Tens of thousands pay sombre respects to Queen Elizabeth
Queen Elizabeth’s coffin was taken from her summer home in the Scotish Highlands to Edinburgh on Sunday, past tens of thousands of mourners lining the route to pay tribute, many in sombre silence, some applauding and others in tears.
Shortly ater 10:00 am (0900 GMT), a hearse carrying Elizabeth’s oak coffin emerged from the gates of Balmoral Castle, where she died on Thursday aged 96, at the start of a six-hour slow drive to the Scotish capital.
The coffin was draped in the Royal Standard of Scotland with a wreath on top made of flowers taken from the Balmoral estate including sweet peas, one of Elizabeth’s favourites.
In an emotional tribute to his mother on Friday, the new monarch King Charles said she had begun a “last great journey” to join her husband of 73 years Prince Philip, who died last year.
The cortege from Balmora is the first of a series of events leading up to the state funeral at Westminster Abbey in London on Sept.19.
Her death has drawn tears, sadness and
Coffin was draped in Royal Standard of Scotland with a wreath on top made of flowers taken from the Balmoral estate including sweet peas, one of Elizabeth’s favourites
warm tributes, not just from the queen’s own close family and many in Britain, but also from around the globe - reflecting her presence on the world stage for seven decades.
As the hearse reached the small village of Ballater near Balmoral, hundreds stood beside the road in silence in bright morning sunshine as the hearse passed, some throwing flowers into the road.
Accompanied by the queen’s daughter, Princess Anne, the cortege wound its way from the remote castle through picturesque countryside, villages and small towns, at one point passing a guard of honour formed by dozens of tractors lined up in adjacent fields by farmers.
Many thousands have already gathered at royal palaces in the days since Elizabeth’s death, and large piles of flowers are massing as people visit to pay their respects.
The day of Elizabeth’s funeral will be a public holiday in Britain, officials announced. US President Joe Biden said he would be there, although full details of the event and the attendees have not yet been released.
Before that, her coffin will be flown to London and there will be a sombre procession when it is later moved from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall where it will lie in state for four days.
“It goes without saying that we can expect large numbers of people,” a spokesperson for Prime Minister Liz Truss told reporters.
Truss, whose appointment as prime minister on Tuesday was the queen’s last public act, will join King Charles as both the new head of state and prime minister tour the four nations of the United Kingdom in the next few days.
Charles, 73, is now the 41st monarch in a line that traces its origins to the Norman King William the Conqueror who captured the English throne in 1066.
Elizabeth’s death has capped a difficult couple of years for the royal family.
The most high-profile issue has involved her grandson Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, who stepped down from royal life in 2020 to move to California from where they both have heavily criticised the institution.
That has let them alienated from the rest of the family, with Harry and his older brother William said to be barely on speaking terms.
But the death of their grandmother has seen differences put aside, as they appeared together with their wives outside Windsor Castle to meet the crowds on Saturday.
A royal source described it as an important show of unity at an incredibly difficult time for the family.
The king himself will travel to Edinburgh on Monday for a prayer service, before the body of the Queen is flown to London on Tuesday.
Britain’s longest-serving monarch will then lie in state for four days which is expected to draw at least a million people, ahead of a funeral set to be watched worldwide and atended by numerous heads of state.
The symbolism of the Queen’s last journey will be heavy for Scotland -- a nation with deep royal links, but where there is also a strong independence movement intent on severing the centuries-old union with the United Kingdom.