The Queen’s coffin is lowered into the royal vault of St George’s Chapel live on TV

The Queen’s coffin is lowered into the royal vault of St George’s Chapel on live TV – before being later recovered with that of her husband Prince Philip and buried alongside their parents.

Her English oak coffin will be taken slowly down in an electric lift tomorrow to join the Duke of Edinburgh in the tombs at the end of a poignant funeral service in Windsor.

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But later, away from the TV cameras, both caskets are picked up again for a private funeral.

The couple are then taken to the church’s King George VI Memorial Chapel to be reunited with the Queen’s parents, George VI and the Queen Mother, and the ashes of the Queen’s sister, Princess Margaret.

King Charles, his brothers Andrew and Edward and their sister Anne are expected to gather when the black Belgian marble ledger covering the tomb is raised for the first time in 20 years.

You’ll watch as the lead-lined coffins carrying their parents are gently lowered 18 feet to lie on top of each other, supported by a metal frame, in the 10-foot by 14-foot chamber.

Professor Aidan Dodson, author of British Royal Tombs, said: “For nearly a century no burial in the Royal Vault has been permanent.

“It’s more of a waiting room for funerals.

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“Long after television cameras have been shut down, the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will return to the surface before finally being laid to rest.

“After a brief ceremony, they are lowered together to their revered parents and beloved sister.

“This will mark the end of an era.

“She was the last of a race.”

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