Former President John Mahama and Jerry John Rawlings are expected to join dignitaries at the Manhyia Palace to mark the funeral rites.

Read more:Funeral of Asantehemaa underway [Photos]

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Monday joined a huge crowd of mourners, who thronged the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi to bid farewell to the late Asantehemaa, Nana Afua Kobi Serwaah Ampem II.

He was accompanied by his Ministers-designate and some Members of Parliament (MPs).

Also present to commiserate with the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, and the Asanteman, were other high profile personalities including former President John Agyekum Kufuor, celebrated Ghanaian Diplomat, Mr. Kofi Annan, Chief Justice Georgina Theodora Wood and Togbe Afede XIV, President of the National House of Chiefs.

Read more: Nana Afia Kobi to be buried with gold ornaments

Installed in 1977, she was the 13th Asante Queen, and died at the ripe age of 111.

Her body would lie in state for four days for people from across the country and beyond to pay their last respects.

Read also: Asanteman mourns Asantehemaa

The funeral is being held amid tight security – strong presence of police and military officers, as the large crowd of people clad in black and red, signifying their somber mood, stood in long snaking queues to file past the body.