Albanese leads Australian delegation as world farewells Queen

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was among more than 2000 people to attend the Queen’s funeral in London, along with the governor-general and a small delegation of Australians.

Arriving at Westminster Abbey, Albanese wore a suit by M.J. Bale, while his partner Jodie Haydon wore a dress by Karen Gee and a hat by Jane Lambert.

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The prime minister had earlier been among the estimated crowd of 750,000 people who viewed Queen Elizabeth’s coffin in Westminster Hall ahead of her state funeral.

“It was a very solemn occasion and it was very emotional, and you could feel the emotion from people as they were filing through,” he said.

The funeral took place at Westminster Abbey before a committal service at St George’s Chapel in Windsor.

The service was led by the Dean of Westminster, Dr David Hoyle, with British Prime Minister Liz Truss reading the second lesson and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby delivering the sermon.

The Last Post was sounded as the service came to a close, followed by a two-minute silence and the Reveille.

Mourners also gathered at St Andrew’s Cathedral in Sydney to mark the life of Queen Elizabeth II.

The Anglican church, along with Government House in Canberra and Federation Square in Melbourne, hosted live viewings.

“My mother is English, so I guess we’re part of a royalist family, with that allegiance,” Matt Palmer said as he arrived at the service.

After watching numerous royal weddings at home, Mr Palmer said he wanted to farewell the Queen at St Andrew’s as a way of paying tribute to her faith.

Mourner Michelle Raft said the Sydney cathedral was a fitting place to farewell the Queen, who visited the church in 1954.

“I like the idea that she’s been here and that we’ll honour her together,” Ms Raft said.

Australians were among hundreds of millions of people across the world to watch Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.

Melbourne’s landmarks will remain lit until the national memorial service on Thursday, with bagpipes sounding in Perth in the late monarch’s honour.

Ahead of the event, Albanese met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday before holding a lunch with Australia’s community champions at Australia House in London.

He also met King Charles III at Buckingham Palace, which he labelled a “warm” chat which provided him a moment to personally offer his condolences.

Australians will be able to pay their respects on Thursday during the memorial service to be broadcast across the nation from Parliament House. 

All state and territory leaders, as well as justices of the High Court, will attend the service, with Australians given a public holiday to mark the occasion.