Back in 2010, it was announced that Naomi Watts would star as Marilyn Monroe in Blonde, an adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates's sprawling, fictionalised biography of the same name, to be written and directed by Australian Andrew Dominik (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford; This Much I Know to Be True).
Folding in the icon's family history of mental illness and a childhood marred by neglect and abuse, Oates constructed her protagonist as a woman divided: the sunny, sexed-up persona Marilyn Monroe, screen goddess, versus Norma Jeane Mortensen (aka Norma Jeane Baker), the shy, stuttering girl next door, fatherless and all but abandoned by a mother who would spend most of her daughter's life in a psychiatric institution.
The growing chasm between these two selves – public-facing and private – could only resolve in tragedy; whether by an intentional or accidental act of self-destruction, Monroe was dead at 36. Her body was found in bed at her recently purchased Brentwood, Los Angeles home in the small hours of August 5, 1962, phone in hand and a riot of pill bottles crowding the night-stand.
Monroe was found lying face down on her bed beside an empty bottle of prescription drugs she had been taking for anxiety, the LA Times reported in 1962.(Supplied: Netflix)
Watts had already, famously, played the role of dissociative blonde chewed up by the Hollywood machine in Mulholland Drive – the second of David Lynch's three möbius strip-shaped Hollywood chronicles (after Lost Highway, and before Inland Empire), released in 2001, not long after Oates's book.
Watts's Mulholland Drive character puts a hit out on the more successful actress who spurned her love; in Blonde, it's Norma Jeane who falls victim to Marilyn, her own prodigious creation.
Two decades on from Lynch's film and Blonde's publication, Dominik's much-anticipated movie has finally materialised, courtesy of Netflix – though with the younger and more sultry Cuban starlet Ana de Armas (No Time to Die; Knives Out) having slipped into the juicy lead role.
Prior to its Venice Film Festival debut, Blonde made headlines for getting slapped with an NC-17 rating by the United States ratings board – the first film slated for streaming to be deemed unsuitable for viewers 17 or under.
Oates was first inspired to write Blonde by a photograph of Norma Jeane winning a beauty contest when she was 15.(Supplied: Netflix)
While Marilyn, all voluptuousness in figure-hugging silks and satins, was something of an icon of indecency in her day, an NC-17 rating augurs a level of explicit imagery that would never have survived the censors in the buttoned-up 50s – titillating some, while making others wonder: what moments of intimacy, what awful indignities, would Dominik stage for public consumption in the deceased's name?
So, so many.
Blonde's near 3-hour run time – from its star's childhood to her deathbed, punctuated by a barrage of flashbacks and -forwards – accommodates plenty of nudity, sex, and sexual violence.
On top of that, there's the vaginal POV shot of an abortion, the toilet-POV shot of Marilyn vomiting, and the groin-POV shot of Marilyn sucking off JFK.
I would ask that you forgive my crass language, but you needn't forgive Dominik's utterly and unintentionally crass film; there is no hint here of the humour that makes John Waters's transgressions, for instance, so wickedly delightful.
Dominik told Deadline: “I had always wanted to do a story about childhood trauma and how that shapes an adult’s perception of the world.”(Supplied: Netflix)
Blonde hews closer to the provocations of the incorrigible Gaspar Noé, but Lynch is the most obvious touchstone. There's the increasingly hallucinogenic storytelling style, evoking its leading lady's descent into madness and addiction, the strangely stilted dialogue, and a score (by Dominik regulars Nick Cave and Warren Ellis) that cribs freely from Angelo Badalamenti (distractingly so in one climactic sequence, set to a dead ringer for the Twin Peaks theme song).
Dominik doesn't possess Lynch's masterful control of tone, however. The film is mired in heavy-handed impressionism; its myriad aspect ratio changes and pivots between colour and black-and-white feel like fussy flourishes, and fail to elevate the cavalcade of traumas depicted above the kind of exploitation the film nominally exists to condemn.
For what quite possibly could add up to hours, the camera lingers insistently on de Armas's face as she weathers backhanded compliments, insults and assaults from both slimy industry folk and lovers.
The film premiered at Venice International Film Festival earlier this month and received a 14-minute standing ovation.(Supplied: Netflix)
Monroe's real-life hubbies Joe DiMaggio (billed as the "ex-athlete") and Arthur Miller ("the playwright") are played by Bobby Cannavale and Adrien Brody, while Cass Chaplin Jr and Eddy Robinson Jr (feckless sons of Hollywood royalty, both), whom Oates envisioned as forming a throuple with the ingenue, are played by Xavier Samuel and Evan Williams.
None of these men occupy the spotlight for long, however.
In the bedroom as on the sound stage, Norma Jeane appears constantly on the verge of tears, her big, beautiful eyes welling with emotion and widened with some stressful mixture of fear and wonder. Words trip out of her haltingly, as if she's so subsumed by abuse that she barely has the faculty of language. Of her limited vocabulary, the word in heaviest rotation is "daddy". (Take a shot for every time she says it and you too will die an early death.)
That Norma Jeane spends a sizeable chunk of her time at home in nothing but white bloomers only strengthens the impression that Blonde takes an infantilising view of its subject. Never mind that Monroe was famed for her intoxicating screen magnetism and sneaky "dumb blonde" wit, this woman can only experience "Marilyn" and her talents as the helpless host of a hostile alien parasite.
At the risk of perpetuating a fallacy sustained by commentators of the day and conflating Monroe with the characters she portrayed, allow me to quote Lorelei Lee, her gold-digging seductress from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. To a man who expresses surprise at her mental acuity, she counters sweetly: "I can be smart when it's important, but most men don't like it." Dominik, it seems, is most men.
Without a doubt, the real Monroe was "a woman in trouble" – to borrow Lynch's description of the movie star spiralling out of control played by Laura Dern in Inland Empire; one that's equally applicable to Watts in Mulholland Drive, not to mention Twin Peaks' beauty queen Laura Palmer.
But Lynch's 'dead blondes' – for, like Norma Jeane and many others, death inevitably awaits them too – have spunk and strength and allure, even if the malevolent forces that plague them prove more powerful in the end.
"I felt from the beginning how much respect [Dominik] had for Marilyn … He was so passionate and sure," de Armas told Variety.(Supplied: Netflix)
Dominik, by contrast, shrinks Monroe (she who was praised as an American monument on the scale of Niagara Falls!) right down to convenient laptop-size and strips the version crafted by Oates of almost all agency, scrapping her quips and philosophical inner monologue.
What's left is a victim who'll readily give herself over to any guy who responds to "daddy".
So relentlessly punishing is this telling of the Monroe myth, it's as if Dominik thinks he's the first to notice that beneath the glitz and glamour, there's something rotten in the state of show business. Meanwhile, Hollywood history is riddled with variations on this theme, from the Lynch films right back to the story of aspiring actress Peg Entwistle, whose fatal leap from the 'H' of the old Hollywoodland sign in 1932 quickly became a cautionary classic: the movie colony destroys stars and wannabes alike.
Perhaps the definitive Tinseltown take-down is Sunset Boulevard, Billy Wilder's scathing 1950 noir. "You used to be big," the house guest says on recognising his host, one-time silent film star Norma Desmond. "I am big," sneers the older woman. "It's the pictures that got small." Poor Norma's delusional, sure, but on this matter she might also be right.
WWE has this week announced a new content rights deal that sees Foxtel Group become the promotion's exclusive home in Australia.
In a joint release issued on Tuesday, WWE and Foxtail confirmed a multi-year deal that will bring the creation of a 24/7 WWE channel, with live and on-demand content to be featured on Foxtel and the group's streaming platforms, Kayo Sports and BINGE.
Foxtail Group currently has around 4.5 million subscribers in Australia.
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WWE Network content will be featured on BINGE. This includes all premium live events, with monthly subscriptions starting at $10. The aforementioned 24/7 channel is due to launch in December 2022.
See the press release below:-
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Foxtel Group to Become Exclusive Destination for WWE® in Australia
09/27/2022
Partnership Marks New Chapter With the Foxtel Group Becoming the Exclusive Destination for WWE® Content in Australia
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BINGE to Become New Streaming Home of WWE Network in Australia
Foxtel to Launch a Dedicated 24/7 WWE Channel Including All Premium Live Events With Major Events Also Showcased on FOX8
STAMFORD, Conn.STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The Foxtel Group and WWE® (NYSE: WWE) today announced a major new multi-year partnership that will see Foxtel Group’s portfolio of entertainment brands become the home of WWE in Australia.
The new deal will deliver the biggest line-up of WWE’s live and on demand content to Foxtel Group’s 4.5 million subscribers, on Foxtel as well as the rapidly growing streaming services, Kayo Sports and BINGE.
Foxtel Group-WWE Partnership Key Points:
- BINGE will become the new streaming home of WWE Network in Australia from January 2023 with all WWE Premium Live Events, including Royal Rumble® and WrestleMania® 39, and entertainment content available with a BINGE subscription, starting from just $10 per month.
- WWE Network’s original programming and vast collection of archived content will be available on BINGE.
- WWE will continue to be available to all Foxtel subscribers on both the FOX8 channel and on a new, dedicated 24/7 WWE channel to launch from December 2022. The Foxtel Group will broadcast on both these channels all of WWE’s Premium Live Events, previously only available through pay-per-view, at no additional charge to subscribers, plus Weekly Live Episodes of Raw®, SmackDown® and NXT®.
- Selected content will continue to be available via Kayo Sports.
Foxtel Group Chief Content and Commercial Officer, Amanda Laing, said: “We are thrilled to remain the long-term partner of WWE, and be part of what will be an exciting new chapter for WWE in Australia.
“The reach of the Foxtel Group is a game-changer for our partners such as WWE. It’s why sport and entertainment partners in Australia and around the globe, including major Hollywood studios and world-leading sports and now WWE, continue to choose the Foxtel Group to showcase their content and build their audience reach in Australia. We are particularly pleased to offer all our Foxtel subscribers access to WWE’s Premium Live Events, that were previously only available on a pay-per-view basis for up to $30 per event, for no extra cost.”
BINGE Executive Director, Alison Hurbert-Burns said: “For generations WWE has delighted fans across the globe and we’re thrilled this expanded partnership makes BINGE the new streaming home of WWE in Australia.”
“We can’t wait to bring WWE’s unpredictable drama, larger-than-life personalities from past and present including Roman Reigns®, Rey Mysterio®, Ronda Rousey, John Cena® and The Undertaker®, along with all the world-class WWE action to passionate Australian fans.
“It’s a great fit to welcome WWE and its year-round entertainment, including all WWE Network content and Premium Live Events, to the home of the world’s best shows on BINGE.”
WWE Chairwoman and co-CEO, Stephanie McMahon, said: “With its far-reaching and engaged audience, the Foxtel Group has been a trusted and long-standing partner of WWE for more than 20 years. We look forward to expanding our partnership with the Foxtel Group, and welcoming BINGE as the new streaming home of WWE Network in the region.
“Together we will continue to provide our unique blend of action-packed, family-friendly entertainment to fans and grow the WWE audience throughout Australia.”
Ahead of their publication next week, The Guardian has published excerpts from the personal diaries of the late British acting legend Alan Rickman which will be released in the form of a book titled “Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman” on October 4th.
One of the most talked about bits is the actor’s relationship with one of his most famous latter roles – that of Severus Snape in the “Harry Potter” franchise. The actor portrayed the character across eight films and ten years from 2001 to 2011 and was initially reluctant to accept the role for fear of being type-cast.
He wasn’t a fan of the first films either, saying the first movie “acquires a scale and depth that matches the hideous score by John Williams”. He even tried to exit the series prior to “Prisoner of Azkaban” and was clearly unhappy.
At one point, he says: “I realize as soon as [Snape’s] ring and costume go on – something happens. It becomes alien to be chatty, smiley, open. The character narrows me down, tightens me up.”
Rickman’s advanced knowledge of Snape’s fate from Rowling however seemingly impacted his portrayal of the Head of Slytherin House. In a diary entry penned in 2007, he revealed why he decided to stick with the role even after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer two years prior: “One small piece of information from Jo Rowling seven years ago – Snape loved Lily [Potter, Harry’s mother] – gave me a cliff edge to hang on to.”
Rickman ultimately lost his battle with said cancer in 2016, passing away at 69 years old.
The Duchess of Sussex did her "desperately unhappy" husband the "greatest kindness" by showing him a way out of the royal family, a new book has claimed.
While Meghan was largely blamed as the reason she and Prince Harry chose to step down from their roles as senior working royals, a source says the duchess ultimately saved the duke by "taking him out" of the role.
The claim was made in the new book Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown, by The Times royal correspondent Valentine Low.
Prince Harry and Meghan in London on January 7, 2020, the day before announced their intention to quit their roles as senior royals. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
It was made by "a surprising source – someone who knows Harry well but remains upset about what Harry and Meghan did".
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced they were stepping back in January 2020, leaving their royal roles for a life of financial freedom in North America.
The couple did a farewell tour of sorts, completing their final engagement with the royal family at the Commonwealth Day service in March that year.
Before then, Prince Harry had to defend his wife after much of the criticism over their decision was levelled at the duchess, with the moved dubbed "Megxit".
Prince Harry and Meghan at the 2020 Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey. (Getty)
But now, Low's book says Meghan did Harry the ultimate favour.
"There is a part of me that thinks Meghan did Harry the greatest kindness anyone could do to him, which was to take him out of the royal family, because he was just desperately unhappy in the last couple of years in his working life," the source says, in Courtiers.
"We knew he was unhappy, but we didn't really know what the solution would be. She came along and found the solution."
Low adds that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex felt "cornered" by the "ridiculous rules" over what they could and couldn't do within the royal family because of the palace's "inflexibility".
There was a series of rushed meetings between Harry and his family, headed by the Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William which ultimately laid out the rules for the Sussexes exit.
The source says Prince Harry had been "desperately unhappy" in the royal family for years. (WireImage)
They had originally wanted a half-in, half-out approach – to continue with some royal duties while being able to earn an income – but that model was rejected by the Queen.
Low's source says the palace's handling of the situation was "incompetent beyond belief," adding, "it just required the decision-makers to sit around a table and say, 'OK, what are we going to do about this? What do you need to feel better? And what can we give?'"
Five scenarios were suggested during the early days of the exit negotiations "which ranged from Harry and Meghan spending most of their time being working members of the royal family, but having a month a year to do their own thing, to them spending most of their time privately, but doing a select number of royal activities".
Low says that at one point Charles' private secretary Clive Alderton "made the point that if they could get this right, they would be solving a problem for future generations of the royal family who were not in the direct line of succession".
However, according to a source in the book, "In Meghan and the household, you had two worlds that had no experience of each other, had no way to relate to each other, had no way to comprehend each other.
"And Meghan was never going to fit in that model and that model was never going to tolerate the Meghan who Meghan wanted to be."
Following sister Kim Kardashian's anticipated Milan spring/summer show with Dolce & Gabbana on Saturday, Khloé, 38, was seen during and after the show with Italian actor Michele Morrone, 31.
Morrone is best known for playing the lead in Netflix's raunchy franchise 365 Days.
The pair reportedly sat next to each other during the show, and then cosied up backstage, with Morrone, posting an eyebrow-raising photo of him with his arm around Khloé on his Instagram Story.
Khloé and Morrone got cosy backstage after sister Kim Kardashian's anticipated Dolce & Gabbana show at Milan fashion week. (Instagram / @iammichelemorrone)
Thompson and Khloé have had a messy split after he fathered a child to another woman - while Khloé and he were also expecting a child. (Instagram)
A paternity test proved he was the father, yet he never told Khloé about the pregnancy.
Khloé said they completed the embryo transfer for their son a few days before Thanksgiving, and she "found out about Tristan's situation the first week of December".
Dame Hilary Mantel, the best-selling British author of the award-winning Wolf Hall Tudor trilogy, died peacefully on Thursday at the age of 70, her publisher has said.
Key points:
British author Dame Hilary Mantel died "peacefully, surrounded by family and friends"
The 70-year-old was most famous for her award-winning and best-selling Wolf Hall trilogy
Two of the books in the series won the Booker Prize
Wolf Hall, published in 2009, and its sequel Bring Up the Bodies, published three years later, together sold more than 5 million copies worldwide and both won the Booker Prize, an unprecedented win for two books in the same trilogy.
The final in the series, The Mirror & the Light, was published in March 2020.
"It is with great sadness that HarperCollins announces that bestselling author Dame Hilary Mantel DBE died peacefully, surrounded by close family and friends, yesterday," a statement on the website of her publisher 4th Estate Books, which is owned by HarperCollins, said.
"Hilary Mantel will always be remembered as a truly original writer. She leaves behind a remarkable body of work which inspire readers around the world."
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'One of the greatest novelists of our time'
The Wolf Hall trilogy, which has been serialised by the BBC, charted the fortunes of Thomas Cromwell, the blacksmith's son who rose to be King Henry VIII's most powerful adviser only to fall from grace and meet a gruesome end.
"Her biting wit, stylistic daring, creative ambition and phenomenal historical insight mark her out as one of the greatest novelists of our time," her agent Bill Hamilton said.
Mr Hamilton said Mantel, who spoke of suffering long-term pain and fatigue caused by endometriosis, had dealt "courageously" with chronic health problems.
Mantel studied Law at the London School of Economics and Sheffield University and first worked as a social worker.
She turned to writing fiction while living in Botswana for five years with her geologist husband Gerald McEwen.
The pair divorced, a split Mantel attributed to her illness and the infertility caused by treatment she received for it, but later remarried.
Mantel also lived in Saudia Arabia for four years, and returned to Britain in the mid-1980s.
Her first novel, Every Day is Mother's Day, was published in 1985. In total she authored 17 books, including non-fiction work.
"Such terribly sad news. It is impossible to overstate the significance of the literary legacy Hilary Mantel leaves behind," Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Twitter.
"Her brilliant Wolf Hall trilogy was the crowning achievement in an outstanding body of work. Rest in peace."
London: Hilary Mantel, the dual Booker Prize-winning author of the acclaimed “Wolf Hall” saga, has died. She was 70.
Her death, from a stroke, was confirmed by Bill Hamilton, her longtime literary agent.
Publisher HarperCollins said Friday that Mantel died “suddenly yet peacefully” surrounded by close family and friends.
Hilary Mantel died peacefully according to her publishers.Credit:Getty Images
Mantel is credited with reenergising historical fiction with “Wolf Hall” and two sequels about the 16th-century English powerbroker Thomas Cromwell.
The publisher said Mantel was “one of the greatest English novelists of this century.”
“Her beloved works are considered modern classics. She will be greatly missed,” it said in a statement.
Mantel won the Booker Prize twice, for “Wolf Hall” in 2009 and its sequel “Bring Up the Bodies” in 2012. Both were adapted for the stage and television.
The final instalment, “The Mirror and the Light,” was published in 2020.
Harry Potter author JK Rowling tweeted that “we’ve lost a genius” following Mantel’s passing.
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said it was “terribly sad news”.
“It is impossible to overstate the significance of the literary legacy Hilary Mantel leaves behind. Her brilliant Wolf Hall trilogy was the crowning achievement in an outstanding body of work. Rest in peace,” Sturgeon said.
Mantel turned Cromwell, a shadowy political fixer, into a compelling, complex literary hero. Cromwell was an architect of the Reformation who helped the king realise his desire to divorce Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn. The Vatican’s refusal to annul Henry’s first marriage led the monarch to reject the authority of the pope and install himself as head of the Church of England.
It’s a period of history that has inspired many books, films and television series, from “A Man for All Seasons” to “The Tudors.” But Mantel managed to make the well-known story new and exciting.
Double Booker Prize winner Hilary Mantel in 2017.Credit:Getty
Nicholas Pearson, Mantel’s longtime editor, said her death was “devastating.”
“Only last month I sat with her on a sunny afternoon in Devon, while she talked excitedly about the new novel she had embarked on,” he said. “That we won’t have the pleasure of any more of her words is unbearable. What we do have is a body of work that will be read for generations.”
Her agent at literary agency AM Heath, Bill Hamilton, said Mantel, who spoke of suffering long-term pain and fatigue caused by endometriosis, had dealt “courageously” with chronic health problems.
Mantel also wrote a memoir, “Giving up the Ghost,” that chronicled years of ill-health, including undiagnosed endometriosis that left her infertile.
“Her biting wit, stylistic daring, creative ambition and phenomenal historical insight mark her out as one of the greatest novelists of our time,” Hamilton said.
Before “Wolf Hall,” Mantel was the critically acclaimed but modestly selling author of novels on subjects ranging from the French Revolution (“A Place of Greater Safety”) to the life of a psychic medium (“Beyond Black”).
Mantel studied law and first worked as a social worker. She turned to writing fiction while living in Botswana for five years with her geologist husband Gerald McEwen.
The pair divorced, a split Mantel attributed to her illness and the infertility caused by treatment she received for it, but later remarried.
Mantel also lived in Saudi Arabia for four years, returning to Britain in the mid-1980s. Her first novel, “Every Day is Mother’s Day”, was published in 1985. In total, she wrote 17 books, including non-fiction work.
British journalist and feminist author Caitlin Moran also paid tribute on Twitter, describing Mantel’s mind as “one of the most powerful and magic machines on Earth”.
“We were lucky she wrote as much as she did, but holy hell, it’s devastating that we’ve collectively lost something so astonishing,” she said.
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Queen Elizabeth II's coffin has been lowered into the royal vault at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, bringing to a close the public funeral for a monarch whose 70-year reign defined an age.
King Charles III placed the colour of the grenadier guards on the Queen's coffin, and looked teary-eyed as the hours-long service came to a close.
The Lord Chamberlain broke his wand of office and placed it on the coffin before it was lowered into the vault.
King Charles III looks to his mother's coffin as it is carried out of Westminster Abbey. (AP)The pallbearers made a slow and steady climb up the staircase with the coffin, with the crown, orb and sceptre resting on the lid. (AP)
Moments earlier, the Imperial State Crown, the Orb and the Sceptre were removed from their place on the Queen's coffin by the Crown Jeweller and handed to the Dean of Windsor.
It was a symbolic moment as the Queen was separated from Crown Jewels, bringing an end to her 70 years of service that she pledged as a young princess.
The items will eventually be returned to the Tower of London.
The Queen was then taken to King George VI Memorial Chapel for a private burial, laid to rest alongside her late husband Prince Philip.
The end of the committal service marks the final public act of mourning for the Queen. (AP)King Charles II, left, 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 Britain's Queen Elizabeth II at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, in Windsor, England, Monday, Sept. 19, 2022. (Joe Giddens/Pool Photo via AP) (AP)
The events of the day began at sunrise when the doors of Parliament's 900-year-old Westminster Hall were closed to mourners after hundreds of thousands had filed in front of the Queen's coffin.
Monday was declared a public holiday in honour of Elizabeth, who died on September 8, and hundreds of thousands of people descended on central London to partake in the historic moment.
They jammed the sidewalks to watch the coffin wind its way through the streets of the capital after the service.
As the procession passed Buckingham Palace, the Queen's official residence in the city, staff stood outside, some bowing and curtseying.
The Ceremonial Procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II travels down the Long Walk as it arrives at Windsor Castle for the Committal Service at St George's Chapel, in Windsor. (AP)
Royals, world leaders attend Queen's farewell
State funeral at Westminster Abbey
The Queen's coffin was taken from Westminster Hall across the road to Westminster Abbey, on a royal gun carriage drawn by 142 Royal Navy sailors.
The same carriage was used to carry the coffins of late kings Edward VII, George V and George VI, and of Winston Churchill.
The Queen's coffin sat the centre of the Abbey after being borne by pallbearers and accompanied by her son King Charles III and other members of the royal family.
They included Prince William, his wife Catherine, Princess of Wales, and their two elder children George, 9 and Charlotte, 7.
Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, also walked behind the coffin.
King Charles III laying the colours on the coffin of his mother at the end of the committal service at St George's Chapel. (AP)Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, stand behind King Charles, Camilla, Queen Consort, Princess Anne, and Princess Beatrice at Wellington Arch in central London. (AP)
William and Catherine's youngest son, Louis, was not in attendance.
Dean of Westminster David Hoyle opened the service in the ancient abbey, where Elizabeth was married and crowned.
"We gather from across the nation, from the Commonwealth, and from the nations of the world, to mourn our loss, to remember her long life of selfless service, and in sure confidence to commit her to the mercy of God our maker and redeemer," he said.
The new UK Prime Minister Liz Truss gave the second reading, a passage from John 14: 1–9.
Catherine, Princess of Wales, Princess Charlotte, Prince George, Camilla, Queen Consort, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Princess Beatrice follow the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II as it leaves Westminster Abbey. (AP)Prince Harry, Princess Charlotte, Catherine the Princess of Wales, Prince George and Prince William sit at St George's Chapel in Windsor. (Victoria Jones /Pool Photo via AP)
The opening hymn at the funeral was The day thou gavest, Lord, is ended. The hymn was written in 1870 by Reverend John Ellerton.
It was also sung at the Diamond Jubilee celebrations for Queen Victoria in 1897, and remains a popular church hymn in Britain.
The second hymn, The Lord's My Shepherd was sung at her wedding in 1947.
The third hymn Love divine, all loves excelling, is written by Charles Wesley, perhaps the most significant hymnwriter in English history.
The song was also performed at the wedding of William and Catherine in 2011.
Most of the senior royals were wearing military uniforms at the funeral, including King Charles, Prince Edward, Princess Anne and Prince William.
The day the world stood still: The funeral of Queen Elizabeth II
Prince Andrew and Prince Harry wore civilian suits.
The coffin was carried by 10 pallbearers who were all former equerries, or attendants of the royal household.
US President Joe Biden and his wife Jill and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese were among the notable foreign attendees, along with former British prime ministers Boris Johnson, David Cameron, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Theresa May.
Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice arrived with their mother Duchess Sarah. Zara Tindall and husband Mike Tindall also attended.
Princess Charlotte of Wales, Prince George of Wales, Catherine, Princess of Wales and Camilla, Queen consort are seen on The Mall ahead of the State Funeral for Queen Elizabeth II. (Getty)The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II is placed on a gun carriage during her funeral service. (AP)
The queue to see the Queen lying in state at Westminster Hall, where it has been since September 14, was closed to mourners many hours before the funeral.
Many people had spent cold nights outdoors to pay their respects around the Queen's flag-draped coffin in a moving outpouring of national grief and respect.
The closing of the hall marked the end of more than four days of the coffin lying in state and the start of the UK's first state funeral since the one held in 1965 for Churchill, the first of 15 prime ministers during Elizabeth's reign.
Two days before her September 8 death at her Balmoral summer retreat, the Queen appointed her last prime minister, Truss.
Crowds line the streets of London ahead of the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. (Supplied)There's expected to be tens of thousands gathering outside to pay their final respects to the fallen monarch. (Getty)
The last member of the public to view Queen Elizabeth II's coffin as it lay in state at the Houses of Parliament was Chrissy Heerey, a serving member of the Royal Air Force from Melton Mowbray.
"It felt like a real privilege to do that," Heerey said.
She said Monday she went through Westminster Hall twice - the first time in the early hours of the morning and then again just before its doors closed to mourners at 6.30am.
How the last 10 days of mourning have unfolded
She said the experience was, "one of the highlights of my life and I feel very privileged to be here".
Monday was declared a public holiday in the UK in honour of Elizabeth, who died at 96.
Tens of thousands of mourners are lining the streets of London and beyond to catch a glimpse of history. (AP)Police officers take positions ahead of the Queen Elizabeth II's funeral. (AP)Guests arrive inside Westminster Abbey. (AP)
Final procession through London
Following the state funeral, members of the royal family marched behind the Queen's coffin for a procession to Wellington Arch, where the coffin was transferred to a hearse.
The hears took the monarch's coffin the 32 kilometres to Windsor Castle.
Dense crowds packed the route through the heart of ceremonial London – and thousands more lined the more workaday suburban roads to see the hearse.
By the time the hearse arrived in Windsor, floral tributes thrown from the sides of roads covered its windscreen.
Queen Elizabeth II's funeral cortege borne on the State Gun Carriage of the Royal Navy travels along The Mall in London. (AP)
Thousands of people lined both sides of the Long Walk in front of Windsor Castle as a military procession escorted the coffin to St Georges Chapel for a second, smaller service.
Silence fell among the sea of mourners as the sound of drummers grew louder, and many at the back of the crowd raised their phones high in the air to try to get a glimpse of the scene.
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