Dignitaries and crowds gather for queen's funeral

STORY: Queen Elizabeth's coffin was carried into Westminster Abbey on Monday, as ten days of mourning for Britain's beloved monarch entered their final hours.

King Charles and the royal family, including her great-grandchildren Prince George and Princess Charlotte, joined an unprecedented gathering of some 500 leaders and dignitaries from every corner of the globe.

(The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby)

"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."

The Last Post and a two-minute silence brought the service to an end.

Earlier tens of thousands of people had lined the streets as the queen's casket made the short journey from Westminster Hall where she had been lying in state.

It was pulled along on a gun carriage by 142 Royal Navy sailors with arms linked.

And they were preceded by a procession of hundreds of military personnel in full ceremonial dress.

In London’s Hyde Park, and in homes and locations worldwide, many more thousands of mourners fell silent as the queen's coffin appeared on their screens.

After the service, a second royal procession through London marked the start of the casket's journey west to Windsor Castle

... the final resting place of Queen Elizabeth II, who died aged 96 on September 8 at Balmoral in Scotland, after 70 years on the throne.