No, Big Ben (the Great Bell inside the Elizabeth Tower) did not chime at the moment of Queen Elizabeth II's death on September 8, 2022, but it played a central role in the mourning period that followed. On the day of her state funeral, September 19, the bell was tolled 96 times, once for every year of her life, at one-minute intervals as the funeral procession moved from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey. During the official period of lying-in-state, the bell remained silent to maintain a somber atmosphere, with the exception of the meticulously timed tolls during the procession. It is a long-standing British tradition that the bells of major cathedrals and the Great Bell of Westminster are muffled or tolled in a specific "half-muffled" style during the passing of a monarch. While Big Ben had been largely silent for years due to a massive restoration project, it was brought back into service specifically to mark the historic transition from the reign of Queen Elizabeth II to King Charles III.