for the service, hes in a mourning suit. And Prince Andrew, of course, no longer an active royal. Obviously, swept up in controversy and after a disastrous interview was the decision was made that he would not be active anymore. He was, was he not, one of the queens favorite children. It was a difficult choice for her. He was said to be her favorite of the four of them. Queen was a mother of her time. She was not a particularly hands on Touch Qui Feely mother that we might understand it. When Prince Charles was just 3 years old, she went off on a six month tour of duty and came back and stayed in london for a week before she went up to see him. It is 5 48 eastern time. 10 48 a. M. London time. And were watching live coverage of the funeral of Queen Elizabeth ii. I mentioned the time because in just about 11 minutes, thats 6 00 a. M. Eastern, big ben strikes once to mark two minutes of national silence. And then the official state Funeral Service for Queen Elizabeth ii will begin at Westminster Abbey. Right now were watching her coffin making its way to the abbey, of course, with the crown atop, resting atop. The crown that will ultimately go to king charles who is also making his way to the abbey. The family, of course, following the coffin of the queen. And this is the first two processions we will see today. This is just a brief walk from parliament to the west gate of parliament to the west gate of Westminster Abbey for the Funeral Services that will last about an hour, and later, a massive procession, about a mile and a half of people following the queen from Westminster Abbey up right behind our position here at Buckingham Palace on the way to Wellington Arch, where shell be transferred to a hearse to make that final trip to Windsor Castle. Leaders from Around The World are in place inside the abbey including President Biden and dr. Jill biden, and we will be bringing you the funeral in its entirety. And john meachum, i brought up The Guns Of August when Barbara Tuckman began her extraordinary work on world war i. She wrote of the funeral of the edward the 7th, so gorgeous was the spectacle, when nine kings rode that the crowd waiting in a hushed and black cloud could not keep back gasps of admiration. Of course she talked about a World Unmoored then that was moving inextricably toward world war i, the great war. Far different times. Queen elizabeth leaves her realm in a time of, as katty said, in a time where the country is celebrating this extraordinary reign and a post modern country. And in an alliance that is pushing back against tyranny to the east. That section of the book that you mentioned ends with a quotation who said there was never such a break up. All the old buoys that marked the channels of our lives have been blown away, and one distinction between a hundred years ago, 110 years ago and now is those monarchs then in some cases were avatars of appetite, right, they were genuinely imperialist in that they wanted to break beyond the bounds of what history and custom had assigned to them. And to conquer others. Which is what were seeing in the east as you allude to, and to some extent, Around The World. Whats so remarkable about elizabeth ii is that she found a role to be a buoy without being ambitious or driven by appetite. She was stabilizing as opposed to destabilizing, and thats so counter intuitive in any age, but its especially counter intuitive in our own. The idea that you would choose not to express an opinion, the idea that you would choose silence over being loquacious about how you feel and what you want and what you think. Thats our cultural world. And she was this embodiment of restraint in an age of excess. And i think we will miss that. I was going to say, katty, you had mentioned that her super power was neutrality, another word that had come to mind, john just mentioned, restraint, extraordinary restraint. Restraint that she tried her best to pass along to her children, and when things got especially rocky between them because they did not understand the importance of restraint in their roles. Yes, she was also restrained in her life. She was frugal. She didnt spend a lot of money, and she admired people who embodied that post Second World War quality of financial restraint and verbal restraint. That generation that came through the great war, they didnt talk about it. My grandfather they didnt talk about their service. You did it, but you didnt talk about it. I was going to say, our grandparents, but also our parents who, mine have far different setting than queens, mine, who grew up in the depths of the Great Depression in north georgia. For sure. The same characteristics of, again, restraint, keeping your head down. Working hard, and doing a good job, and mika, of course your parents both who fled. Oh, for sure. Hitler. The frugality was one of the many common themes from the era that i think they hoped to pass on to their children. Im not sure they felt they had done. No, they had not. Again, the queens frugality, and sort of a sense of not wanting to stand out even in eternity. She chose to rest in eternity next to her husband in the windsor vault, you know, not standing out. One of her predecessors, Queen Victoria has a massive mausoleum, something she chose not to do, and placing herself with her family, and next to her husband. Just moments from now, well be covering live and showing in its entirety, the official State Funeral for Queen Elizabeth ii, the queen was 96 years old, born on april 20th, 1926, and again, it has been said a lot, but its worth repeating, her reign spanned 70 years. 70 years of history. When she became queen, harry truman was president and Winston Churchill was the british Prime Minister. And now we watch her coffin making its way, willie, to Westminster Abbey. A historical moment for history, an emotional moment, you can imagine, for the generations of britains who watched the queen walk through the doors to be married in 1947, be corronated in 1952 as she passes through the gates of Westminster Abbey for a final time. R a final time in grief and also in profound thanksgiving, we come to this house of god to a place of prayer, to a church where remembrance and hope are sacred duties. Here where Queen Elizabeth was married and crowned, we gather from across the nation from the commonwealth and from the nations of the world, to mourn our loss, to remember her long life of selfless service, and ensure confidence to commit her to the mercy of god, our maker and redeemer. With gratitude, we remember her unswerving commitment to a high calling over so many years as queen and head of the commonwealth. With admiration, we recall her lifelong sense of duty and dedication to her people. With thanksgiving, we praise god for her constant example of Christian Faith and devotion. With affection, we recall her love for her family and her commitment to the causes she held dear. Now, in silence, let us in our hearts and minds recall our many reasons for thanksgiving. Pray for all members of her family, and commend Queen Elizabeth to the care and keeping of almighty god. Y god. Oh, merciful god, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ who is the resurrection and the life in whom who so ever believeth shall live, though he died, and who live and believe in him shall not die eternally. Who have taught us by His Holy Apostle saint paul not to be sorry as men without hope for them that sleep in him. We meekly beseech thee oh father to raise us from the depths of sin, to the lives of righteousness, that when we depart this life, we may rest in him as our hope is this our sister doth and that at the general resurrection in the last day, we may be found acceptable in thy sight and receive that blessing which thy well beloved son that then shall pronounce to all to love and fear thee, saying come, blessed children of my father, receive the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world. Grant this, we beseech the o merciful father through jesus christ, our mediator and redeemer. Amen. Now is christ risen from the dead and become the first fruits of them that sleep. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in adam, all die. Even so, in christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order, christ, the first fruits afterward. They they are christ at his coming. Then cometh the end. When he shall have delivered up the kingdom to god even the father. When he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For this corruptible must put on in corruption. And this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the same that is written. Death is swallowed up in victory. Oh, death, where is thy sting. Oh, grave, where is thy victory. The sting of death is sin. And the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to god which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren be ye steadfast, unmovable. Always abounding in the work of the lord. For as much as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the lord, thanks be to god. E to god let not your heart be troubled. Ye believe in god, believe also in me. In my Fathers House are many mansions. If it were not so, i would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if i go and prepare a place for you, i will come again and receive you unto myself. But where i am, there ye may be also. And whether i go you know, and the way you know, thomas sayeth unto him, lord, we know not wither thou goest, and how can we know. Jesus say to him, i am the way, the truth and the life. No man cometh onto the father but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my father also and from henceforth ye know him and have seen him. Phillip sayeth unto him, lord, show us the father and it suffices us. Jesus sayeth unto him, have i been so long time with you and yet has thou not known me, phillip. He that have seen me have seen the father. Thanks be to god. Come holy spirit and fill our hearts with the bond of your healing love. Amen. Amen. The pattern for many leaders is to be exalted in life and forgotten after death. The pattern for all who serve god, famous or obscure, respected or ignored, is that death is the door to glory. Her late majesty famously declared on a 21st birthday broadcast that her whole life would be dedicated to serving the nation and commonwealth. Rarely has such a promise been so well kept. Few leaders receive the outpouring of love that we have seen. Jesus, who in our reading, does not tell his disciples how to follow but who to follow said i am the way, the truth and the life. Her late majestys example was not set through her position or her ambition but through whom she followed. I know his majesty shares the same faith and hope in jesus christ as his mother, the same sense of service and duty. In 1953, the queen began her coronation with Silent Prayer, just there at the high alter. Her allegiance to god was given before any person gave allegiance to her. Her service to so many people in this nation, the commonwealth and the world had its foundation in her following christ. God himself. Who said that he came not to be served but to serve. And to give his life as a ransom for many. People of Loving Service are rare in any walk of life. Leaders of Loving Service are still rarer. But in all cases, those who serve will be loved and remembered when those who cling to power and privileges are long forgotten. The grief of this day felt not only by the late queens family but all around the nation, the commonwealth and the world arises from her abundant life and Loving Service now gone from us. She was joyful, present for so many touching a multitude of lives, and we pray today especially for all her Family Grieving as every family at a funeral, including so many families Around The World who have themselves lost someone recently. But in this familys case, doing so in the brightest spotlight, may god heal their sorrow. May the gap left in their lives be marked with memories of joy and life. Her late majestys broadcast during covid lockdown ended with, we will meet again. Words of hope from a song, christian hope means certain expectation of something not yet seen. Christ rose from the dead, and offers life to all. Abundant life now and life with god in eternity. As the Christmas Carol says, where meek souls will receive him still the dear christ enters in. We will all face the merciful judgment of god. We can all share the queens hope, which in life and death inspired her servant leadership. Service in life, hope in death, all who follow the queens example and inspiration of trust and faith in god can with her say we will meet again. Again in confidence and trust let us pray to the father. Let us give thanks to god for Queen Elizabeths long life and reign. Recalling with gratitude her gifts of wisdom, diligence and service. Oh, god, from whom Cometh Everything that is upright and true accept our thanks for the gifts of heart and mind that thou did bestow upon thy daughter elizabeth and which she showed forth among us in her words and deeds. And grant that we may have grace to live our lives in accordance with thy will, to seek the good of others and to remain faithful servants unto our lives end. Through jesus christ our lord, amen. Amen. Confident in gods love and compassion. Let us pray for all those whose hearts are heavy with grief and sorrow. Al nighty god, father of all mercies, and giver of all comfort. Deal graciously we pray thee with those who mourn thats casting every care on thee they may know the consolation of thy love. Through jesus christ our lord, amen. Amen. Let us pray for his majesty the king and all the royal family that they may know the sustaining power of gods love and the prayerful fellowship of gods people. Almighty god, the fountain of awkwardness, we humbly beseech these to bless our most gracious sovereign lord, king charles, Camilla Queen consort, and Prince William, and all the holy family. Prosper them with all happiness, and bring them to thine ever lasting kingdom, through jesus christ our lord, amen. In recognition of Queen Elizabeths service to this United Kingdom, let us rejoice in her unstinting devotion to duty, her compassion for her subject and her counsel to her ministers. And we pray for the continued health and prosperity of this nation. Almighty god whose will it is that all thy children should serve thee in serving one another. Look with love, we pray thee, on this nation. Grant to its citizens grace to Work Together with honest and faithful hearts. Each caring for the good of all that seeking first thy kingdom and its righteousness they may possess all things needful for the daily sustenance and common good through jesus christ our lord, amen. Let us give thanks for Queen Elizabeths commitment to the commonwealth throughout her reign, for her service and dedication to its people, and for the rich bonds of unity and mutual support she sustained. Oh, almighty and ever lasting god, hear our prayer for the commonwealth and grant it the guidance of thy wisdom. Inspire those in authority that they may promote justice and the common good. Give to all its citizens the spirit of mutual honor and respect. And grant to us all grace to strive for the establishment of righteousness and peace, for the honor of thy name, amen. Amen. We give thanks to god for Queen Elizabeths loyalty to the faith she inherited through her baptism and confirmation and affirmed at her coronation. For her unswerving devotion to the gospel and for her Steadfast Service as supreme governor of the Church Of England, lord, we beseech thee to keep thy household, the church, in continual godliness, that through thy protection, she may be free from all adversities and devoutly given to serve thee in all good works. To the glory of thy name through jesus christ our lord, amen. Let us pray that we may be given grace to live as those who believe in the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, and the resurrection to eternal life. Bring us, oh, lord god, at our last awakening into the house and gate of heaven. To enter into that gate and dwell in that house where there shall be no darkness, nor dazzling but one equal light. No noise, nor silence, but one equal music. No fears no hopes but one equal possession. No ends nor beginnings but one equal eternity. In the habitation of their glory and dominion, World Without end. In confidence and hope let us pray to the father in the words our savior taught us. Our father who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever, amen. Let us commend to the mercy of god, our maker and redeemer. The soul of elizabeth our late queen. Heavenly father, king of kings. Lord and giver of life who have thy grace and creation did form mankind in thine own image and in their great love, offer us life eternal in christ jesus. Claiming the promises of thy most blessed son, we entrust the soul of elizabeth, our sister, here departed, to thy merciful keeping, ensure certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life. When christ shall be all in all who died and rose again to save us, and now liveth and reign with me and the holy spirit in glory forever, amen. Go forth, oh christian soul, from this world. In the name of god the father almighty who created thee, In The Name Of jesus christ, son of the living god who suffered for thee, In The Name Of the holy spirit who was poured out upon thee and anointed thee in communion with all the blessed saints and aided by the angels and arc angels and the armies of the heavenly host, may thy portion this day be in peace and thy dwelling in the heavenly jerusalem, amen. E heavenly jerusalem, amen. God grant to the living grace. To the departed, rest. To the church, the king, the commonwealth and all people peace and concord. And to our sinners, life ever lasting. And the blessing of god almighty, the father, the son, and the holy spirit be among you and remain with you always. Amen. Ceremony ceremony ceremon. A remarkable service, youre watching the funeral of Queen Elizabeth, overcast skies during much of the service as the crowd sang the National Anthem. The sun broke through the crowds, and a very quiet, somber crowd applauded, and extraordinarily moving moment, and katty kay, now we see the family escorting the casket out. There we have the queens coffin with the crown, the scepter, and behind the queens coffin we have king charles, and well see those pictures in a minute. Here they come. The orb, of course, the symbol of the queens religious power. The scepter, the symbol of her governing power. And there you see king charles on the left, just behind the coffin. Katty, theres a note tucked in the floral arrangements at the top of the coffin, people have been trying to find out what it says. We have confirmation now from Buckingham Palace, written by King Charles Iii, it reads in loving and devoted memory, charles r. Rex, latin word for king, so that is a message from the man whos waited 73 years. Whos known for 73 years that he would be king, now a note to his late mother, Queen Elizabeth ii. You have king charles on the left behind him, his sister, anne, the second child of Queen Elizabeth, and princess royal, she is accompanied by her husband, her second husband, tim lawrence. The flowers, by the way, were chosen by charles for his mother, and they include a branch taken from a plant that is an offspring of a plant that was used in her wedding bouquet. Beautiful. Were watching live coverage of the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth ii as it closes the family following the coffin, the queens coffin out of Westminster Abbey. The arch bishop of canterbury, during the service said death is the door to glory, and noted that Queen Elizabeth iii said in her coronation that she would dedicate her life to the service of the commonwealth, and he noted what a promise well kept. Her late majestys example, he said, was not said by ambition, but by her faith and noted that she began her coronation in Silent Prayer showing allegiance first to god. The Queen Consort behind her elizabeths coffin in the procession that is coming. And shortly begins the next procession, the longer procession, the queens coffin will leave Westminster Abbey in just a moment, followed by senior members of the royal family. That procession expected to be well over a mile long behind her coffin. The sounds well be hearing, big ben, ringing at oneminute intervals followed by ceremony gunfire. The kings guard will give a royal salute. The coffin will be transferred from carriage to hearse after it passes by us at Buckingham Palace. It will head to Windsor Castle. 800 mourners will attend a service at st. Georges chapel, the archbishop pronounces the blessing, followed by a Burial Service this evening. The late Prince Philip was interred in the royal vault upon his death last year and is expected to be moved to the Memorial Chapel to lie alongside the queen. If youre Hearing Voices behind us, in coordination with the palace, there is a Gentleman Narrating the proceedings for the thousands of people who are here to see any glimpse they can get of the proceedings. Lets bring in the Financial Times ed loose whos with us, as well as Pulitzer Prize winning historian, jon meacham. Ed, please, your reflections on this onceinalifetime event. This is. This is certainly the first of my lifetime. I think the last Lying In State was 1965 of Winston Churchill before i was born. I think in terms of sort of scale of royal pageantry, this compares with the ireland jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1897 and her funeral in 1901. I doubt we have seen this gathering of World Leaders, let alone, World Leaders coming by bus. Again, certainly in london and in our lifetimes. Its an extraordinary moment, a spectacle, viewership Around The World, 3, 4 billion havent yet seen the numbers, but the largest event in history, but this is remarkable, there is nothing ive quite seen like it. Of course the Actual Service itself mostly to me, a very familiar anglican service, of course with all the trappings went off with what i saw somebody describing as Stanley Kubrick precision. Literally, not a foot roll, and so, yes, youre there, though, i feel a little bit fraudulent talking about it from washington. Not a problem at all. Your father actually was there, is there right now. Give us some insights, what you have seen that perhaps our american audience, not as familiar with the monarchy, not as familiar with royal traditions, may have missed. Traditionalism is at the core of this. Theres not been, if you think of princess dianas funeral, that was quite modern. You had elton john playing. If the queens favorite musicians had been playing, you would have had, i dont know, fred astaire and vera lynn, and i guess theyre not around to perform, but you would have had versions of their music. This didnt actually bend at all from a very very traditional, deeply detailed extraordinary, you know, the hat, the accept sector, the orb, the crown. The only sort of note i found interesting in terms of departure from tradition was the archbishops very pointed reference in his sermon, this is justin wellby, the head of the Church Of England about people of power and privilege will long be forgotten and the point he is making that she had a reign in service, but in duty, not as an exercise of power or privilege. And that, i think, was a very appropriate thing to say about her. Jon meacham, a deeply traditional service, also deeply anglican, explain. The liturgy rises out of the book of common prayer, the english reformation, thomas crabner, the archbishop of cantebury wrote so much about this, fundamentally it was about the commendation of the soul of a person, to our maker and redeemer, and theres, at the core of this, is this notion that this was the pilgrimage of the soul. A literal pilgrimage going on as she makes her way to windsor. The larger point is that were all created in the image of god, image and likeness of god and that we have a certain duty to live into that gospel and junction, and the gospel and junction as ed just pointed out, you love your neighbor as yourself, you love god, that you do not entirely look inward but, in fact, you look outward. And that is a core christian point. Its common to all the great moral traditions of the world, but in this case, she is an anglican to the roots of her teeth. Mika tell us what were watching right now . Were watching Queen Elizabeth iis final journey as her coffin leaves Westminster Abbey. It is headed now to Wellington Arch and that reign and service that ed loose was talking about will be seen in this massive procession, which will of course include the royals on foot. King charles, william, harry, the queens other children, followed by car, camilla and kate, the countess of wessex. Several military bands, representatives of the regimens that Queen Elizabeth ii was colonel and chief of, and charity that she was the patron of, they will be in this procession, which is expected to be 1 1 2 miles long, and youre hearing the guns now being fired at one minute intervals from hyde park by the kings troupe royal horse artillery for the entire duration of this procession. Theres an extraordinary moment as we watch this procession begin, just a few minutes ago, katty. These streets obviously as you can see lined people of Great Britain with members of the military, but also now the staff of Buckingham Palace, just a few minutes ago, single file, made their way outside the curb outside the palace where the queen live. As queen for 70 years, and to salute her one last time and to say goodbye when she passes by shortly. Shell pass right in front of Buckingham Palace, a final moment, this palace that she lived in. Im reminded of something that father Lord Chamberlain said when the queen hired him for the job, when he asked what she wanted him to do, and he said just make the staff as happy as possible, and they will do their best for the monarchy. Lets bring in nbc news Foreign Correspondent matt bradley who joins us live from along the queens procession route. Matt, what are you seeing . Reporter were about to see this procession coming up right now, right in front of us here. As you can see, this is going to be going, as you mentioned, mika, all the way to Wellington Arch. Shes going to be going right past her home and official residence for the duration of almost all of her life, instead of going there where she lied in state briefly, shell be going past it. At Wellington Arch on the right side or to the north of Buckingham Palace, where this funeral cortege, her coffin will be moved from the gun carriage and into the hearse, and thats when it will be moved out to Windsor Castle where she will finally be buried with her husband, alongside her husband, after two Funeral Services. One for members of her staff and the other for an intimate group, her close family. As you can see right behind me, were starting to see this procession passing right in front of me, and there are hundreds, if not thousands of people all around me, most of them just regular folks who came out to see this. A lot of them, though, here at this location are uniformed members of the military, of the politics, of the hospitals, and all of these people are here, again, not just to pay tribute to their queen but to salute their boss. These are people who work for the state, In The Name Of the monarch, and they have taken oaths in her name as well, and a lot of these officials that you can see, theyre wearing uniforms that still have that er2 on them, or e2r, Elizabeth Regina ii. Theyre going to have to change that for the new king. This is all part of the process, the process of continuity, that the ceremonies, the pomp and ceremony really reinforces that we are mourning the loss of a queen, but celebrating the arrival, the introduction of a new king. Thats why you can see behind me, were going to see this coffin coming by very very shortly. And the Orb And Scepter will be on top of the coffin. They will be removed shortly before shes interred, again, alongside her husband. So all of this, for the folks who are here, you know, theyre doing something that the British Public has been doing for much of the past ten days. Theyre standing, theyre waiting, theyre watching. This is the tribute that so many have given just to show up. And one of the things that people have said when i keep asking them, why do you wait 12 hours in the queue or longer just to see her majestys coffin. One of the things i keep hearing is its the least we can do. They can stand vigil for a couple of hours for a woman who they see as having stood by her entire life for britain, and for them. She wasnt always active. She wasnt always vocal. She didnt put herself in the center until maybe right now. That is something people here see a fitting tribute to a woman who never waived, always stood by. That sense of constancy that they saw in the late leader and that theyre hoping to see in the new king george iii after hes ascended to the throne, been on the throne for more than a week, at least almost a week. Matt bradley, thank you so much. Reporter as you can see the procession is moving very slowly. You can see there, joe, the Royal Canadian mounties, they will be familiar to the viewers back home in the states because of course the queen is the queen of canada. We forget that. And we saw early in the service the head of the commonwealth speaking, and you see members from Commonwealth Countries here. And for those who didnt follow the queens life worked closely. So much of it was as they were moving. Ed, as youve said, ed, as the queen moved an ancient regime, an ancient empire to a vibrant post modern state, a large part of her duty and life work was to building and maintaining a commonwealth that has over 50 countries and 2. 5 billion people, as a part of a commonwealth that now has King Charles Iii at its head. One of the most striking images i retained, although it was before i was born, of the queen and the commonwealth was the independence celebrations, Independence Day in ghana and in kruma, the famous African Nationalist leader, first post independence leader, hosted her, of course. For this independence ceremony, and she danced with him and caused, you know, scandal or terror amongst her courtiers. But the gesture of, look, were friends, and this is a different world, and im a happy young woman as well as being, you know, a sovereign of your former Imperial Overlord was a very powerful gesture and a delight on both her and in krumas face. Had a great impact on people. She became great friends with nelson mandela, arch Bishop Desmond tutu of south africa was very very opposed to apartheid, so she did what she thought she needed to do, and i think it probably came from the heart to keep the commonwealth together. You know, whether thats going to be easy for charles iii, i dont know. But his mother set a pretty clear example on that, and i think it was heartfelt. The procession has just passed the statues in Parliament Square of Winston Churchill, her first Prime Minister. Theres a statue of Abraham Lincoln also in Parliament Square, and as ed was referring to, nelson mandela, he reportedly called her elizabeth. I think he was the only other person outside of her family, perhaps beyond her husband, who was allowed to call her elizabeth. She allowed it in that case. Ed stay with us, please, we want to bring into the conversation from Windsor Castle, professor suz suz anna lipscomb, your impressions of the first couple of hours of this historic day . Well, it certainly has been historic. We have been watching an event take place in a building that dates from 12 45 where 38 british and english monarchs have been crowned. Where the queen herself was married and crowned, and weve seen a moment that we havent seen since 1952, before that, 1936. 1910. Daylights back to 1901 to the funeral of Queen Victoria. This Military Procession youre seeing now, which is all part and parcel of marking such occasions. I was really struck by so many things about the service. Including the fact that we had such representation as you have been talking about from the commonwealth and Around The World marking how the queen visited 117 nations, and also representatives from different faiths. There was a procession of people from the sikhs, muslims, hindus, jews, buddhists and prayers given by members of different leaders of churches, and the other thing that really struck me was when she came to the throne, she was a woman alone. She was one of the only female leaders in the world, and even in the service weve just seen, we saw many female leader of nations and many female leaders of churches, and she paved the way for that. So it was a very very moving service, and it spoke much to her life of service too. Youre there at Windsor Castle where in a short time, the queens coffin will be transported from the gun carriage that were looking at now to a hearse, and make its way up to where you are right now. Tell us more, our viewers more, about the significance of Windsor Castle and what we can expect to see later in the day there. Reporter you may have pointed out its unusual not to have a royal funeral in Chapel Windsor. This is the first royal funeral of a sovereign not to have been here since 1760, george ii, so normally speaking in a State Funeral, we would have this procession from Westminster Hall all the way to windsor, and today were going to have a second service, which is the Committal Service, which we will see. St. Georges Chapel Windsor is a place that dates from the late 15th century. It was built by edward iv, henry the viii, where her parents are buried and where she will be interred with her husband, the duke of edinburgh. Shes moving from two places that are dear to her, Westminster Abbey where she was married, and st. Georges chapel where she was worshipped and living at windsor throughout lock don. Down, one of her Favorite Places and where the duke of edinburgh had his funeral. If you can talk about the nature of the State Funeral and the nature in which it reflects the nature of the queen, the countries she visited, the dedication of service, and her faith. Reporter yes, i think weve seen here, well, of course first of all a State Funeral is defined by its military nature. Its defined by The Gun Carriage Being poured by those 142 naval ratings, and we know her close relationship with the royal navy, Prince Philip, the duke of edinburgh served in the royal navy and her relationship to all of the armed forces in the day itself. But as you say, seeing 500 representatives of Foreign Countries here, i mean, its the most World Leaders in one place in history, i think. And so being watched by, were told, maybe half the worlds population, this is a truly extraordinary moment. But its actually true to say, too, that it spoke to the queens faith. I was really struck by that, by what the arch bishop of canter bury said, here she was Somebody Example was set. She followed not by ambition. It seems in all the broadcasts weve heard from the queen she has spoke quite a lot about her faith, about how jesus christ has been the inspiration and anchor of her life and everything about that service. It was a preaching service. It talked about christian hope and confidence, and i was reflecting on the fact that it seems to me that at her coronation, the thing that meant the most to her was that anointing with holy oil before and above the crown of st. Edwards of solid gold put on her head. Thats what we saw reflected in the service, the life of dedication to her faith above all. Susanna, talk about how this funeral might be different from other royal funerals. How much of this is set in stone . How much of this was the patent for george vi her father, will it be the patent for King Charles Iii and how much is unique and specific to elizabeth ii . Reporter so i think much of the pomp and ceremony that is were seeing is part of pattern of royal funerals, at least funerals of the sovereign since 1901, so the decision was made by Queen Victoria to have a funeral that befitted a soldiers daughter. Rather than having nobility as pallbearers, she wanted members of the military. In fact, it was also supposed to be horses that were pulling her gun carriage, but they grew restive, were told so the sailors in the royal navy stepped in. Thats been a tradition since. In many of these elements, we have seen these before, and we will see them again. But what is particularly specific to her majesty is the choice of Westminster Abbey, and the choice of every reading and lesson and hymn that you heard there. All of that spoke of her choices, of her faith, and i think also the fact that she chose Westminster Abbey, of course it had this great significance to her. She knew there would be many people coming to her funeral, many Around The World and the capacity of Westminster Abbey is 2,000, comparing to 800 in st. Georges chapel behind me. That was a moment of reflecting on her life and the impact shes had, and she was probably advised maybe a bigger place, to hold everyone whos going to want to be there. And this is this procession of the queens coffin is moving from Westminster Abbey, and it is moving its moving our way now as she approaches Buckingham Palace, and then on to wellington orange. Ed luce, i know your father obviously worked for the queen. Tell us what insights he gained that he would share with you or share with the public and what insights that you gained growing up about this woman that the world is celebrating today . Well, my father is, you know, an Old Fashioned tory. Which means hes in some ways and very wonderful ways not of the modern or post modern world in that he didnt share that many insights about what he considered to be confidential things, and he felt that conversations with the queen, with his sovereign, were confidential. However, he did make it very clear, that she was an incredibly relaxed, humorous person with quite simple tastes and pleasures. I mean, not a snub in the way we think of snobs, not sort of Dropping Names of operas shed been to or important people she had met. She was really into her family, her horses, her church, as susanna very well outlined, her sense of Christian Faith, and her dogs, her corgis. I think she got toward the end in the last few years, in particular, after her husband died, quite keen on talking to people she had known for a long time, like my father just about life, just about, you know, what was going on in the world, whether it was the pandemic, you know, whether it was what was happening within her family, so i know he would talk to her a lot in her last couple of years, and in one way she was, you know, a sovereign, but another, this was a frail and waning elderly lady, who i think felt quite lonely and wanted to talk. Although he never sort of revealed great details of conversations, that sense of her character always came through. And ed was talking about how as strange as it sounds, she was humble and reminded me of what id read regarding george w. Bush in a biography of the queen. George w. Bush commented that she took her job seriously but she did not take herself seriously. A poignant moment as the queens coffin comes toward us outside Buckingham Palace. Her staff, willie, as you mentioned, hundreds are standing for a final goodbye. It was an extraordinary moment. The gate opened, led by members of the kitchen staff, chefs, cooks, people who have served the queen over the years, and followed by hundreds of the members of people who have lived and worked in Buckingham Palace. Dedicated their lives to her. Dedicated their lives to her, and they have lined The Street Waiting For Her coffin to pass by, so they can salute her one final time. At this palace where she spent most of her life. So much, from the time she was girl to her coronation in 1953, this became her official residence for 70 years. Here you see the coffin passing under the arches, just about probably about quarter of a mile from where were sitting down the mile. So theres a little while to go. Were seeing the canadian mounties at the very front of the procession. You can see them trooping in front of the staff. As willie was saying, the heads bowed of the staff, and weve got a little way to go. All seven different branches of the Royal Armed Services and canadian Armed Services as we saw. And then we will have the coffin which is moving the barracks. The coffin will be transferred from carriage to hearse where it will then head toward Windsor Castle and then there will be a service at st. Georges chapel with 800 mourners conducted by the dean of windsor, and then the archbishop of canterbury pronounces the blessing, followed by a private Burial Service. E Burial Service. At the beginning of the procession, right in front of us now, and again, its going to be a mile and a half along. And going past Buckingham Palace. Struck again by the precision of this operation, katty. You and i were watching as they stepped off the distance from one to the next, and one would come by, and measure about one more step or one step less to make sure everything was exactly where it should be when the queen passes. Im thinking of the choreography not just of today, willie, but the last ten days. From the moment the queens coffin left balmoral and wound its way six hours through the Scottish Countryside to that procession in edinburgh to the Lying In State in edinburgh holy holyrood palace, and could have been chaotic and fractious, but it wasnt. 24 hours a day. And again, were watching this unfold going past Buckingham Palace, which obviously the structure, the building most associated with the queen, but its interesting. She considered Buckingham Palace the office. She considered windsor her home, and from what ive read about Buckingham Palace, it reminds me of what ive heard president s say who moved into the white house. While it was their office and it was their residence, at times, it lacks the warmth of their homes. And it wasnt always a joy for president s to be in the white house or for the queen to be in Buckingham Palace. Its king george who referred to the royal family as the firm. This was the firms corporate headquarters. But she preferred to be in windsor where she could ride her horses and be with her dogs and be outside. She was, to what ed was saying earlier. She didnt like extravagant food, she liked the outdoors life. She liked to be with her dogs and horses and there isnt an awful lot of outdoor life in Buckingham Palace, she found in particular the balmoral where she died. E she died and ed luce, the queen loved balmoral so much that royal watchers and those close to her suspected that she spent more and more time at balmoral because thats where she wanted to pass. Yeah, i mean, if Buckingham Palace was the office, and you know, and by royal standards, it looks like an office. I mean, it looks like a victorian hospital. You know, its not a particularly beautiful building. Windsor castle is obviously a castle. Sandringham, was another retreatment. The one they loved the most was the holiday home, and thats balmoral. Balmoral was the place where victoria essentially disappeared for years, if not decades after her husband, Prince Albert died. The queen would be that queen and this, elizabeth and victoria would be woken every morning by their bag piper. So you wake to the sound of your personal bag piper, and of course that Funeral Service in Westminster Abbey ended with her bag piper bag piping her off in farewell. Theres a magic to the Scottish Country side to the just the air, the heather, the silence, the deer, i guess, which she did hunt. But having a Bag Pipe Wake you up, you know, thats a nice way of feeling youre in a different place, and i think balmoral was her holiday home. Why dont we bring in somebody right now whos awakened every morning, you know where im going, willie, whos awakened every morning at belle meade by bag pipes, and thats our own jon meacham. Im always amused by sort of how tough they are on themselves and their country. I would have to say only someone from britain who casts a weary eye on their nation, to refer to Buckingham Palace as a hospital. To americans it looks quite grand. Were simple folks, i suppose. We are. Started at lexington and concord, and descended from there, and were sorry that Buckingham Palace seems so sterile but we did have a revolution here for a reason. You know, im watching this, i have been thinking, you know, liturgy, the fancy word for what happens in churches, the root of the word liturgy is peoples work. Its not just about the people in costume, in uniform, investments, its also about the congregation, its about all of us and watching this, its an act of remembrance as an active state, not passive because you watch this and you feel your own role. It was churchills great insight in his speech of june 18th, 1940 when the princesses were in the palace, which was about to be under attack. Churchill said, calling it that this could be britains final hour, he said, let us so conduct ourselves that if this British Empire were to last and commonwealth, the British Empire and commonwealth were to last a thousand years, men will still say this is their finest hour. Men will still say. Its the sense of life as a story and what do you take from the story, and i think just watching these images, i was thinking, if you are an observer, you are realizing that this is the embodiment of duty, yes, of privilege, but The Point Of Royal Privilege is what do you do with it. And she was this remarkable figure who managed in the most e of eras to survive and thrive. Think about that, just as a matter of governance, as a matter of cultural, as a Cultural Task to survive and thrive when you are where you are by an Accident Of Birth is a remarkable achievement, and i think its a reminder to all of us that it is, in fact, what we do with what weve been given as opposed toqae ÷cx1x encounters, those moments of compassion, of keeping her calm, and that she engaged with people, whether it was someone breaking into her room or at a hospital bed and that is of course why so many people have turned out to watch and why the military there, because everybody wants to honor the vocation that she lived, the life that she lived in service to the country, and we cant really say its enough because it seems strange to be talking about a queen who was modest, and a queen who didnt think of herself as much as she thought of others, our initial reaction, of course, is to think it must be the opposite, but everybody says that with her, she was chief of the other rather than herself. Nbc newss Andrea Mitchell is with us now. Andrea, such a remarkable sight np■ l■ p uyqa Prime Ministers she would have audiences with every week, though she did not mutually have many, it was obvious to royal watchers that her favorites were Winston Churchill, and torys tried to paint as a comie, and ended up loving him. And the 14 american president s, you talked about the time she went to camden yards with george h. W. Bush, he wanted to show her a baseball game. She was such a diplomat but one of the guests asked, well, what did you think, a huge fan of baseball, what did you think about what you saw in baltimore today, she said, well, nothing really happened, did it . Not as diplomatic about americas pastime. Was there a president that she seemed to have a special affinity for. Absolutely. Or one perhaps that she remembers not. Ronald reagan. The affinity for horses. Yes. Was absolutely true, and i was in camden yard. I was in the box right behind her. We were sitting one row behind her and Prince Philip. One of the most memorable things is jodi joe dimaggio was in the box. It was very hot. The secret service had plexiglassed the open box in for security reasons. It was exceedingly hot. People were overdressed because we were overdressed and since the baseball was passed down. It was passed back unsigned with the message which i heard from her i think in terms of the affinity with Ronald Reagan in 1982 he wanted to show her the ranch. They got to the top and it was dangerous on the side of the mountain. So she made a joke about it later. Of the queen and this very frilly wonderful gown, which is the same designer as princess dianas wedding. She was joking about the bad weather and imitated. She said to the president , i was in the pool that night. And she was saying i didnt think you had to imitate. And really had the affinity for reagan. At state the visits, the queen wanted to change what the gift should be. The queen asked for a gift. She wanted a hewlettpackard computer from the white house. This was 1983. Loaded with software with the horse breeding data. And the white house called hewlettpackard and got that computer for the queen. And seven years later, and asked what was the significance of the queen wanting this software. And he slammed his hand down on the desk and said i knew she had it. She wanted to beat him in horse racing. So many funny moments with u. S. President s. A visit with president bush where she couldnt be seen over the lectern. And then she goes to congress next, i hope you can see me. It was the talking hat. Exactly. Theres so many questions about how someone could survive and thrive over so many decades, especially with the explosion in the media skpefrg else. It seems like nobody else but her could do it because she was so dignified, so graceful, quiet and she took her time with people, but also had that humor, that little edge where she could take a moment and run with it. So talk about what were seeing right now. A long mile and a half procession from windsor to Wellington Arch. Im tempted to say, my goodness, we do this well. You want pa january pa january try, turn to the royal family. Its different branches of the Armed Services, from the queens rems as well, they are passing in front of Buckingham Palace. The armor and the helmets, its made for hollywood, except that its not. Its been made over centuries by the British Monarchy. They are now heading up this street here that you and i are watching, which is constitution hill, where they may need to be careful because Queen Victoria survived three assassination attempts on that particular street. Put we have in the way of military guards i think today to prevent any such thing. What is the significance of the route and where it is ending . The route is taking in all the key royal and ceremonial features of london. But the resting place, windsor, its where all her private services with family are conducted. Some of the official ones like the order of the garter, which goes back toen an a ancient ceremony that happens every june. Its where previous royal funerals have taken place, including that of phillip, socially distanced royal funeral during the pandemic, which showed the queen there 12 feet or whatever it was from anybody else 4m standing as a lonely w. She will be laid to rest there in the cemetery at windsor next to her husband in a smaller service. And an even smaller one just for family after that. The private burial. But the significance of the route is to take in every feature of royal monumental london. And i guess this is perhaps thes most important thing of the last few days to show the coffin to as many people as possible. You saw whatever it was, 750,000 people filing past her coffin, day and night, literally in some cases. This long procession through london maximizes the eyeballs, if it you like. It just gives as many people as possible the chance to catch a glimpse of her coffin for the last time. We just crossed the top of the hour. Its just after 1 00 in the afternoon here in london. 8 00 in the morning on the east coast in the United States. If youre just joining us, youre watching an extraordinary procession carrying the coffin of the late Queen Elizabeth ii from Westminster Abbey down the mall, up past Buckingham Palace, where she lived for seven decades as queen, and will take her to Wellington Arch where she will be transported into a hearse and taken to Windsor Castle for a ceremony and a final funeral, a private burial later this evening. Were seeing the military, were seeing british citizens line the route by the tens and hundreds of thousands to say goodbye one last time. The staff has stepped outside to salute, as you look at a live picture of Prince William, now second in line to the throne after his father became king. King charles iii walking by foot, theres the staff behind the coffin of Queen Elizabeth. Just talking to people here and listening over the last ten days or so, theres a sense of loss of this queen and loss of a time where the queen life spans a century. So she was in the lives of People Living today, but also in the lives of parents, grandparents, long since gone, she is the through line, she is the thread to the United Kingdom for nearly a century. You said it beauty. That is absolutely the case. People have really known only her if they are under the age of 70. So we are seeing people here who are grieving the loss of their queen and showing their grief and respect and affection, but also they are grieving the loss of their mothers and grandmothers. The loss of a different way of being, and even their younger selves. Shes someone who has been part of it. Shes seen the backdrop and so this is a change. This is a shift. And well talk in coming days about what this means for the royal family and the world, but right now, this is a moment of remembrance and of hope, as we were talking earlyier about her hope of eternal life, but for each person watching, theres a sense that they are marking the end of an era. As we are watching the royal procession of the queens coffin, we are seeing, obviously, tens of thousands of people watching that procession. 750,000 going through the queue. And it continues behind us. John meacham, one thing i noticed last night as ufs Walking Around london, its something we have seen since we have been here, just howdy verse the crowds were. The demographic diversity in london is nothing short of extraordinary. The United States has long viewed itself proudly as the worlds melting pot because we were able to bring in one wave of immigrants after another. And they assimilated beautifully to the United States. Were going through might again though. And she leaves it a strong, vibrant, diverse, technologically advanced of post modern country that has impacted london and look at the route and those watching. They have assimilated extraordinarily well, and she has been the constant to post modern nations. I find this fascinating because, as this procession moves through london, it seems archaic, it seems imperial. She is in that coffin. The eyes of the world are upon her because of an Accident Of Birth. However, what do those monuments stand for . From that balcony, they brated the defeet of fascism in europe after britain had stood alone. This is a monarchy shaped not only by privilege by by am a thousand years of the rule of law, of magna carta, of a constitution. The british have managed to survive and thrive dealing with the forces you just mentioned of isolationism, its latest being brexit. They have dealt with this with an unwritten constitution. They believe not only in the substance of the law, but in the spirit of the law. And so one of the many bits of cognitive dissidence that we are being called to engage in today is this feels remote, perhaps it feels like a fairy tale or a story of hereditary privilege, but what did she and what is her family done with that privilege . They have, as you just said, helped create a world in which the mainstream can be be widened. When doors can be opened, when bridges can be built opposed to walls erected. And one of the ironies of her reign is that the world became more egalitarian, while we are content and happy to celebrate someone who led that in a way that seems inact ro knitsic. Its one of the ironies of Human Experience that the queen, the defender of the faith, someone who felt removed from ordinary experience helped make the experience of democracy, the experience of constitutional democracy available to more and more people. And i think thats a lesson that in this era with threats abroad and into the United States at home, we need to pay attention. This woman who is being buried today, whose soul has been commended to god, was someone who was devoted to constitutional democracy. John, right now the queen is passing by Buckingham Palace. And the same queen who on Christmas Day 1957 said, i cannot lead you into battle. I do not give you laws or administer justice, but i can do something else. I can give you my heart and my devotion to these old islands and to all its people. And she did for 70 years. From her reign when it began. If you can imagine, as we watch thises massive procession where the coffin will be transferred from carriage to hearse when it heads towards Windsor Castle, the family now you can see coming before us in cars. The family walking behind the coffin before that. But she was born april 21st, 1926. If you can imagine the Year Television was born, she was the first monarch of Television Age and third in line to the throne, but back then few expected she would aseed to it. But this was a nation that was still in shock over world war i. That is how long her life and also her reign as queen spanned. You have to be over 70 years old to know a different monarch. And one royal biographer said the first and last time Queen Elizabeth ii made a public scene of herself was ator her christening. She cried her eyes out. And that was it. You could just think she has known she would be the queen of england. Her uncle edward married an american woman. Her father took the throne. When he died, she got a phone call while traveling in africa, at 25 years old that she was the queen of england. Amazing. Its very moving watching the queens coffin go past. And then watching right behind her the future and what comes next and watching king charles, who looks surrounded by all of this pageantry. I was watching him. Hes a man. Hes just a man locking like he lost his mother, but the weight of this is on his shoulders because the monarchy is part of britain and what he does with the monarchy will affect what happens with this country. One of the things noteworthy about Queen Elizabeth ii was that she had promised her father once she knew and he knew that they were likely inherited the responsibility that she would hold the kmob wealth together. She worked very hard over that to fight the colonial victory and all the abuses that needed to be dealt with. She tried so hard over theeds decades to hold the commonwealth together for all those visits she made. Hundreds and hundreds of visits to ul all of these Commonwealth Countries. It was one of the few issues, very notably, that she and Margaret Thatcher disagreed on, which was aapartheid. Others in the Republican Party were on the other. One of the the most remarkable things was telling me in an interview that we did on friday that while everyone else would treat her ceremonially, the one person who did not was nelson mandela. And he would come in and say, elizabeth, how are you . And she just always did that. Tony blair has told me stories about being at balmoral for the barbecues where she was washing the dishes and serving Margaret Thatcher. The queen of england was washing up. Tony blair has been telling that story this week. Being shocked to watch the queen clearing and stacking the plates in the sink. Its impossible to imagine any other world figure, world leader, figure in culture, anyone in the world for who we would have the global outpouring that we have had this week. There is only Queen Elizabeth ii. The Editorial Board of the Financial Times has new piece this morning entitled the world bids farewell to Queen Elizabeth ii. It reads, many people in britain and in the 14 other realms of which elizabeth remains Head Of State, have been surprised that the depth of their sorrow at her passing. Even some republicans have saluted her. They have been surprised too by the extent of the reaction Around The World. Fds countries with no direct connection to the British Monarchy have held days of mourning. To us she was thee queen. A glance of the guest list for this funeral provides an idea of the soft power Queen Elizabeth ii helped her country to protect. 2,000 invitees include a roll call of monarchs from belgium of elected leaders and ceremonial Heads Of State. But the monarch who personified britain is a time for the government to reflect that no one person can emulate her levels of power and that a post imperial and post brexit uk needs to seek other sources. The monarchy worldwide and the passing of the imperial era will make it difficult for such conditions to come together again. The fragmentation of mass media, the rise of social media have all turned the iconic fame, they are less differential to authority. There will be many more globally televised moments, including the coronation of king charles and farewell to World Leaders, but the i laying to rest of the queen maybe one of the last great royal funerals marking the end of perhaps the last royal reigns anywhere to have truly such global nance. It is fascinating. Cynics and republicans even have come up this week praising the queen. And the line is really striking here and has been striking while we have been in london was the phrases. Its soft power. Extraordinary amount of soft power that was just a part of Queen Elizabeth iis legacy. The question now is what does charles iii do with that legacy. Its a very, very good question. I mean just to reenforce the point of that editorial, the amongst those 2,000 people at Westminster Abbey were two representatives. The Irish Nationalist Party that is militantly republican and antimonarchy, but the queen managed to gain the respect of leaders and irish nationalists of other stripes by her visit in 2011. But also her many meetings with Martin Mcginnis, the former leader. If you look at the statements on her passing and on attending their funeral, they are extraordinary, personally affectionate and respectful. To what this woman represented, what she was as not represent ed, what she was as a person rather. So i think that gives you a clue as to why mandela was a friend. All kinds of people you wouldnt expect to be friends. People were deeply antiimperialist feelings like her because she understood them. She listened to them. And she knew the world had changed. In terms of what challenges charles would inherit, we observe today a very anxious can, very Christian Service that reflected Queen Elizabeth iis lifelong faith. Charles has a different approach to faith. So not only is the British Sovereign the sovereign of the crown, they are also defender of the faith. And that faith means the established church. Charles said he would be defender of faiths, plural, of all kinds of faiths. And of people with no faith. I dont think hes going to skkd in changing the british constitution in that respect. I believe the church will remain established. But charles is a big fan of interfaith dialogue. He was a big critic of some of the stereotyping of the muslim world that occurred in the last 20 years. I doubt hes going to lose that inclination to want to promote a more ecumenical dialogue. That will be controversial to some. From an overall point here, nobody could replace Queen Elizabeth ii. However, nobody can replace Queen Elizabeth ii. She was one of a kind at a unique moment in history. Were watching another element of the turning of the page behind us as we look at lye pictureses of the staff at Buckingham Palace. They turn around and walk back inside. They are filing in now. Earlier it was spoken of instructions that your father was given by Queen Elizabeth ii. I think were these images, it bears repeating by you. Can you tell us firsthand what instructions he gave your father. He started the job for a very simple philosophy of management, which is just make sure everybody who is working for me is happy. And then things will go well. Then they will serve the monarchy well. Sometimes its the simplest things are the most effective. And i think he remarked that he fully agreed with that, but he found that this was already the case. He didnt need to change that. I was struck by what ed said earlier when he brought up the queens visit to ireland in 2011. Talk about going into skeptical an audience of skeptics. There was hatred between both sides. Of course, many in britain despised the ira. Because of the killing of the ira bombing of lord mount baton. I also know many of the irish who saw absolutely nothing wrong with striking out against the royals. It was shock and horrified that Martin Mcginnis would shake the queens hand. And adrea, how remarkable that and how personal this was for Queen Elizabeth ii, who had lost and charles who had lost his most beloved family member, the most beloved role that the queen turned a page and went to ireland and apologized. I think its a mark of her ability to see the pig picture and to think of the monarchy and the long view of the need to preserve the monarchy and the loyalty of the monarchy and to the United Kingdom. You think of her ties with scotland, im so moved by all of the life coming a few years after a very big referendum attempt. There will be another. But she really felt that she had to, and the grief over the attempt on Margaret Thatchers life. All of the years of the troubles and actually the United States played a role in the peacemaking with George Mitchell as the former senate leader. He played a big part in that. The big picture for Queen Elizabeth ii was the small picture in seeing where peace needed to be made, seeing where validation needed to be have after the death of diana. Her facing the cameras and saying what she said. It goes back to the small picture that to make sure people are happy. And you just wonder how this will work with charles. Very occasionally, the queen got out of step with her public. That moment when diana died was one of them. But she rectified it. She saw that the monarchy needed to change. It changed again when charles married camilla. It was the queen who said she wanted camilla to become the Queen Consort. A lot of brits i have spoken to this week feel we are at a turning point and we dont know what comes next. Its that slight sense that we have been cut off from our history, an important link to the last generation has been taken away. And part of the uncertainty is that we dont know what kind of king charles is going to be. Because he comes to this at the age of 3. He can never be the same as somebody who comes to it at the age of 25. He has a history of opinions and views. Yet, we know our monarchy is not meant to have opinions and views. She was able to openly practice acceptance at times. And she had a gift in that way. Tell us what were just looking at. Were looking at, and well see it again, the kings children and the queens children and children. Theres camilla and the princess of wales. Were looking at this different generation of the monarchy. Its been noticeable to me this week how much we have seen the next generation. The king, the new prince of wales, the children out in public. Theres almost a message going out to the British Public. We know you feel you have lost somebody, but rest assured the monarchy is still here. We see it in these pictures president princess royal, Prince Andrew, Prince William is there, prince harry just behind him. Can you explain the significance of Wellington Arch . Yes, im not a historian of london, but i think it was built in commemoration of the victory, but also that number one dillon was wellingtons address. The address was number 1 london, which is like make it very easy for the post office to deliver the mail. And so wellington is probably the greatest of British Military figures. Most of british army figures, most of British Military heroes are naval because naval power was sort of british power. You see nelsons column in the square. You see lots of admirals commemorated all over london. It was a very close ally and friend of the monarchy, who then went on to become Prime Minister from the house of lords, which again, is something that would never happen nowadays. It happened regularly up until the beginning of the 20th century. So wellingtons gate. It also brings to mind the fact that she was a commanderinchief. All the pageantry that she mimicked in many ways, Queen Victoriass burial in 101. That was the first use of the gun carriage, which was used for king george and has now been used for her as well for her service. But not only commanderinchief, but she was the last of the greatest generation to have served in uniform in world war ii. The last leaders really i think her generation she was in uniform. We have those black and white photos of her with the queen mother look over her shoulder. You have spoken about the moment of british greatness. To some people, the queue reminded them of their blitz moment. It was the country coming together. Nobody was talking about brexit. Nobody was talking about politics. Nobody was talking about whether they were conservative or labor or remain or leave. They were in that queue together toughing it out, walking for 12 hours through the night when it was cold. It was a moment of pride. People felt very proud not just to have stood in the queue, but in the way they behaved. In that sense of community and coming together, it was a little bit without the blitz moment. And one of hitlers many miscalculations militarily was bombing Buckingham Palace. He thought it would bring the british people to their knees. He thought it would show the royal family was not immune, but instead the next morning, Queen Elizabeth ii and their family were sorting through the rubble. It actually connected the royal family with the people of britain. Yes, and a young princess elizabeth wrote the letters to friends that have been made public talking about describing the destruction of Buckingham Palace and saying hitler is an evil man. And essentially showing that the british people were motivated, inspired, catalyzed by that to action to defend their country. And they did and celebrated a few years later on the call coin of the building behind us. What were watching now in just a few moments will be the transfer of the coffin carrying Queen Elizabeth ii off the gun carriage into a modern vehicle, into a hearse atWellington Arch. Its happening now. Then will make the trip west to Windsor Castle, where an entirely new group of ceremonies will take place. Theres a sweet picture of george and charlotte. The hearse will make its way up to windsor arriving there. A trip of about two hours. The coffin will make its way into st. Georges chapel, where at 4 00 local time, will there will be a Committal Service where the coffin will be taken to a royal vault and later this evening a private Burial Service closed to the public for the family only to say their final goodbyes. The pallbearers for chosen for their strength as well as their height. This weighs half a ton. Its ledlined. Woor talking about charles and how he maybe different. He put out a statement that the flowers are from her various gardens. And they are surrounded by wild oak and other ferns and theres no nonsustainable foam as many arrangements have. Joining us now, former officer Lieutenant General who previously served as usher of the black rod, which comes from appointed to the position by the queen and hosted the queen whenever she visited parliament. Thank you very much for joining our coverage. I think we should start by just asking your reflections on Queen Elizabeth ii. Thank you for coming. Its a pleasure to be with you. My reflections are its been a sad day, argr very poignant day but i think we shouldnt be too miserable about this. Its somber, but theres a lot of happiness in the crowds, happiness that the weather was good that we have been able to enjoy a really first class pageant. And happiness amongst people that the queen died doing what she loved doing, which was working on state matters just 48 hours before she died, she appointed the new Prime Minister and she was reading a red box, one of the boxes that contains her official papers, the day she died. So she died doing what she loved and what she did best. She died where she loved living at balmoral. She was very happy there. It was a happy place for her. And she would have been happy to have died there. And she would have been happy also to die surrounded by her family and her dogs too. So that was a happy occasion. When you look at the pageantry that we have seen over the last hour or so, you will have seen something that makes the british people quite proud. We do pageantry, and its one of the fibers that runs in the fabric of our British National identity and our British National life. So its not all sad. Its not all somber. Theres an upside, too. General, you have mentioned her playful side, which is something we havent talked much about today. You got to see it up close. Naturally, people were tense when the queen of england would walk into the room. What would she do to break that . So the queen had a wonderful way of walking into the room and she herself would know from experience and instinct that everybody would be nervous about meeting her and what to say and how to behave and so on. And the queen would walk in and she, too, would have quite a severe, sometimes quite a stern look on her face. Then she would just let a smile go. Shes led one off. And immediately, it was like someone turned the theater lights on. She would beam a smile out. Her blue eyes would sparkle. And suddenly everybody would lighten up. The atmosphere would be lightened and she would be fun. People would suddenly relax and enjoy talking to her. And when you ask people when they come out what it was like, they said i had no idea i would enjoy it so much. She brings joy into a rool. She brought joy into a room. But i will tell you something. King charles is the same. If you have ever up close and personal with king charles, he, too, is fun. He enjoys having a light hearted conversation. Hes got a very good sense of humor, a dry sense of humor. Hes got a serious side to him as well. Were watching at Wellington Arch, were watching the culmination of this parade route. The Family Gathering together, the new king, the new prince of wales gathering around as the queen begins to leave in the hearse. Here they are again playing the National Anthem. Now god saved the king. It will be lined all the way to windsor. There will be people all along that route wanting to say goodbye to the queen and see the coffin as it passes. Talk a little bit about the pageantry. You talked about how proud people are that we put on this good show. Whats the cig cabs of this pageantry and all these military forces that were seeing to the health of the monarchy . Whats the relevance of all of this . Its a really good question. People ask it a mrenlot. I think there are two or three things worth saying about this. First of all, our military, our armed forces swear their allegiance to the Head Of State, not to the Prime Minister or the government. And although it is the Prime Minister and the government who deploy us on to operations for whom put us into risk and danger, but we do it for the sovereign. The sovereign feels very strongly about that. The queen and king charles as well has always had a close, strong relationship with the armed forces. So thats one thing. A close relationship. The second thing is that this pageantry is something that just wasnt invented yesterday or the week before or just for this funeral procession. This pageantry is something that we have in our National Identity. I think as i said a moment ago, its one of the fibers that is part of the fabric of our National Identity. In a way there are other fibers that are part of our National Identity like football, which is a new part. Football is 150 years old as a game, but its a new part of our National Identity, our national life. But its a transient thing. The election of a government, the appointment of a Prime Minister, these are all transient things in our life. The monarchy is not transient. Its permanent. And the pageantry is what has surrounded our monarchy for not just decades, but centuries. The will has only be going maybe 600 years. Thats a new part of our pa jant ri. It was appointed to keep order and access and discipline around the sovereign and then became around the palace of westminster and around parliament. And so black rod is one of those institutional parts of our establishment that keeps acess, order and discipline and even daytoday in his uniform or her uniform, she took over from me, with the uniform, this is archaic dress to be wearing, but people understand when black rod appears, that is the control of the access, order and discipline that has come down. Its part of the dignity of the palace of westminster. Its part of the dignity of the house of parliament. And when they come into the chamer br, they behave and conduct themselves with dignity. And that helps and it adds to the stability of our constitution. Thats my third point. The pageantry, the heritage which we have is anchored long back in what has been a pretty stable constitution for several hundred years. If we kick the pageant ri out and try to modernize and digital liez our constitution, our sovereignty, our monarchy, i think well lose some of the stability that anchors us. It plays a role in the stability of our count i tries. Were watching the royal procession of Queen Elizabeth iis coffin. Cheers going up from the crowd, a crowd that has been quiet and somber throughout most of the morning. But now cheers as the queens coffin passes by. Flowers being thrown from the crowd toward the queens coffin. I must say its striking to me, for decades many of us in america have looked at the British Monarchy as interesting, fascinating sometimes. Sometimes and not much more. Fc n strangely enough today in these times, it wail what the general was just talking about, all of this, at least to me, seems more relevant and more needed than ever. We are in a tumultuous time, we have been in a tumultuous time during most of the queens eign in the western world, whether politically or culturally or technologically. It is custom, it is convention, it is conservatism with a small c, that we have all been missing for quite some time. Its what the queen represented, what these traditions a thousand years old represent that was able to tie an ancient regime to a post modern society. It is, at least in my opinion, extraordinary important, and we americans could learn something from this. Perhaps we could. She brought such great comfort to people Around The World. Were speaking with Lieutenant General david leaky, who was appointed by the queen, worked for the queen. She went through so many challenges during her 70year reign, whether it be in history or personally in her family. And most recently, she navigated two of the greatest challenges perhaps of her life. The loss of her husband and the covid pandemic. I think its safe to say, its hard to understand where her resilience comes from. Goodness, you have to look back to when she was born, just a few years after the first world war. And she was brought up in the aftermath of the first world war. She saw the battlefield of Northern Europe n particular. She saw the injured servicemen and so she was aware of the horrors of the first world war. And then as a young teenager, she lived through the Second World War and she lived in london. She saw and experienced the blitz and the bombing of london. She herself joined the military as driver and mechanic really contrary to the wishes of many of the people in the country who thought she should be training as heir to the throne. This gives a clue about what you were saying in the moment. Not just in the monarch, but as a person. She wasnt just a person. She was a woman. And she broke some glass ceil, and she broke her first Glass Ceiling when she made a broadcast in 19 in the early 1940s as a teenager. She made a bbc broadcast to all the children who had been evacuated to try to give them encouragement. And that was as a teenage girl, something unheard of in that sort of era. And then she joined the military and became a mechanic and a driver. Unheard of for a royal to do that. Let alone a woman. And then she became the queen, and she was a pioneering queen. Not a revolutionary one, an evolutionary one. When she was 89, just to give you an that she was with it, she started sending tweets. So she was technologically with it. And in the 90s and during covid, you mentioned covid. When5ml she couldnt have face face meetings with her ministers and the Prime Minister, with other Heads Of State, when she couldnt have briefings from the privy counsel who explained what was going on, she did it all by zoom. And she would run these meetings herself. When i see some of the zoom meetings that i was on at the beginning of covid, some young er people couldnt get to grips with the technology and didnt know where their head should be. The queen got it. She just went with it. She was a modern person. And shes grown up in an era where women in corporate life, women of broken through Glass Ceilings, women have been ordained in the church now. But the queen was up there first. She became queen in 1952. And shes really been a pioneer as a woman, not just as a monarch or a sovereign. So in that way, she will be remembered for history and i think has been a Leading Light for women, not just in this country, but globally. Lieutenant general, thank you so much for being with us. We greatly appreciate it. Andrea, katty, the general was talking about the pageantry, the importance of the pageantry. I was reminded that it seems in prehistoric times before 2016, i heard historians talking about the pageantry of conventions. Republican and democratic conventions that somehow shaped senators, governors, generals from politicians who leaders on a national stage, who understood that they now represented more than a district, more than a state. And as i watch this pageantry, and we have all well just say it out loud what i have been thinking and what many people have been thinking, how the world does Prince Charles, a man we have known as Prince Charles, replce this extraordinarily iconic woman . And we are going through a process now that, i believe, begins that moment where it allows charles to move from prince to king and do it before the eyes and perhaps half the world. Hes been in training for so many decades, so he knows the rituals. He knows his mother. He knows the traditions and also how they need to evolve. Hes going to face enormous challenges to the monarchy, to the commonwealth, which has diminished in size. The number of monarchs elizabeth first took over and began her reign so many ago. But he will not be political and had been outspoken the prince of wales, around too outspoken, many thought. His beliefs were impressioned with his terms for the environment. Hell reach out to new generations in that respect and modernize the monarchy as well. But hell face a lot of scrutiny. No one can replace elizabeth. Andrea mitchell, thanks for joining our coverage today. Wonderful seeing you. Jon meacham, to pick up on andreas point there, Queen Elizabeth said years ago there was no apprenticeship for me. It was all of a sudden. Her father died. She gets a call shes the new queen of england. Prince charles has known someday he would be king. He has that track record now. The restraint and neutrality of Queen Elizabeth, charles has taken positions and it will be interesting to see if he continues in that vein, which would be a new voice for a monarch. Right. Listening to you all talk, i was thinking about what Thomas Jefferson said about going to paris to represent the United States after benjamin franklin. And he said, no one can replace dr. Franklin, they can merely succeed him. I think that probably is a good principle here. The inside about the British Monarchy and the 20th and 21st century is you do not rule, you reign. Thats a very nice and important distinction. And can you be a symbol while not becoming deeply engaged in the details of substantive issues. I would imagine that would be incredibly difficult. Imagine, you have access to weekly audiences with the Prime Minister of your country, you have conversations with basically anyone in the world, and you are expected not to express opinions. And so its one of the most difficult tasks you can imagine. Its good work if you can get it, lets be clear here. There wont be a great deal of pity here, but it will be difficult. I think one of the things, as the past week or so has unfolded, one of the things i suspect we are celebrating, because of something joe just said, and commemorating is the capacity to be restrained and dignified in an era of instant opinion and constant public performative inputs, right. Thats what our culture is. We all have the capacity because of technology to let the world know from second to second exactly what were thinking, even if what were thinking isnt worth letting the world know about it. So theres something fundamentally counterintuitive and countercultural about an institution like the monarchy. And then the values and vitues that it can model are those in which all of us could learn something which is that, simply because we think something doesnt mean we have to say it. Its worth injecting again, here, we mentioned it when the queen died, the British American writer Andrew Sullivant writing, i try to write a column and find myself in tears. Grace, reticence, resistance, are disappearing from the world. As we watch the queens coffin traveling by hearse to Windsor Castle, we will take a short break. Morning joe, special coverage of the funeral of Queen Elizabeth ii, continues in just a moment. If youre turning 65 soon or over 65 and planning to retire. Nows the time to learn more about an aarp Medicare Supplement Insurance Plan from unitedhealthcare and get help protecting yourself from the outofpocket costs medicare doesnt pay. Because the time to prepare is before you go on medicare. Dont wait. Get started today. Call unitedhealthcare for your free decision guide. Power e trades awardwinning trading app makes trading easier. With its customizable options chain, easytouse tools, and paper trading to help sharpen your skills, you can stay on top of the market from wherever you are. customer save yourself . and paper trading to help money with farmers. , burke thats not wrong. When you bundle your home and auto policies with farmers, you save yourself up to twenty percent. customer thats something. burke get a whole lot of something with farmers. Kinda creepy. We are farmers. Bumpadum, bumbumbumbum pool floaties are like Whooping Cough. Amusement parks are like Whooping Cough. Even ice cream is like Whooping Cough, its not just for kids. Whooping cough is highly contagious for people of any age. And it can cause violent uncontrollable coughing fits. Sometimes followed by vomiting and exhaustion. Ask your doctor or pharmacist about Whooping Cough vaccination because Whooping Cough isnt just for kids. Live pictures from above as Queen Elizabeth iis coffin is driven by hearse to Windsor Castle, where there will be another service at st. Georges with some 800 mourners. We are covering thrive funeral of Queen Elizabeth ii. Welcome back to morning joe. Its just before the top of the hour, 9 00 a. M. On the east coast, 6 00 a. M. Out west, and 2 00 p. M. Here in london. This Morning Britain and the world pay their final respects to Queen Elizabeth ii, the first State Funeral in the uk since Winston Churchills back in 1965. It was filled with pomp and pageantry as hundreds of thousand us descended on london for the historic moment. The culmination of ten days of mourning included hundreds of World Leaders, among them President Joe Biden and his wife, dr. Jill biden, and representatives from dozens of royal families. The funeral was the biggest security operation in britain since world war ii, and the entire day has been declared a national holiday. Toward the end of the funeral, two minutes of silence fell across the entire United Kingdom in honor of the queen. Thousands more now await the queen at windsor, where she will be buried next to her husband, Prince Philip, in st. Georges chapel. That is exactly where we find professor susanna lipscomb. Also with us from Westminster Abbey in london, nbc News Senior International correspondent keir simmons. Keir, what was it like to be there this morning . Reporter oh, it was moving, breathtaking, humbling, honestly, to be this close to Westminster Abbey. You can hear the bells ringing as they only do upon the death of a monarch. There were so many notes to pick up on through that ceremony. Personal, of course, seeing the royal family walk behind the queens kas kets, seeing for the first time prince george, only 9, and princess charlot, only 7, walking behind her casket inside the abbey. It was striking, willie. They were so small against this towering abbey. It just brought back those memories of william and harry walking behind their mothers coffin. This time, though, after the abbey, they were in cars to follow her as she was carried through the streets of london on a Royal Navy Gun carriage. I think a lot of thought would have gone into that. Then of course there was the political, the extraordinary delegations of World Leaders and leaders from the world of british politics and faith and religion, a coming together of so many who saw so much in the values that the queen held. Extraordinary, too, to hear moments like the queens piper playing the sound that she loved so much, playing that lament at the end of the service. The queens piper, who played every morning at 9 00 a. M. Outside the queens window, and now playing for this last time, a day of goodbyes. Susanna lipscomb, were watching the pictures of the hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth, making its way out of london. The streets are lined with wellwishers, people who have lived under her reign for 70 years, throwing flowers at the hearse as it passes by. You cant help but think about these final moments in london for this queen, who was born in mayfair, just on the other side of the park, who lived behind us as queen in Buckingham Palace for seven decades, now her final few minutes in this city on her way to your position near Windsor Castle. Yes. Theres a sense, isnt there, shes leave beg hind the monumental nature of this day and leaving behind all of the pomp and pageantry of 2,000 people gathering in Westminster Abbey and coming to somewhere which was much more home for a service thats much more personal that involved people who worked for her as well as the royal family and of course governors general and Prime Ministers of the realms. But its much more intimate. We know the congregation will already be gathering here, has been since 1 00 p. M. , just behind where were standing in st. Georges chapel, windsor, where the queen worships do much. So, she is on her way to her final resting place here at windsor to lie beside her husband and lie in a vault with her parents and with her siste. It is very much a homecoming. One of the marching bands that performed in procession here today at Buckingham Palace. You hear that. For those of our viewers back in the United States just waking up, give us a sense, if you would, of what comes next year once the queens coffin arrives at Windsor Castle. What can we expect . So, shes going to travel across the country, not on major highways but on small roads so that as many people as possible can see her. When she arrives at windsor, she will process up the three miles of the long walk and enter the palace, the castle, i mean mean, behind me, and loop around through the castle so that as many people present who have worked for her can see her, then arrive outside the horseshoe cloister, which you might remember from the wedding of prince harry to meghan, now duchess of sussex, and so then well see her coffin carried up those steps, and we will see the royal family awaiting her there. There will be a procession at that point as well. This is very much a continuation of some of the pageantry weve seen, but were slightly scaling down now from the vast spectacles in london with those 142 naval ratings pulling her coffin on a gun carriage, slightly scaling down. As our coverage continues, in just a moment well be joined by the uk ambassador to the u. S. , karen pierce, and well be competing a bit with the marching band behind us as well. Yes. Lets bring in keir simmons. Keir, we noted after the queens passing that when you spoke of it, when catty spoke of it, there was a catch in your voice. I find it hard to imagine the range of emotions for so many people who have grown up with Queen Elizabeth. But you must be feeling an enormous sense of pride and just personally. Im curious your thoughts of what youve seen as the world has come together to celebrate the life of a remarkable woman, a unifying woman, a stead fast Public Servant for over seven decades. Reporter pride in tradition and pride in the Queens Service but also pride in what this country has become during the time of her reign. As she left Westminster Hall to the right of me and came to Westminster Abbey here, she passed statues to churchill, who, of course, was her first Prime Minister, a statue to Abraham Lincoln, but also a statue in Parliament Square to gandhi and mandela, who anytime he was in london she would invite for tea and lunch. Of course a day like today is not a day to litigate the past and the good and the bad in british history, but one thing i think you can say is that there is a weaving together of the modern and the past here, which you saw even in the queen, even in someone so traditional which i think is very, very positive and hopeful. And that being said, joe, at the same time, there is a sense of insecurity, i think, of nervousness, and that is the way it should be because were talking about a queen who reigned for 70 years, anytime in history theres ever been a transfer from one monarch to another, theres always been nervousness and insecurity. I heard the conversations that you guys have been having in the last hour or so about questions over government and Constitutional Monarchy and the best ways to do things. I thought it was interesting to hear the National Anthem sung in Westminster Abbey behind me there and the whole of the National Anthem of of course because of course theres the part that everybody knows, the British National anthem, may he send in victorious, happy and glorious, long to reign over us, but the other part, may he defend our laws and never give us cause to sing with heart and voice, god save the king. Theres little sting in the tail of that National Anthem, isnt there, a kind of a sentiment that says we really hope that the next monarch is follows the laws and listens to us and actually gives us cause to celebrate him. So, again, for e for king charles, this has been a very important ten days, in spite of the fact hes been prince of wales for so long, hes known that First Impressions count. But there is a long road ahead. In a sense, i suppose, one of the things about Constitutional Monarchy, is it is very grounded. Youve seen the thousands of military out on the streets paying respects to the queen. The monarch is the commander in chief and theres something solid for a military with a commander in chief who isnt political, with a big peshgs, but at the same time, inevitably the simple factor of a new king, you know, is going to be a worry for some people, it will give that sense of anxiousness. We wait to see how things play out. Another aspect of all this, too, joe, which i think is really interesting to see, and this again plays to the question of whether of how the modern monarchy is able to stabilize a country like britain, you see king george sorry, prince george, not king yet, but will be king, at 9 years old and his sister, princess charlotte, and that arc of history to watch Queen Elizabeths funeral and heading to windsor to be laid to rest. As she went down whitehall under admiral nelsons statue and through the Parade Ground and past the statue of Queen Victoria, to watch all that and then see her great grandchildren in a car behind her taking it all in, theres continuity, which is valuable or at least has been valuable in the last century and this. Of course youre watching history happen. Weve never seen a State Funeral like this this century. Its impossible to imagine any other lead theyre this would happen to. I was wondering whether keir thinks the sense of community weve seen in the United Kingdom over the last ten days in the queue, people paying their respects, every time ive watched and felt the unity over brexit. She clearly brought britains together, at least in her death she has brought britains together, and can that sense of community, which we are missing in the United States, continue now. You know, catty, the trouble is, is that there cannot be a democracy that doesnt have a mixture of opinions. There has to be different opinions. There have to be tensions. Thats the nature of the best political system that weve come up with so far. Thats the nature of it. So i think the monarchy as a kind of anchor has proven to be in modern history very useful for britain, but i dont think you can expect what you can expect is on occasions like this for the british people to unite, or most of the british people, but you cant expect the british people to stay united forever after this. Its you not it wouldnt be right honestly. So i think the question is really about whether the new king can keep that continuity, that rock, if you like, that his mother, Queen Elizabeth, provided, whether he can hold on to that despite the tensions that will inevitably come in britain because britain is a democracy. I would say one other thing. And the royal family will look to history, always look to history for kind of the roadmap for the future as well as needing to change. I think its interesting to note, you saw harry and william both walking behind the coffin. Just remember, for example, that at the funeral of the queens father, george vi, the former edward, king, the viii, duke of windsor, walked behind the coffin, walk was at that funeral, the royal family knows how to come together on key occasions and stand together. It doesnt mean there wont be tensions in the royal family looking ahead. Again, i think that is inevitable. In some ways, its how the royal family, the country, and perhaps the democratic world deals with the tensions that matters. All right. Keir simmons, thank you so much. We greatly appreciate it. The sun is out bright. I know. After a cloudy morning. It came out while the National Anthem was being sung as tweeter noted to katty kay the same happened at Winston Churchills funeral. Willie, we find ourselves in the closing scenes of animal house what . Where the marching band was directed by delta house to the end of an alley. We are being overcome by marching bands right now. A strange parallel. Returning from wellington aerge, turning back the other way on the route. Were getting a full concert as they pass by. Happy to have it. Joining us now, we have the British Ambassador to the United States, dane karen pierce. Madam ambassador, welcome to our coverage. Queen elizabeth played a role in the special relationship always and in large ways meeting with 13 u. S. President s, but also there were kind acts and thoughtful demonstrations of unity after major historic moments, most notably after 9 11. I think youre absolutely spot on, mika. The queen thought very highly of america. The queen knows a lot about that. After 9 11, she ordered the starspangled banner to play at the palace. On the 10th and 20th anniversaries of 9 11, she ordered the starspangled banner to be played at halfmast from british buildings. We flew it at halfmast at the embassy here in washington. So, it was very nice to see that the mayor of washington reciprocated by flying the union jack halfmast on pennsylvania avenue last week. So, we appreciated that very much. Ambassador, sitting here up close in london, it has been an sloiltd spectacular display of pageantry. Whats it been like for you to watch back across the atlantic, watch your home country say goodbye to the queen today . Oh, i think it is very emotional, obviously. We had been watching it real time in embassy, in washington, people brought their families, everybody watched in silence for the National Anthem. Some people came in military uniform. It was a very emotional time. Of course my job is here to bring all the americans who have been kind enough to come and sign the condo leps book. I did feel a great sense of loss. Im very proud to have served the queen. I was her majestys ambassador when i arrived. Im now his majestys ambassador, and this is his majestys embassy. And we are all very proud to serve the new king. I think when i look at the pageantry, it really is the state and its people coming together, the heroic and the human which are personified in the queen. Picking up what keir said about prophesy, the queen very well understood that, i think. She said britain and america had chosen the path of consensus and debate and democracy in contract to some other regimes. And i think that really mattered to her, that constitutional position that as she would say from nag that carta and quoted, she said vividly stated by the founding fathers. So she really was bound together. Ambassador, its kathy dan. By virtue of the queens longevity, personality, by virtue of the fact she had met so many World Leaders, did the fact that you represented her majesty, the queen, have an impact on britains standing Around The World . I think inevidentably, and i think thats a good thing. Apart from anything else, she had seen so much in the seven decades of her reign, there was always something involving the queen with almost every other country from the world. I used to be ambassador at the u. N. In new york, and most of my colleagues all would have some memory of the queen, off than they had seen personally as children or when they were just starting their careers. And ive never been at any diplomatic event yet where if conversation languished you could talk about the queen and get an enthusiastic response. Ambassador karen pierce, thank you very, very much. Our live coverage continues as we sit here outside Buckingham Palace listening to the celebration also of the queens life with the jubilant marching bands behind us. Much more live coverage of Queen Elizabeth iis funeral continues after a short break. I was always the competitive one in our family. til my sister signed up for United Healthcare Medicare Advantage. 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Uhh here, ill take that woo hoo ensure max protein, with 30 grams of protein, 1 gram of sugar and now in two new flavors welcome back to morning joes live coverage of the funeral of Queen Elizabeth, the queens coffin en route from Wellington Arch in london, one of the original entrances to Buckingham Palace, to windsor, expected to arrive there shortly after the top of the hour. The hearse will arrive at sure a farm gate in windsor and join a funeral procession and head up the long walk to Windsor Castle. King charles and other members of the royal family will joan that procession, which eventually will reach the west steps of st. Georges chapel at the castle. From there, the coffin will be carried in procession into the chapel before the Committal Service set to begin at 11 00 a. M. Eastern and will be followed by a private burial ceremony attended by just the king and the royal family. That will be later this afternoon. Queen elizabeth ii will be laid to rest along side Prince Philip and her parents, King George Vi and the queen mother. In london, mary jordan. Thanks for joining us. What do you make of what youve seen here today . Its been extraordinary, hasnt it . I spent, you know, all morning walking the streets, and i think there are two very striking things. This city is comparable to new york in the number of people, but its so much bigger in size. You look down street after street, completely empty and silent. It was so silent because everybody was inside watching tv. I mean, think of, like, the bustling london, it just stopped. And then i just think weve all been to inaugurations, olympics, but the security operation here, you can see it everywhere. I mean, there are volunteers, but theres also plain clothes policemen, snipers, army people, the welsh cavalry, and thousands of police. They didnt want anything to go wrong, and i think people are proud that its gone so well. Talk about the mood. Youve been walking all across london and in and out of pubs and other places. Whats the mood youve seen here today . I think what i keep hearing is that somehow Queen Elizabeth meant Something Different to everybod everybody. A woman from hong kong said it reminded me of hong kong in the good old days before the handover. Another person kind of projected on their own parents. Another person said it was like the pride and pageantry. She somehow got all these people out on the street all for different reasons. And, you know, i havent heard that word pride. People kept saying im so proud, you know. Those guys practiced all night and it looks good to the world and im proud. I think the mood was just this kind of upbeat very in the morning somber and as it ended the pubs opened and people started going inside for a drink. Lets talk about that pride and the narrative arc, the postwar narrative arc of britain, a country in decline is how the british felt it, churchill recognized it as early as the yayalta summit, that the end of the crown in one season the queen said in effect what churchill had said, he didnt want to become Prime Minister to rule over the decline of empires. She said we are a nation in decline at one point. But theres something about today, a reset where you look back over the arc of so many years and you understand that this is a country that faced troubles in the 50s and the 60s and perhaps the low point of the 70s with the blackouts, the turmoil in the 80s. But here we are again. Let me say it again. A postmodern nation extraordinarily diverse, a melting pot that has beautifully come together, and britain, despite all the talk of decline, certainly one of the most powerful Cultural Impacts in the world, the soft power, second perhaps only to the u. S. , and one of the worlds great economies. This is a day to celebrate, isnt it . Youve often mentioned, joe, how brits like to beat up on their own. Of course i can mention the fact, you know, that we have rampant inflation and energy prices, were facing a cold winter, a whole host of problems. But today brits are feeling not only that they managed to pull off the greatest show in the world of what we have seen today in terms of the projection of history, of regal power, of majesty, but also how the country came together and stood in long lines without complaining. They echoed the queen she didnt complain and she would have been pleased with her subjects for doing that. Potentially this is a moment, who knows where we are going with a country with king charles and the economic problems the country faces, but its heartening for me to hear you say you come here and noticed the diversity, a very different country. It is a postmodern country. The cultural sense is strong. There is more social mobility in the United Kingdom today than there is in the United States at this moment. And people feel that. And they are proud of that. They do feel that the country has evolved and that the queen evolved whilst staying constant to herself. She evolved with it. And gave space for that, mika, because she was the one constant through this time of tumultuous change. London, i believe 45 of londons population is white. Right. I would guess that number was double in 1952 when she began her reign. Right. And, again, we have always taken great pride as americans of being the melting pot. It seems right now the people of london and the people of britain during Queen Elizabeth iis time, seem to be doing it better, sadly, i think tragically, than we are in the United States right now. And london right at this moment is hosting a global event. The Editorial Board of the japan times has a piece today entitled Queen Elizabeth ii, the end of an era for britain and the world. It writes in part this the death of Queen Elizabeth ii marks the end of an era not only for the United Kingdom but for the entire world. As the longest serving monarch in british history, she witnessed extraordinary events. Since ascending to the throne, however, perhaps the most enduring trend has been her countrys struggle to find its place in the world. Queen elizabeth, with her unyielding sense of duty and commitment to service, helped fill the gaps as her countrymen grappled with these questions, amid them many memorials and remembrances, one phrase has been repeated time and time again she was the glue that held the nation together. That glue is now gone at a time when britain may need it the most. She will be missed. Mary jordan, her humility and sort of lack of interest in being the show, it is also seen in many ways in her funeral, even though it is this International Global event, the 500 or so World Leaders have been put in buses and told to get in line. Oh, my gosh. In japan, the idea that the emperor lives in the imperial palace is on a communal bus, is fascinating and they love it. Here it seems to different. We were talking about the polarization in the states. Well, here its a lot of people pro brexit dont talk to the people that are really upset. It is a Live Division here. When i was talking to people along the route, this woman said today im not fighting with anybody about anything because nobody does funerals like we do. Thats true. That is true. And they were saying, you know, the pageantry, the precision, and the practice. She was, you know, saying, you know, i dont even like the guy across the street, but hes right over there and im going to go talk to him. It was that kind of a day here. Whats your sense, mary, speaking about what comes next, of Prince Charles . Excuse me. King charles. Queen elizabeth will be buried in just a few hours. King charles will go back to the gates of Buckingham Palace, and it will be his country now to reign. What does that look like . What does its feel like . How is it different tomorrow here . I think big changes and big challenges. I think, you know, the queen is very different. The queen used tupperware. She was this thrifty woman who was so famous for, you know, in world war ii she stayed here, she didnt go to canada. She had one light bulb. Prince charles, on the other hand, is not known as that. Hes going to slim down the moniker and if he doesnt, there will be public demands for it. The affinity for him is high at the moment, higher than its ever been, also with camilla. It wasnt that long ago that only 7 of people thought she should be queen. All of a sudden now just over 50 are saying well give her a chance. But it is a pretty huge, daunting thing. Hes going to have to make changes. Hes got to stay accessible, and hes got to show some of the humility that made his mother so loved. How important one of the queens final acts was to declare that camilla would be Queen Consort. That was a very deliberate effort on behalf of then Prince Charles and the people around him and his staff to oversee the rehabilitation of camilla. She was really vilified after the death of princess diana. She was seen as the person who broke up that marriage, a lot of the blame put on her shoulders. And bit by bit, and very deliberate step by step, the royal family and Prince Charles brought her back into the fold. Initially, Prince Charless 50th birthday party, 20 years ago, after they had been dating for a long time, camilla was not invited because the queen didnt want her there. She was an outcast in the royal family. But gradually, a little bit, she echoed some of what the queen herself appreciated. I mean, its interesting the evolution of camilla. She works hard. She keeps her head down. We know nothing about her opinions on any subject whatsoever apart from the fact that she appreciates the queens smile, as she told bbc today, and thats pretty much it. The queen liked that. She liked camillas commitment to duty and her slightly selfeffacing nature, and like the royal family, she likes the outdoors, dogs, waters. All of that went down well with the queen. One of the queens final acts was to say she would be Queen Consort. When you look at the difficulties the family faced, whether it be camilla or the issue of diana, what happened, it seems the queen, in going slow toward acceptance but always offering that, brought people along with her. Part of her legacy was that sort of gentle, slow, discipline and validation ultimately of how people felt, mary. I think she read people really well. She is its stunning how many people the queen met, personally met. She gave honors to everybody. She gave an honor to the janitor. People talked about taking the kwhel chair to chelsea flower. She was out there and she could read people. In a weird way, she could have been a great politician, even though she held it all in, but she read it well. She really did. The key was, somebody said before, it was always evolution, never revolution for the queen. Correct. Former London Bureau chief for the washington post, mary jordan. Tlank you, mary. Get your walking shoes back on and start interviewing people in the pubs and across london. Thank you so much for being with us today. Thanks. Well take a short break. Our morning joe special coverage of the funeral of Queen Elizabeth ii continues in just a moment. When hurting feet make you want to stop, its dr. Scholls time. Our custom fit orthotics use foot Mapping Technology to give you personalized support, for allday pain relief. Find your relief in store or online. Time. Its lifes most precious commodity, especially when you have metastatic breast cancer. 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Because when you invest in yourself, everyone gets the best of you. Shingles. Some describe it as pulsing electric shocks or sharp, stabbing pains. This painful, blistering rash can disrupt your life for weeks. A pain so intense, you could miss out on family time. The virus that causes shingles is likely already inside of you. If youre 50 years or older, ask your doctor or pharmacist about shingles. Clunky beige, plastic. Or. Presto. You choose. Better hearing made virtually invisible. Thats that eargo difference. Its the allnew subway series menu. Twelve irresistible new subs. The most epic sandwich roster ever created. Its subways biggest refresh yet it is 42 past the hour, and our coverage continues. President biden and the first lady paid their respects to the queen ahead of todays State Funeral. The president visited Westminster Hall yesterday along with the u. S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom to see Queen Elizabeth iis coffin as it lies in state. After the visit, the first family signed the official condolence book for the queen. President biden wrote in part, our hearts go out to the royal family and the people of the United Kingdom. The first lady wrote, may god grant her eternal rest. Heres what the president had to say after signing the condolence book. But she was the same in person as her image decent, honorable, and all about service. And our hearts go out to the royal family, to king charles and all the family. Its a loss that leaves a giant hole, and sometimes you think youll never overcome it. But as ive told the king, shes going to be with him every step of the way, every minute, every moment, and thats the notion. To all of the people of england and the United Kingdom, our hearts go out to you, and you were fortunate to have had her for 70 years. We all were. The world is better for her. Amid the hourslong wait time for the public to pay their respects to the queen, more than 1,000 mourners in the queue had to receive medical treatment. On wednesday the number was almost 300 with 17 needing to go to the hospital. The hospitalized grew to 55 by saturday as mourners waited in line for hours during chillier temperatures. Among those paying their respects to the queen in that big queue was legendary english Football Player david beckham. He reportedly waited more than 13 hours in that queue to enter Westminster Hall on friday. He reportedly declined an offer to skip that line, telling reporters, it was a moment for the country to share together. Afterward, he reflected on the legacy of Queen Elizabeth. Her majesty, we thank her for being caring and reassuring throughout the years she oud been our queen and the legacy that she has left is incredible. Very cool that he waited in line. Yeah. They gave him the sidedoor option and he took the 13hour option. Well done. He set a record for selfies taken. Very cool and perhaps now the country will forgive him for missing the oh, stop it. On this day. It was a great move on his part. Very nice. I love it. Much of britains economy is on hold today as Queen Elizabeth is laid to rest. Todays been designated a public holiday, but there are sweeping closures spanning nearly every aspect of british life, much more extensive than other holidays. All schools, most jobs are off today. Any nonurgent medical appointments were canceled. Nearly every Supermarket Chain closed today along with Luxury Department stores like herods, fastfood chain, including mcdonalds are not open if totov allow employees to join. And the world is honoring Queen Elizabeth ii with one last official portrait. Last night, this neverbeforeseen picture of the late monarch was shared by the official Instagram Account of the royal family. The picture shows Queen Elizabeth smiling, wearing her standard Pearl Necklace and earrings, also a periwinkle dress with blue broaches. Our coverage will continue here. Were live in london seated outside Buckingham Palace where the marching band filled the air for a while now. But things are quieting dow down and the crowds receding. Well go live to Windsor Castle next on special morning joe coverage of the funeral of Queen Elizabeth ii. Welcome to allstate, where you can bundle and save. Isnt that right phil . What in the world are you doing . Im in the metaverse, bundling my home and auto insurance. Save up to 25 when you bundle home and auto with allstate. New projects means new project managers. You need to hire. I need indeed. Indeed you do. When you sponsor a job, you immediately get your shortlist of quality candidates, whose resumes on indeed match your job criteria. Visit indeed. Com hire and get started today. 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Serious side effects include allergic reactions, postinjection reactions, liver problems, and depression. If you have a rash and other allergic reaction symptoms, stop cabenuva and get medical help right away. Tell your doctor if you have liver problems or Mental Health concerns, and if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or considering pregnancy. Some of the most common side effects include injectionsite reactions, fever, and tiredness. If you switch to cabenuva, attend all treatment appointments. Every other month and im good to go. Ask your doctor about everyothermonth cabenuva. Welcome back our special coverage. Theres a live look at windsor, england. It is just about 10 minutes before the top of the hour. Lets go live to Windsor Castle. Nbc correspondent molly hunter is there. Thousands are gathered to witness the queens coffin. Molly. Reporter mika, the huge, huge growing crowds where the queens coffin comes right below. This is the big its just over two and a half miles. Im going to step out so we can show you how many people are here. People have been here all morning. You see these huge screens. We watched the entire Funeral Service here. Everyone sitting out here in this benches, picnic blankets wanting to watch together. What we expect is it will come from that end and the entire procession. Again, its hard to estimate how many people are here. It will go up to the cambridge gate where it will enter Windsor Castle property. It will go into a quadrangle. We will see other members of the royal family who have come to begin that procession to st. Georges chapel. It is a place important to the queen. She has spent many private hours of worship. She spent most weekends at Windsor Castle. This is one of her favorite working and play time castles. She wasnt completely off in balmoral. This is where she could do both. It is where she prayed every week. Its where we saw the heartbreaking picture during Prince Philips funeral where she was sitting all alone. She was sitting alone with covid restrictions at his funeral last year. Her husband will be moved to be with her as well. As you stand in the streets among the crowds, what are you hearing about the queen . What are they telling you . Its similar to what we heard, willie, standing along the queue to go into Westminster Hall. People wanted to be here. People would not have missed it. It didnt matter if they had to wake up at 2 00 a. M. , wait 12, 13, 14 hours next to the thames to get a glimpse of the coffin. You are getting all shades of the monarchy. Everyone is united in their respect and loyalty to the queen and to her service is mostly what we keep hearing. People wanted to be around other people. We have been talking about grieving in public and grieving in private. Today we have seen the royal family on shore. The cameras will be turned off to grieve in private. Weve met families, people who have alone just to be around other people. They have been able to be around the full day. Atmospherewise, yes, it is somber, one of reference and respect. Its also a little bit exciting, celebratory. People are giddy, excited to see that moment. As we saw even going through the streets of london there was really loud applause. It wasnt just silence. Im interested to see what will happen with crowds this size when she comes by. Molly hunter, thank you very much for your coverage. As we close out our coverage, its truly been an honor to be here to witness history as it happens before our eyes. And just as we launch into final thoughts in our coverage, you know, we have seen so many times the queens words on her coronation promising, dedicating her life to service of the commonwealth. And urg did the Funeral Service, the archbishop of canterbury said what a promise well kept. Joe, final thoughts. She lived through an extraordinary period of remarkable change, societal change. 70year reign. 70 years for this world. She was a rock. She was steadfast. Consistency. The constitution. And she somehow unified this country and the commonwealth. And, willie, as weve said this week, a commonwealth that 2. 5 billion citizens are a member of. Not an empire but a commonwealth, voluntary wanting membership in this commonwealth headed by Queen Elizabeth ii and now King Charles Iii. Im struck today about the full service, that the Westminster Abbey where she was married in 1947, crowned in 1953 is where her tpaoupb ram was funeral was held today. She made one final trip by. I was watching a documentary about the queen. And i have to read this quote. The words of the queen. She said we are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose is to observe, learn, grow, love. And then we return home. What we are watching on your screen is a queen returning home. That sounds, katty, remarkably like what my mother and grandmother would say, from the same era. This world is not my home. Im just passing through. They would always remind us of something bigger than ourselves. Talk about Queen Elizabeth, a product of world war ii and beyond what she means still to this country. The reason were all so moved and each of us in our unique and individual ways is because, in some strange ways, she reminds us of our parents and our grandparents. She is a link to generation, service, true tkpwalt we have been talking about. Sometimes it seems obsessive. It is those who live to serve will be remembered a lot longer than those who live to hold onto power for powers sake. That was Queen Elizabeth. Born april 21st, 1926, if you can imagine, in a nation still recovering from world war i. The queen was 96 years old. Still much more ahead as the era of Queen Elizabeth officially comes to a close. We will soon hear ceremonial gunfire by the kings troops on the east lawn of Windsor Castle. The royal family will follow as the procession of the queens coffin enters st. Georges chapel. Later a private burial as Queen Elizabeth is laid to rest alongside Prince Philip. We will have this right here on msnbc. Katy tur picks up the live coverage from london right now. We continue our coverage of Queen Elizabeths funeral, 60 years in the planning. The hymns, the beats of the drums. 2 million are watching, along with billions along the world. The next three hours we will guide you through the services honoring Queen Elizabeth ii. It will end with the queens