Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in numbers — from queue lengths to the corgis

It was expected some 1 million members of the public would be present for the procession in London

Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral on Monday marked the end of 10 days of national mourning in the United Kingdom. Her lying-in-state over the weekend saw queues reaching 24 hours at its height, with the maximum queue length at 16km, according to the BBC.

There were other staggering figures surrounding the events to mark the death of the 96-year-old British monarch:

1 million: Anticipated public attendance in London for the funeral procession, with transport authorities planning for this volume on Monday.

2,000: Number of guests at Westminster Abbey. The BBC estimated this included about 100 presidents and heads of government, including US president Joe Biden, emperor Naruhito of Japan and President Michael D Higgins.

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800: Number of guests at queen’s committal service in St George’s Church at Windsor Castle. A private burial, attended by the monarch’s family, was held on Monday evening.

Six: All living former prime ministers were among the funeral congregation: John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Theresa May, David Cameron and Boris Johnson. Current prime minister Liz Truss was also in attendance and gave a reading.

5,949: Military personnel were deployed throughout the operation that began with the queen’s death on September 8th at her Balmoral Estate in Scotland. The figure comprises 4,416 from the army, 847 from the navy and 686 from the Air Force. Also involved were about 175 armed forces personnel from Commonwealth nations.

138: Royal Navy sailors. Not seen on the streets of London since the funeral of Winston Churchill in 1965, Britain’s state gun carriage was pulled by 98 Royal Navy sailors, with a further 40 marching behind acting as brakes.

Two: The Queen’s beloved corgis, Muick and Sandy, were pictured awaiting the arrival of her coffin at Windsor Castle.

Ellen O'Riordan

Ellen O'Riordan

Ellen O'Riordan is an Irish Times reporter