horses receive special training for the procession

LONDON — Horses, troops and military bands rehearsed in full dress before dawn for the procession to carry Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall in the Houses of Parliament.

Participating horses have received special training for Wednesday afternoon’s event, including how to handle mourners and how to handle flowers and flags being thrown into the procession, officials said. It says.

Sergeant Tom Jenks, who led the artillery carriage carrying the Queen’s coffin, said, “They were subjected to loud noises, crowds, flags, flowers, people weeping, and lots of drumming and aggressive noise. increase.

Among the horses is Cassius, an 18-year-old who attended the funeral of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 2013.

On Wednesday afternoon, King Charles III and other royals walk behind the Queen’s coffin to Westminster Hall in the Houses of Parliament. The Queen’s coffin will remain there for four days for people to pay their respects.

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Other developments:

LONDON — Crowds gather in London as they prepare for a solemn procession to carry Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin from Buckingham Palace to the Houses of Parliament.

There, the deceased monarch will lie stateside for four days before his funeral next Monday.

Large crowds are expected for Wednesday’s gloomy afternoon march, and long lines are expected to see the coffin at Westminster Hall in the Houses of Parliament.

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People are standing behind metal fences or sitting in folding chairs. Under gray skies hours before the coffin was scheduled to leave the monarch’s official residence in London, they are ready with umbrellas and take-out coffees in hand.

The coffin is loaded into a horse-drawn carriage past a crowd of mourners, followed by the Queen’s son and heir to the throne, Charles III, and other royals.

The Queen died in Scotland last Thursday at the age of 96, ending her 70-year reign.

Crowds line the aisle whenever the Queen’s coffin moves from Scotland to London on its way back.