Queen Elizabeth death: A final act of duty - Queen Elizabeth II farewelled

In almost a lifetime of service, this was her final act of duty.

A state funeral unlike any seen in the lifetimes of most, and a chance to say goodbye to a monarch whose 70 years and 214 days on the throne sustained a signal fire of certainty in an, at times, precarious world.

It was a role Queen Elizabeth II never chose, never bemoaned and never deserted.

Two days before her death, aged 96, the monarch was still working - appointing Liz Truss as Britain's new Prime Minister, a symbolic gesture in a constitutional monarchy where the head of state must remain neutral on political matters.

Overnight on Monday (NZT), there was one last duty to perform - giving her family, the realm and her many admirers beyond the chance to say goodbye.

Two thousand people were invited to Westminster Abbey for the hour-long service, among them international royalty, presidents and prime ministers - our own, Jacinda Ardern, seated in the third row.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Clarke Gayford arrive at Westminster Abbey. Photo / AP

Outside, up to two million more descended on London streets, clutching red roses, waving tiny Union Jacks and moving like ants through a maze of streets, lanes and alleys to snare a fleeting glimpse of the monarch's coffin or, at the very least, land within sight of the big screens at Hyde Park.

Among those elbow-to-elbow in a choked central city where everything was close and everyone was out was Jill Craggs, all the way from the Isle of Wight.

The Queen's demise has in recent years loomed like a rupture on the Alpine Fault, inevitable, unknown and promising to arrive with a wallop.

Her husband, a former policeman, burst into tears at the announcement, Craggs said, and she decided they needed to be as close to the Queen as possible when they said goodbye.

"She promised to do everything for her country, and she never faltered once."

Craggs didn't get near to Westminster Abbey but, like so many others, watched on a public big screen as her Queen's oak coffin was carried by the same state gun carriage as the three Kings who came before - the monarch's father, grandfather and great-grandfather.

One-hundred-and-forty-two Royal Navy sailors pulled the carriage the short distance from Westminster Hall - where the Queen had lain in state - to the abbey, accompanied by the sound of pipes and drums of the Scottish and Irish regiments.

The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II is carried following her state funeral service. Photo / AP

Outside, behind a coffin covered by the Royal Standard, Imperial State Crown, the Sovereign's orb and sceptre, and a wreath of rosemary, myrtle and English oak from the Queen's own gardens, walked her heir, King Charles III, and other family, including second-in-line William, Prince of Wales, and his eldest child, 9-year-old Prince George.

A bell tolled 96 times, one to mark each year of the monarch's life, and in a place of worship so familiar to the Queen - she married Prince Philip in the almost 800-year-old abbey and was crowned under its vaulted roof - funeral sentences were sung by the abbey choir as the coffin was carried to the catafalque.

Like Craggs, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby celebrated his monarch's unwavering commitment to a role that became her destiny aged 10, when her uncle abdicated, and came to pass when she was a young wife and mother 15 years later.

"[She] famously declared on a 21st birthday broadcast that her whole life would be dedicated to serving the nation and Commonwealth.

"Rarely has such a promise been so well kept."

Members of the Royal family attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey. Photo / AP

The traditional Christian service also included hymns, among them The Lord's My Shepherd, which had also been sung at the Queen's wedding.

In a nod to one of her favourite royal residences, Balmoral Castle - where she died on September 8 - the hymn was put to a Crimond tune, from a parish in Aberdeenshire close to the castle.

Towards the end of the funeral, the Last Post - a short bugle call - sounded before the abbey and beyond fell silent for two minutes.

Among the tens of thousands at Hyde Park, Yorkshireman Terry Ferguson, speaking after the national silence came to an end, said it was an honour to be a small part of such a big day in history.

"We're here [Hyde Park] for the Queen, more than royalty," the wind turbine repairman said.

"People think she had an easy life - I think it's a tough life. You can't be natural, you can't go to the rugby or have a beer.

"You can't be free."

The service ended with the lament Sleep, Dearie, Sleep by the Queen's piper, with the coffin returned to the gun-carriage, and carried on a final journey through London to the sound of Chopin's Funeral March, along Whitehall and a flag-lined Mall - where people had queued overnight - past Buckingham Palace and up Constitution Hill to Wellington Arch, all part of a military procession which included members of the New Zealand Defence Force.

After being taken by hearse to Windsor Castle, a committal service was held at St George's Chapel before family, Royal Household staff and world leaders, with the imperial state crown, orb and sceptre silently removed from the coffin.

King Charles II watches as The Lord Chamberlain Baron Parker breaks his Wand of Office, marking the end of his service to the sovereign, during a committal service for Queen Elizabeth II. Photo / AP

Before the Lord Chamberlain snapped in two his wand of office and placed it on the coffin, symbolising the end of the Queen's reign, King Charles placed his mother's Company Camp Colour of the Grenadier Guards on the lid, before the Queen's coffin was lowered from sight to be buried with her late husband.

It had been a farewell in the making of some sort since the 1960s but there's no committee, no document that can map the grief of a child for their parent.

In the final public moments of his mother's farewell, his face tender in its emotion, the 73-year-old King didn't hide the grief he and other members of the royal family have shown in public since the monarch's death.

And grief is the last act of devotion to those we love.