The Queen’s coffin is travelling from her Scottish estate to Edinburgh ahead of her funeral on 19 September.
Image source, EPAThousands are expected to line the streets as the Queen’s coffin travels from Balmoral to Edinburgh.
The coffin will drive to the Palace of Holyroodhouse – the monarch’s official residence in Scotland – on Sunday, as part of the Queen’s journey to London for her funeral on 19 September.
On Saturday, King Charles III was formally proclaimed monarch.
Other members of the Royal Family viewed flowers and spoke to crowds in Balmoral and Windsor.
The Queen’s oak coffin will be lifted into a hearse by six of the Balmoral estate’s gamekeepers at 10:00 BST, before a slow six-hour drive to the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. The Queen will lie at rest at the palace overnight.
On Monday afternoon, the coffin will process to the Scottish capital’s St Giles’ Cathedral, accompanied by the King and other members of the Royal Family. The coffin will remain under continuous vigil for 24 hours, with the public able to pay their respects.
A service will be held at the cathedral in the evening.
The following day the Princess Royal, Princess Anne, will accompany her mother’s coffin as it travels from Edinburgh Airport back to Buckingham Palace via RAF Northolt.
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the “poignant” 175-mile journey from Balmoral would be a chance to “mark our country’s shared loss”.
On Saturday, the Queen’s younger children Princess Anne, the Duke of York and Earl of Wessex, and their families viewed flowers at the gates of Balmoral Castle, with Princess Eugenie moved to tears.
Prince William and his wife Catherine – the new Prince and Princess of Wales – greeted well-wishers outside Windsor Castle, joined by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Image source, Getty Images
In London, King Charles praised the Queen’s “unequalled reign” as he addressed the Accession Council, where he was formally proclaimed monarch.
He also approved a bank holiday at the ceremony for the day of the Queen’s funeral.
On Sunday, he will meet the Commonwealth Secretary General Baroness Scotland – who publicly represents the association of 56 countries with historical ties to the UK – at Buckingham Palace.
He will then host a reception for High Commissioners – ambassadors – from the 14 other countries where the King is also head of state.
Further proclamations will be read in the Scottish and Welsh devolved parliaments, in Edinburgh and Cardiff, and the devolved Northern Ireland assembly in Belfast.
