Queen Elizabeth II, who died last week at the age of 96, is set to be buried at St. George’s Chapel within the grounds of Windsor Castle, one of the late Queen’s favorite homes and where many royals have been laid to rest before her.
After her funeral at Westminster Abbey on Sept. 19, the Queen’s coffin will be transferred to Windsor Castle, which is about 20 miles outside of Central London. As part of the long tradition of burials on this site, which includes 10 sovereigns before her death in September 1999, the Queen will be buried there.
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St. George’s chapel has several sections and nooks, including the King George VI Memorial Chapel, which the Queen commissioned after her father’s death. In the memorial chapel, the Queen, along with King George VI and Queen Elizabeth will be buried. Twenty four members of the royal family are buried at St. George’s Chapel, including several members laid to rest in the Royal Vault.
St. George’s Chapel has a long history for the royal family, not just as a burial site, but as a location for weddings, christenings and funerals. Prince Philip’s funeral was held there in 2021, and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were married there in 2018.
Construction of the chapel first began in 1475 under King Edward IV’s reign and was completed in 1528 under King Henry VIII. The chapel serves both the royal family and the community as a place of worship.
“Built by kings, shaped by the history of the Royal Family and still the location for both splendid Royal events and private family moments,” Buckingham Palace says about the significance of St. George’s Chapel.
Following the Queen’s funeral, a royal procession will transport the Queen’s coffin to the chapel. King Charles III and other high ranking members of royal families will probably be included in the procession. The Queen’s late husband Prince Philip, who was buried in the Royal Vault after his death, is expected to be moved to the memorial chapel to lie next to the Queen, but royal officials have yet to confirm this.
Since her death at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, the longest-reigning British monarch’s remains have gone through a series of processions at Edinburgh, Buckingham Palace and Westminster, following royal custom.The Queen’s coffin will have journeyed more than 500 miles before finally reaching Windsor.
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The memorial chapel will host a private funeral service later that night for the family. King George VI’s remains were buried there in 1969, and he was later joined by Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret who both died in 2002.
St. George’s Chapel is open to the public for several days each week and anyone wishing to pay their respects to the Queen will be able to once her burial is concluded.
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