The funeral service of Diana, Princess of Wales will reflect the life and times of the Princess, combining both traditional and modern elements in a service which will last approximately 45 minutes.

Before the service, the Tenor Bell will toll every minute as the cortège makes its way from Kensington Palace to the Abbey. Organ music before the service will include pieces by Mendelssohn, Bach, Dvorak, Vaughan Williams and Elgar.

After the cortège has entered the Abbey through the Great West Door, the congregation will sing the National Anthem.

The cortège, preceded by the Collegiate Body, will then move to the Quire and Sacrarium, accompanied by choral music sung by the Abbey choir. The congregation will remain standing as the Dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend Dr Wesley Carr, says The Bidding. This will be followed by the singing of I vow to thee, my country, a hymn by Cecil Spring-Rice to music by Holst.

The congregation will then sit for the first Reading, by the Princess's eldest sister, Lady Sarah McCorquodale:

If I should die and leave you here awhile,
Be not like others, sore undone, who keep
Long vigils by the silent dust, and weep.
For my sake - turn again to life and smile,
Nerving thy heart and trembling hand to do
Something to comfort other hearts than thine.
Complete those dear unfinished tasks of mine
And I, perchance, may therein comfort you.

After the reading, The BBC Singers, together with the soprano Lynne Dawson, will sing an extract from Verdi's Requiem.

The congregation will remain seated for the second Reading, by the Princess's elder sister, Lady Jane Fellowes:

Time is too slow for those who wait,
too swift for those who fear,
too long for those who grieve,
too short for those who rejoice,
but for those who love, time is eternity.

All then stand to sing the hymn The King of love my shepherd is, and will then sit while the Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Tony Blair, MP, reads from 1 Corinthians 13 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.

After the Prime Minister has finished reading, Elton John will sing a special arrangement of his song Candle In The Wind:

Goodbye England's rose;
may you ever grow in our hearts.
You were the grace that placed itself
where lives were torn apart.
You called out to our country,
and you whispered to those in pain.
Now you belong to heaven,
and the stars spell out your name.

And it seems to me you lived your life
like a candle in the wind:
never fading with the sunset
when the rain set in.
And your footsteps will always fall here,
along England's greenest hills;
your candle's burned out long before
your legend ever will.

Loveliness we've lost;
these empty days without your smile.
This torch we'll always carry
for our nation's golden child.
And even though we try,
the truth brings us to tears;
all our words cannot express
the joy you brought us through the years.

Goodbye England's rose,
from a country lost without your soul,
who'll miss the wings of your compassion
more than you'll ever know.

The congregation remain seated for The Tribute by the Princess's brother, The Earl Spencer.

They then stand to sing the hymn Make me a channel of your peace by St Francis of Assisi.

The congregation then sits and are led in prayers by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend and Right Honourable Dr George Carey, beginning with the following prayer for Diana, Princess of Wales:

We give thanks to God for Diana, Princess of Wales; for her sense of joy and for the way she gave so much to so many people.

Lord, we thank you for Diana, whose life touched us all and for all those memories of her that we treasure. We give thanks for those qualities and strengths that endeared her to us; for her vulnerability; for her radiant and vibrant personality; for her ability to communicate warmth and compassion; for her ringing laugh; and above all for her readiness to identify with those less fortunate in our nation and the world.

Lord of the loving: hear our prayer.

There then follow prayers for the Princess's family; for the Royal family, for all who mourn and for the Princess's life and work:

The Princess will be especially missed by the many charities with which she identifed herself. We recall those precious images: the affectionate cuddle of children in hospital; that touch of the young man dying of AIDS; her compassion for those maimed through the evil of land mines - and many more.

Lord, we pray for all who are weak, poor and powerless in this country and throughout the world; the sick, among them Trevor Rees-Jones; the maimed and all whose lives are damaged. We thank you for the way that Diana became a beacon of hope and a source of strength for so many. We commend to you all those charities that she supported. Strengthen the resolve of those who work for them to continue the good work begun with her.

Lord of the suffering: hear our prayer.

The prayers will conclude with the offering of a prayer for the congregation, after which the choristers will sing An Air From County Derry before The Archbishop leads the congregation in reciting The Lord's Prayer. After The Lord's Prayer, The Archbishop will say The Blessing.

The congregation will then stand to sing the great Welsh hymn Guide me, O thou great Redeemer.

Following the hymn, the Dean of Westminster will say The Commendation:

Let us commend our sister Diana to the mercy of God, our Maker and Redeemer.

Diana, our companion in faith and sister in Christ, we entrust you to God. Go forth from this world in the love of the Father, who created you; In the mercy of Jesus Christ, who died for you; In the power of the Holy Spirit, who strengthens you. At one with all the faithful, living and departed, may you rest in peace and rise in glory, where grief and misery are banished and light and joy evermore abide. Amen.

The congregation will remain standing as the cortège leaves the Abbey, as the choir sings extracts from Shakespeare's Hamlet and the Orthodox Funeral Service, set to music by John Taverner:

Alleluia. May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.
Remember me O Lord, when you come into your kingdom.
Give rest O Lord to your handmaid, who has fallen asleep.
The choir of saints have found the well-spring of life, and door of paradise.
Life: a shadow and a dream.
Weeping at the grave creates the song:
Alleluia. Come, enjoy rewards and crowns I have prepared for you.

ONE MINUTE SILENCE

At the west end of the Abbey the cortège will halt for a one minute silence, observed by the nation.

The cortège will then leave the Abbey for the journey to Althorp, as the half-muffled bells of the Abbey ring.