Queen to be laid to rest alongside husband, parents and sister at St George's Chapel

Queen Elizabeth will not be interred at the Royal Vault, like many monarchs, but in King George VI Memorial Chapel

Floral tributes laid by members of the public outside Windsor Castle. AP

Queen Elizabeth II will be laid to rest on Monday alongside her husband, Prince Philip, in the King George VI Memorial Chapel at Windsor Castle's St George's Chapel.

Due to Covid restrictions, only 30 guests were in attendance at the funeral of her husband, who had stood beside her for all bar the last 16 months of her reign. The sight of the queen sitting alone at his funeral added to the poignancy of the moment.

Philip, who died in April 2021, left instructions for his remains to be transferred from the Royal Vault to the memorial chapel on his wife's death.

But the Duke of Edinburgh is not the only royal she will be buried alongside. She will also join her mother, father, sister and husband.

Before his premature death, George VI enjoyed a happy family life with his wife and two daughters, referring to the tight-knit foursome as "us four".

The death of the queen means that all four will finally be laid to rest together.

The Queen Mother, also called Elizabeth, was buried in the chapel on April 9, 2002, after her death aged 101.

Princess Margaret's ashes were moved to the chapel from the Royal Vault, where they had been placed initially after her death in February 2002.

A host of other royals are interred in the Royal Vault beneath the chapel.

Construction of the memorial chapel, designed by George Pace, was completed in 1969.

It was commissioned by the queen as a permanent resting place for her father.

The king died aged 56 in February 1952 but his death had been unexpected and as a result no specific resting place had been allocated.

At the time, the king's remains were interred in the Royal Vault.

The Royal Vault is the final resting place of a long list of mostly 18th and 19th-century royals, including George III who died in 1820.

With no more space to accommodate a second vault at St George's, it was decided that another chantry chapel would be built — the first addition to St George's since it was consecrated in the 15th century.

The queen rejected the idea of the traditional marble chest tomb with life-size effigies favoured by earlier royals for her father.

Instead, the king's grave was marked with a simple stone of black Belgian marble inlaid into the floor with the inscription "George VI".

The dedication took place on March 31, 1969, in a ceremony attended by George's widow Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, the queen, Prince Philip, Elizabeth's sister Princess Margaret and all four of the monarch's children.