LIVE: Funeral procession for Senator John McCain

The service begins

Three Presidents are in attendance, Bill Clinton, George W Bush, and Barack Obama.

President Trump, the incumbent, is a significant absence on the request of the family, although his daughter Ivanka and Jared Kushner are among the mourners.

Washington National Cathedral

Senator McCain’s coffin is now being carried up the steps of the Washington National Cathedral where it has been met by the Right Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde, the Bishop of Washington.

Mr McCain’s family members and guests will follow it inside for the memorial service, which is scheduled to begin at 10am local time, 3pm UK time.

Flag at half mast

Washington National Cathedral A flag flies at half mast in front of the Washington National Cathedral ahead of Senator McCain’s memorial service.

Reflection

A photograph captures the image of Navy Lt. Jack McCain, the son of Senator John McCain, reflected in the wall of the Vietnam Memorial.

Cindy McCain is in the foreground, with defence secretary Jim Mattis (R) and White House chief of staff John Kelly (L).

Honour Guard

Senator McCain’s coffin was carried by a Military Honour Guard from the US Capitol to the motorcade which would bring him to the Washington National Cathedral for his memorial service.

Laying a Wreath

Cindy McCain, the Senator’s widow, laid a wreath at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Attendees

The US Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell (L) and the speaker of the US House of Representatives, Paul Ryan (R), have arrived at the service.

Joe Biden arrives at the Washington Cathedral

Former Democrat vice president Joe Biden has arrived at the Washington Cathedral for Senator McCain’s memorial service.

Addressing around 3,500 mourners in an Arizona church earlier this week, Mr Biden said the Republican senator had a “wicked sense of humour” and “loved a good battle”.

Mr Biden recalled “the joy that crossed his face when he knew he was about to take the stage of the Senate floor and start a fight” and said he thought of Mr McCain as a brother “with a lot of family fights”.

Wreath

Mrs McCain, accompanied by the White House chief of staff John Kelly (L) and defence secretary Jim Mattis (2nd L) lays a wreath at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Military Honour Guard

A military honour guard carried Mr McCain’s casket from the US Capitol to the motorcade where it will be brought to the Washington National Cathedral.

Cindy McCain laid a wreath at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington

During the funeral procession for Senator McCain in Washington, his wife laid a wreath in respect at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

As a US navy pilot, John McCain was shot down over Hanoi during the Vietnam War in 1967.

Famously, after suffering months in captivity, he refused to leave until all those who were captured were sent home and ended up spending more than five years as a prisoner of war.

President Trump stunned America when, after Senator McCain expressed disagreement with his policies, said: “I like people who weren’t captured.”

John McCain’s family has asked President Trump not to attend his memorial service on Saturday.

In the Sky News obituary for Senator McCain, Cordelia Lynch wrote:

John McCain had a sparkle in his eye, determination in his fists and principles in his heart.

His death is not just the passing of a man, but a set of principles that appear to be fading from American political life.

He was a DC insider and yet stayed close enough to the outside to challenge the incestuous circles that dominate Congress.

As a contrarian, a patriot and a firebrand, he was willing to take an unpopular stance because he believed in it.

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