When the King and his sons walk the Queen’s coffin from Buckingham Palace today, they will do so at precisely 2:22 p.m.
The royal family will accompany their matriarch on foot to Westminster Hall, where hundreds of thousands of mourners are anticipated to line up for as long as 40 hours to pay their respects.
There is suggestion that the timing may have a biblical meaning or is a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II’s father, King George VI.
After his passing in 1952, the bells at Windsor tolled 56 times, one for each year of his life, between 1.27 and 2.22 p.m.
Royal biographer Robert Lacey told MailOnline that the schedule is likely determined by the need to ensure the procession arrives at Westminster Hall at 3 p.m.
He stated, “It will have been meticulously timed.” It does not appear out of thin air.
And I’m assuming that the quantity of persons that will walk behind will be taken into account.
The procession will take exactly 38 minutes to reach Westminster Hall, where a 20-minute liturgy will be led by the Archbishop of Canterbury before the Queen lies in state for four days.
A member of the military cleans a Gun Carriage of The Kings Troop Royal Horse Artillery as final preparations are made for the procession of the Queen’s coffin to Westminster Hall.
Among certain Christians, the number 222 represents unity, love, and the individual relationship with God.
As queen, the Queen was a fervent Christian and the Supreme Governor of the Church of England.
Jesus Christ is also believed to have died on the cross at 3 p.m., therefore 2.22 p.m. could have been chosen so that the procession would arrive at Westminster Hall at that time.
Overnight, employees of the Household Division practiced transporting the queen’s coffin from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall.
As they practiced for the transfer, the 512-person cortege, clad in ceremonial attire, was lighted by the city’s street lights.
During the early morning rehearsal, the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery’s horse-drawn vehicle was driven along the route.
A black coffin was put on the gun carriage, and at approximately 4:00 a.m., the procession was given the command to march, at which point the carriage, drawn by seven black horses, made its way across the city. In addition, mounted police officers participated in the rehearsal.
Several streets in central London were closed for the enormous operation.
The coffin will pass past Queen’s Gardens, The Mall, Horse Guards and Horse Guards Arch, Whitehall, Parliament Street, Parliament Square, and New Palace Yard.
The royal family will accompany their matriarch on foot to Westminster Hall, where hundreds of thousands of mourners are anticipated to line up for as long as 40 hours to pay their respects.
The Duke of Gloucester and the Earl of Snowdon will also walk behind the parade, along with Princess Anne’s son Peter Phillips and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence.
Cars will transport the Queen Consort, the Princess of Wales, the Countess of Wessex, and the Duchess of Sussex.
Thousands of mourners have already joined the line to attend the Queen’s lying-in-state, which begins at 5 p.m. and continues until 6.30 a.m. on September 19, the day of her funeral.
According to government guidelines, the line is anticipated to be quite lengthy, with people standing for “several hours, even overnight” with little opportunities to sit.
On Tuesday evening, there were tearful moments as the late Queen was flown back to London and carried to Buckingham Palace for the final time.
As the hearse carrying the coffin left Northolt in north-west London, people waited silently on the side of the road, with some using their cell phones to capture the historic occasion.
The Queen’s grandchildren were among the royal family members who paid their respects to the late monarch by observing the arrival of her coffin at the palace.
Charles, William, and Harry’s participation in the parade on Wednesday will join father and boys in their mourning for a mother and grandmother.
On Saturday, William and Harry presented an unified front with their spouses during a massive walkabout.
The relationship between the brothers has been well-documented as strained, but the death of their grandmother brought them unexpectedly together as they observed flower tributes to the late Queen at Windsor Castle.
William, Kate, Harry, and Meghan arrived in the same vehicle and met well-wishers for almost 40 minutes before William stepped behind the wheel of an Audi with his wife in the passenger seat and his brother and sister-in-law in the back.
In his Friday evening television speech to the nation, the King expressed his support for Harry and Meghan, stating, “I also want to convey my admiration for Harry and Meghan as they continue to construct their life abroad.”
Then, in his tribute to his grandmother, Harry expressed his desire to honor his father at the beginning of his reign as king.
The Palace has not disclosed the real reason for the 2.22 p.m. departure, although there is speculation that it may have a biblical significance or be a memorial to King George VI, the father of the Queen. Today, crowds assemble on The Mall before to the parade.
In June, Charles and his two boys were last seen together in public during a service of gratitude for the Queen at St. Paul’s Cathedral as part of the celebrations for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
On that particular occasion, however, Harry and Meghan were placed on the opposite side of the aisle in the second row, behind the Wessex family and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.
The Jubilee service at St. Paul’s was Harry and Meghan’s first public appearance with the Windsors since they stepped down as senior royals in 2020 in the wake of the Megxit scandal.
In April 2021, Harry and William joined their father when they walked behind the Duke of Edinburgh’s coffin at his funeral.
The boys were separated by their cousin Peter Phillips, although at one point he retreated half a stride, making the siblings appear closer together.
William and Harry were observed conversing as they walked back up the hill from the chapel to the castle following the funeral service.
The state funeral for King George VI (1895-1952) was held in Westminster Hall.