Leaders and monarchs from across the globe gathered in London on Monday to bid farewell to Britain’s Queen Elizabeth at a state funeral of inimitable pageantry, marking the passing of a beloved figure who unified the nation through her 70-year reign.

President of the United state of America Joe Biden paid tribute to the 96-year-old, Britain’s longest-serving monarch who earned almost universal respect for her service to her country as its role in the world diminished and changed.

“You were fortunate to have had her for 70 years,” Biden said. “We all were.”

Thousands of people lined the streets to witness the passage of the queen’s casket from the historic Westminster Hall to nearby Westminster Abbey, and eventually on to Windsor Castle where she will be laid to rest alongside her late husband.

Among the 2,000 in the congregation will be some 500 world leaders, from Biden and Emperor Naruhito of Japan to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Mark Brown, prime minister of Cook Islands.

People were climbing lampposts and standing on barriers and ladders to catch a glimpse of the royal procession.

The queen’s great-grandchildren, Prince George, 9, and Princess Charlotte, 7, the two eldest children of now heir-to-the-throne Prince William, will also be attending.

“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,” Charles, Elizabeth’s son and the new king, said in a statement.