Queen Elizabeth II's cortege has arrived in Edinburgh following a six-hour journey from Balmoral. Mourners lined the streets as the hearse traveled from Aberdeenshire to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, where her coffin will rest overnight. Her coffin will then lie under vigil in Edinburgh's St Giles' Cathedral on Monday before heading to London ahead of her funeral on Monday 19 Sept. 19. Crowds have also gathered to hear King Charles III proclaimed across the UK. He will travel up to Scotland on Monday and will be joined by members of the Royal Family as he accompanies his mother's coffin to the cathedral in the Scottish city. The Queen's cortege left her home at Balmoral at around 10:00 BST, winding through Aberdeen and Dundee among other villages and towns, on its way to Edinburgh. As it drove through Edinburgh city center, some six hours later, silence fell before there was applause from the crowd that had gathered there. The Princess Royal, Princess Anne, traveled in the second car of the cortege on the 175-mile journey, accompanied by her husband, Vice Adm. Sir Tim Laurence. She curtsied as her mother's coffin was carried into Holyroodhouse — the monarch's official residence in Scotland. The Duke of York and Duke and Duchess of Wessex, who were there to receive the coffin, also bowed and curtsied respectively, alongside palace staff. Earlier at the start of the journey, six gamekeepers from her Balmoral estate placed the Queen's oak coffin into a hearse before she left Balmoral, her beloved private Scottish estate, for the final time. The wreath on top of the coffin features some of the Queen's favorite flowers, all cut from the estate — white heather, dahlias and sweet peas, phlox and pine fir. When the cortege reached Ballater, Aberdeenshire — the closest village to Balmoral — flowers were thrown in the road by mourners, many of whom regard the Queen and the Royal Family as neighbors. The coffin will remain under continuous vigil for 24 hours at St Giles' Cathedral, with the public able to pay their respects. A service will be held at the cathedral in the evening. The following day, Princess Anne will accompany her mother's coffin as it travels from Edinburgh Airport back to Buckingham Palace, via RAF Northolt. In Windsor, thousands gathered in the town to pay tribute to the Queen. Roads were closed, as floral tributes and cards continued to be placed outside the castle gates. And in Green Park, near Buckingham Palace, thousands more floral tributes were placed in memory of the Queen. The Queen will lie in state for four days before her funeral at Westminster Abbey on Monday, Sept. 19. The public will be allowed to view the coffin during that time. Her family, politicians and world leaders will attend her state funeral at 11:00 BST. It will be a bank holiday. On Wednesday afternoon, the coffin will be taken to Westminster Hall, arriving at 15:00 BST. Four clear days of lying in state will happen from Thursday, before the funeral. Monday 19 state funeral will be followed by a procession from London to Windsor Castle. The Queen will be laid to rest at King George VI Memorial Chapel at Windsor. Her journey, beginning in simplicity, will end with the somber grandeur of the first state funeral that many people will have seen — the last being Sir Winston Churchill in 1965. Ahead of the funeral the new King will visit Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Prime Minister Liz Truss will accompany him. A period of national mourning will last until the day of the state funeral, the government has announced. The Royal Family will observe a further period of mourning for seven days afterwards. Westminster Abbey is the historic church where Britain's kings and queens are crowned — but there has not been a monarch's funeral service there since the 18th Century. Funerals for the Queen's father, grandfather and great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, in the 1900s, were all held at St George's Chapel, Windsor. Heads of state from across the world will be invited to join members of the Royal Family to remember the life and service of the Queen. Senior UK politicians and current and former prime ministers are also expected at the televised service. There is no obligation for organizers to cancel planned events on the day of the funeral but government guidance suggests organizers of sporting fixtures or pre-planned events may wish to adjust timings to avoid clashing with the service or processions. Some events in the immediate aftermath of the Queen's death were cancelled or postponed. Large-scale strike actions planned for next week were immediately canceled, and the Trades Union Congress said it was postponing its annual conference in Brighton. The King confirmed earlier on Saturday that the day of the funeral would be a bank holiday, when he was proclaimed as monarch at St James's Palace, London. — BBC
