london. it s 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 haven t 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.
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. it s wonderful to be with you early this morning as we cover history in the making. let s 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. it s been a remarkable few days here walking around. i ve been sorrow. for the most part we ve seen people from all over come to
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 she ll 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
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. we re watching live coverage of the state funeral of queen elizabeth ii as it closes the family following the coffin, the queen s 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 majesty s example, he said, was not said by ambition, but by her faith and noted that she began her coronation in
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 we re watching live coverage of the funeral of queen elizabeth ii. i mentioned the time because in just about 11 minutes, that s 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 we re watching her coffin making its way to the abbey, of course, with the crown atop, resting atop. the crown that will ultimately