Edinburgh, Scotland (Reuters) – Queen Elizabeth’s coffin arrived in Edinburgh on Sunday after a six-hour journey from her summer home in the Scottish Highlands as tens of thousands of mourners passed on the road, many in gloomy silence, some applauding. Others shed tears.
At the end of his slow journey through the picturesque Scottish countryside and villages, towns and small towns, soldiers in kilts carried the coffin to the throne room of the Palace of Holyroodhouse, Elizabeth’s official Scottish residence, where it would remain overnight.
In a touching tribute to his mother on Friday, the Queen’s eldest son and new King Charles said she had embarked on a “last great journey” to join Prince Philip, her husband who died last year of 73.
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Earlier, the corpse carrying an oak coffin emerged from the gates of Balmoral Castle, where she died on Thursday at the age of 96, at the beginning of the journey to the Scottish capital.
Her coffin was draped in the Royal Standard of Scotland with a wreath made of flowers taken from Balmoral Farm including sweet peas, one of Elizabeth’s favorites.
Crowds, at a depth of somewhere fifteen, thronged the center of Edinburgh to greet the procession as it made its way to Holyrood House, where it was greeted by a military honor guard.
Queen Anne’s daughter, who was surrounded by the Queen’s younger sons, Princes Andrew and Edward, bowed as the coffin was carried by soldiers from the Royal Regiment of Scotland.
said Eileh McIntosh, 62, who left her home at 6am to make sure a good view among the large crowds at the iconic Royal Hotel on the Edinburgh Mill.
Rachel Lindsay, 24, was left in tears as the coffin passed. “It’s very sad,” she said. “I don’t think we ever expected it to happen. I thought she would live forever. I didn’t think it was real until I saw it.”
The flight from Balmoral was the first in a series of events leading up to the state funeral at Westminster Abbey in London on 19 September.
Her death sparked tears, grief and warm tributes, not only from the Queen’s close family and many Britons, but also from around the world – reflecting her presence on the world stage for seven decades.
Wherever the procession went, people lined the road or parked their cars to get out and watch. Once she passed a guard of honor formed by dozens of tractors that farmers lined up in the nearby fields.
Many watched silently in the bright sunlight. Some threw flowers on the way. For others, the emotion of the moment made them cry.
“It’s very sad,” said Elizabeth Alexander, 69, who was born on the day of the Queen’s coronation in 1953. “I am glad to be here to say our goodbyes.”
Thousands of people continue to gather in royal palaces across Britain, carrying flower bouquet after flower bouquet. In Green Park near Buckingham Palace in London, where some honors are being taken, long lines of bouquets wrap around the park allowing mourners to read the salute.
Other well-wishers have attached messages of condolence to the trees.
Charles became king immediately after his mother’s death and was officially proclaimed the new king at a Saturday party, full of old-fashioned joys and traditions. Read more
The Princess Royal unloads Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin, covered in Scottish royal standard, upon its arrival at Holyrood House, where it will rest for a day, in Edinburgh, Scotland, Britain on September 11, 2022. Aaron Chaon/Paul via Reuters
Similar announcements follow across the United Kingdom and the fourteen other worlds Charles now heads, including Australia, Canada, Jamaica, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. Read more
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Parliament will be summoned on Thursday to allow members to honor him. Read more
The Queen ascended to the throne after the death of her father, King George VI, on February 6, 1952, when she was only 25 years old. She was crowned a year later.
While Elizabeth’s death was not entirely unexpected given her age and declining health, there was still a sense of shock at the news.
“We all thought she was invincible,” her grandson Prince William, now heir to the throne, told an enthusiast on Saturday as he met the crowds at Windsor Castle. Read more
Funeral
The high-design mourning plans will continue on Monday. Charles will join other senior royals in Edinburgh when the coffin is taken in procession from the Holyroodhouse to the city’s St Giles Cathedral for service.
He will stay there for 24 hours to allow people to pay their last respects, and the new king and members of the royal family will also hold a vigil.
British officials have announced that the Queen’s funeral will be a public holiday in Britain. US President Joe Biden has said he will be there, although full details of the event and attendance have not been released.
Before that, her coffin will be flown to London and there will be a sombre procession when it is later taken from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall to remain in the state for four days.
“It goes without saying that we can expect large numbers of people,” the prime minister’s spokeswoman Liz Truss told reporters.
Truss, whose appointment as prime minister on Tuesday was the Queen’s last public act, will join King Charles as the new head of state and the prime minister is on a four-nation tour of the UK in the next few days. Read more
Charles, 73, is now the 41st king in a dynasty that traces back to Norman King William the Conqueror who seized the English throne in 1066.
Elizabeth’s death capped two difficult years for the royal family.
The most famous case involved her grandson Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, who are stepping down from royal life in 2020 to move to California as both have been highly critical of the establishment.
This alienated them from the rest of the family, with Harry and his older brother William saying they barely spoke on terms. But the death of their grandmother put feuds aside, as they showed up with their wives outside Windsor Castle to meet the crowds on Saturday. Read more
A royal source described it as an important display of loneliness at a very difficult time for the family.
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Additional reporting by Michael Holden, William James and William Schomberg in London, Russell Chaine in Balmoral, Louis MacDonald and Marco Trujillo in Ballatier, Andrew McCaskill and Lindsey Dunsmuir in Edinburgh Editing by Kate Holton, Mark Potter, Andrew Heavens and Frances Kerry
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