The world’s second-longest reigning monarch, the majority of people in Britain have known no other head of state than Queen Elizabeth II. After celebrating her Platinum Jubilee earlier this year, her death in 2022 signals the end of an era.
And you don’t have to be a fervent monarchist to feel a deep sense of loss, with tributes around the country marking a period of national mourning and the solemn procession as the coffin travels from Balmoral to London, via the Palace of Holyroodhouse and St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh.
Whether you’re planning to join the crowds expected for the funeral and as the Queen lies in state or looking to remember her long life and reign, here are some of the best places to pay tribute to the Queen if you’re visiting London with kids.
Need to know if you’re visiting London with kids in September
Many sites around the capital are closing as a mark of respect on September 9, others will be closing on the day of the funeral, while those with royal links may be closed for longer.
Always check before you visit for the latest information.
The State rooms at Buckingham Palace (normally open until October) will close until their scheduled reopening next year.
The Royal Mews and Queen’s Gallery in London, as well as Windsor Castle, are also currently closed.
Westminster Abbey is open for prayer and reflection but will be closed to tourists from September 11 until September 28. Visitors are asked not to leave flowers or tributes.
All Historic Royal Palaces sites, including the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace and Kensington Palace will be closed on September 9 and the day of the funeral.
The Imperial War Museum will close on the day of the funeral.
London Zoo is closed on September 9 but its car park will be unavailable for visitors after reopening for the time being.
Sites closing on September 9 and which are likely to close again on the day of the funeral include:
- St Paul’s Cathedral (closed Sep 9 to prepare for a memorial service)
- The National Gallery (closed to Sep 10)
- Kew Gardens (closed Sep 9)
- Sir John Soane’s Museum (closed Sep 9)
- Chelsea Physic Garden (closed until Sep 11)
- Legoland Windsor (closed on Sep 9)
Events will also be cancelled, while shops along the funeral procession route are likely to close on the day of the funeral itself.
Where to pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II in London with kids
Ceremonial gun salutes are planned at 11 saluting stations across the country, with 96 rounds expected to be fired at Hyde Park and at Tower Hill on September 9, and a national minute’s silence held.
A memorial service will be held at St Paul’s cathedral, with limited spaces available for the public to attend. The service will also be broadcast on the BBC.
There are also expected to be tributes at London’s railway stations for those arriving into the capital, while flowers are being left outside palaces and churches.
There will be books of condolence at sites around London: various family attractions such as the Museum of the Home and the Imperial War Museum have already announced they will have them.
On the ninth day after Her Majesty’s death, the Great Bell of Big Ben is due to chime at 9am, with a layer of leather covering the hammer to muffle the sound.
The Queen’s coffin will lie in state for at least three three days at Westminster Hall after returning to London from Edinburgh, with a ceremonial procession from Buckingham Palace down the Mall, through Horse Guards Parade and past the Cenotaph, expected to be early in the week of September 12.
Westminster Hall will be open to the public for 23 hours a day in order for the public to pay their respects. Huge crowds are expected for this, with queues stretching for miles.
At the lying in state of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, 200,000 people waited to pay tribute with queues of up to six hours, while 300,000 people attended the lying in state of King George VI.
If you’re planning to take children to the lying in state, be prepared for very long waits to do so and expect a much higher security presence around central London, as well as Westminster itself.
There is more detail on the precise events leading up to the funeral on the BBC news website.
Where to watch the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II
The state funeral will be held at Westminster Abbey – the first of a British monarch since 1760. The date is to be confirmed, but is likely to be around September 18-19.
There will be a procession from Westminster Hall to the abbey for the one-hour service, before a ceremonial procession to accompany to coffin to Hyde Park.
From this point, it will travel to Windsor for a further procession through the town and a committal service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.
Full details of the route are still to be announced, but huge crowds are expected in the capital and in Windsor the line the streets – bollards will be removed from The Mall to make extra space.
The funeral will also be televised with plans to show this on big screens around the capital, and the day is expected to be a national holiday.
Rail strikes planned for September 15-17 have been called off but trains and public transport are expected to be extremely busy and there may be more limited timetables on the day of the funeral
Key sites from the Queen’s life
If you’re visiting London with kids and looking to celebrate the Queen’s long life and reign as a tribute to Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, these are some of the key sites associated with Elizabeth II. Many will be closed in the days leading up to the funeral, some will close for part or all of the rest of 2022.
145 Piccadilly
Born at the Mayfair townhouse belonging to her maternal grandparents in 29126, Princess Elizabeth of York – as she was then – moved from 17 Bruton Street to 145 Piccadilly a year later.
Bombed in the Second World War, the building has been replaced today by the InterContinental London Park Lane Hotel.
Clarence House
Clarence House was the Queen’s London home when she was first married, until her accession – it’s here that Princess Anne was born.
Later home to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, it also became the official residence of the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall.
Built by John Nash for the Duke of Clarence, later William IV, it is normally open to the public during August when you can take a 45-minute guided tour of five rooms on the ground floor.
The Imperial War Museums London
The Imperial War Museum has also been hosting an exhibition to honour the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee this year, exploring the role of the Royal Family in conflict.
Due to run until January 2023, the exhibition looks at The Queen’s personal experience of war and her role as Head of the Armed Forces, including displays of photography and items from the museum’s collections.
The museum has announced that it will be closed on the day of the Queen’s funeral
Buckingham Palace
The monarch’s own official residence has been home to Queen Elizabeth II for over 70 years and it’s one of the key sites in all royal ceremonies.
If you’re visiting London with kids, you can get a glimpse of the exterior of Buckingham Palace year-round, but there’s only the chance to go indoors for a few months of the year.
The State Rooms are normally open from July to October (plus occasional exclusive tours during the winter and spring), with a timed admission system when you book with slots every 15 minutes.
The State Rooms have now closed for the remainder of 2022.
Royal Mews
Home to historic royal carriages, the Royal Mews is also a working stables where you’ll find horses named by the Queen.
You can spot the brown Cleveland Bays and white Windsor Grey horses during your visit, as well as miniature carriages designed to be pulled by smaller animals including dogs, plus a sleigh.
Kids can also follow a 45-minute multimedia tour, with a family version aimed at kids aged 7-11, telling them everything from what it’s like to train the horses to how it feels to ride in one of those fairytale carriages or drive a Rolls Royce. The Little Trekkers activity trail is designed for under fives.
The Royal Mews has now closed for the remainder of 2022
Westminster Abbey
Every king or queen of England has been crowned here, except two – Edward V, who was deposed and presumed murdered before his coronation, and Edward VIII who abdicated before his could take place.
The coronation was televised for the first time in 1953 when the Queen was crowned here, and it’s also where the then Princess Elizabeth was married – the 10th member of the royal family to be married here.
It’s also the final resting place of 16 English and British monarchs as well as many of their consorts: after George II, British monarchs have been buried at St George’s Chapel in Windsor.
Since the reign of Queen Victoria, state funerals have usually seen the coffin conveyed to Westminster Hall in a gun carriage, where it lies in state for several days, before a procession to Windsor for the funeral service.
Westminster Abbey is closed to tourists from September 11 until September 28
Tower of London
For a chance to see the Queen’s crown in all its glittering glory, it’s one of the unmissable parts of a visit to the Tower of London. Gun salutes are also fired from Tower Hill.
Both royal residence and royal prison since William the Conqueror first had the White Tower built in the 11th century, the crown – along with other royal regalia and items from the royal treasury – are on display here.
Home to the Superbloom flower installation celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee this summer, Queen Elizabeth has also visited in recent years, including to see the ‘Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red’ poppy installation in 2014, paying tribute to those killed during the First World War.
The Tower of London will be closed on the day of the Queen’s funeral
Kensington Palace
Although the Queen never lived at Kensington Palace, it was home to her sister, Princess Margaret, as well as her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh.
It’s also been hosting a special exhibition this year, set to run to October 30, called Life Through a Royal Lens exhibition, looking at iconic images of the Royal Family from Queen Victoria to the present day.
Kensington Palace will be closed on the day of the Queen’s funeral
St Paul’s Cathedral
The special Jubilee exhibition running at St Paul’s Cathedral until December is the perfect place to relive the celebrations from during Queen Elizabeth’s reign.
The exhibition, Jubilee: St Paul’s, the Monarch and the Changing World looks at Jubilee celebrations from across the centuries, including for her Silver, Golden and Diamond Jubilees, as well as those of George III, George V and Queen Victoria.
A service of prayer and reflection is planned at St Paul’s cathedral
Windsor Castle
If you’re visiting London with kids, it’s only a short journey to Windsor – another of the Queen’s childhood homes, when the Duke of York and his family would spend weekends at York Lodge on the estate, it was famously one of her favourite residences.
The working castle, the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world, was founded by William the Conqueror in the 11th century and has been home to 39 monarchs, including a weekend retreat for Queen Elizabeth II.
The castle also houses St George’s chapel, dating back to 1475, which has been the site of a number of royal weddings, as well as housing the tombs of 10 monarchs including Edward IV, Henry VI and VIII, Charles I, Edward VII and George V.
Windsor Castle is closed to tourists for the time being
St Paul’s Cathedral copyright MummyTravels, all other photos courtesy of Depositphotos
