Royal Family shares never before seen photo of the Queen ahead of funeral

The Royal Family has shared a never before seen photo of the Queen ahead of her state funeral today (19 September).

Late last night, the official Twitter page for the household shared the photo, which shows a portrait of the monarch smiling amid her Platinum Jubilee earlier this year.

Alongside the photo, the caption reads: "Ahead of Her Majesty The Queen’s State Funeral, a new photograph has been released.

"The photo was taken to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee - the first British Monarch to reach this milestone.

"Tomorrow, millions will come together to commemorate her remarkable life."

The photo has amassed more than 115k likes, alongside hundreds of comments from royalists across the globe.

As said by one: "My heart is heavy. I miss you Your Majesty. Rest in peace my beloved Queen Elizabeth II."

Another wrote: "I was in London for the #PlatinumJubilee weekend… what a wonderful time I had being down there for such a historic event in British history on that lovely, warm June weekend."

A third said: "I still cannot believe you are gone but you will never be forgotten, thank you for everything."

A fourth said: "Farewell to the longest reigning female monarch in world history let alone the longest reigning monarch in British history."

It's believed a whopping 4.1 billion people from around the world will be tuning in to watch the Queen's funeral, which is set to take place at Westminster Abbey at 11am.

However, proceedings have already started, including the end of her lying in state at 6.30am this morning.

At 8am, doors will open to allow the congregation to start taking their seats, with diplomats, world leaders and other VIPs set to be in attendance at the historic event.

King Charles III said in a statement yesterday: "As we all prepare to say our last farewell, I wanted simply to take this opportunity to say thank you to all those countless people who have been such a support and comfort to my family and myself in this time of grief."

The Queen passed away in her Balmoral estate on Thursday (8 September) aged 96, after a 70-year reign.

Following the funeral, she will be buried on the grounds of Windsor Castle alongside her late husband Prince Philip.

After passing away in April 2021, he was buried in the Royal Vault at St George's Chapel. However, he is expected to be moved so he can be laid to rest next to his wife of 73 years.