Today, as Scotland’s capital city greeted the new king and grieved the Queen, King Charles III met with well-wishers who lined the streets of Edinburgh to see him in an unscheduled walkabout.
Police had to turn away many of the attendees because of the large number of people that showed up.
As the sun broke through the morning clouds today, huge lines of royal supporters could be seen standing up outside St. Giles’ Cathedral with Union Jack-flags and brightly-colored handmade placards.
However, by noon, Police Scotland officers were preventing any newcomers from joining the swelled crowds that had lined the winding streets surrounding the 12th-century stone cathedral as the city had issued a serious disruption warning.
In the Old Town neighbourhood of Edinburgh, two primary schools and an early learning centre had already been shuttered due to disturbance as throngs of people waited in line to be the first to pay their respects to the Queen’s flag-draped coffin.
While Police Scotland snipers trained their sights on the crowd in preparation for King Charles and other senior royals walking within touching distance of well-wishers later this afternoon, tourists from as far away as Mexico and California queued up along the Royal Mile in anticipation of the Queen’s cortege passing by.
Before leading a vigil at the coffin with his siblings tonight, the future king will later be reunited with his mother, with whom he will be seen in public for the first time as she travels on her last and most tragic trip.
As his vehicle travelled up the Royal Mile and across the Scottish capital, there were applause, applauding, and shouts of “God Save the King.” The Queen Consort, Camilla, then addressed to the throng after him, thanking them for attending and wishing them well.
Shortly after addressing Parliament and being brought to tears by tributes to his mother and a spirited performance of the national song, the king departed for Scotland on a private plane from RAF Northolt. Just before 12.30 p.m., he touched down in the Scottish capital, where First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was waiting for him.
He went to the Palace of Holyroodhouse this afternoon to check out a guard of honour where his mother had spent the night. A cannon salute was then fired from the city’s castle.
The Ceremony of the Keys was then attended by King Charles. The king would receive the city’s keys according to an old tradition before returning them. The traditional custom, which is conducted each time the Queen visits the Scottish capital, was carried out towards the end of June this year, making it one of the late Queen’s last public appearances before her passing at Balmoral on Thursday.
Charles and Camilla will walk the 1,200 yards to St. Giles’ Cathedral in a procession at 2.35 p.m.
Along the Royal Mile, the hearse will be followed by the King and other dignitaries. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the new Prince and Princess of Wales, who on Saturday put up a unified face at an appearance at Windsor Castle, were rumoured to be among the royal mourners, but full details about the group have not yet been made public.
The Duke of York, the Earl of Wessex, the Princess Royal, and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence are anticipated to be among the royals Charles will lead on foot. The Queen Consort and other members of the monarchy will follow in cars.
The casket will be covered with the Scottish Crown at the church. Before Her Majesty is flown to London after a service, the general people will have 24 hours to pay their respects by filing through.
The King and the Queen Consort will attend the service at St. Giles’ Cathedral, which will be presided over by Reverend Calum MacLeod and honour the life of the Queen and her connection to Scotland.
The coffin will be transported to the State Hearse at 6.55 p.m. after arriving at RAF Northolt in west London. A guard of honour will receive the coffin at Buckingham Palace.
It will be carried by a bearer party from the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards to the Bow Room where it will be set up on trestles in front of King Charles and the Queen Consort. The coffin will be watched over by chaplains to the king.
After speaking to MPs and peers for the first time and telling them he could “feel the weight of history” on his shoulders following their own tributes to his cherished mother the Queen, King Charles III appeared on the verge of tears as Parliament sang “God Save the King” today.
As the Lord Speaker and the Commons Speaker offered their condolences and said, “Deep as our grief is, we know yours is deeper,” His Majesty also appeared moved.
The King thanked the hundreds of politicians and peers who had paid tribute to his mother during his speech to the crowd gathered in Westminster Hall, including Liz Truss, Sir Keir Starmer, and Boris Johnson.
As he addressed Parliament for the first time as monarch, Charles paid homage to his “beloved mother” by quoting Shakespeare. He said of the Queen: “As Shakespeare said of the earlier Queen Elizabeth, she was a pattern to all princes living.”
As he addressed you, he added, “I cannot help but feel the weight of history that surrounds us and serves as a reminder of the fundamental legislative traditions to which members of both Houses devote yourself with such personal dedication, for the welfare of us all.”
With God’s assistance and your advice, Charles said that the late Queen had “established an example of selfless responsibility that I am committed faithfully to follow.”
“I am extremely thankful for sympathy letters, which so beautifully capture what late sovereign loving mother meant to all of us,” he said.
Following that, the hundreds of dignitaries rose for the national song, which brought tears to the eyes of the new King on the day when he would be seen in public with the Queen’s coffin for the first time in Scotland.
After noon, King Charles and the Queen Consort will arrive by plane in the Scottish capital and go to the palace to see a guard of honour. After their shocking reunion outside Windsor Castle on Saturday, Prince William, Prince Harry, and their wives Kate and Meghan are rumoured to be there as well. The King follows the hearse to St. Giles’ Cathedral, where he will be seen for the first time with his mother’s coffin.
Charles and Camilla will walk the 1,200 yards to St. Giles’ Cathedral in a procession at 2.35 p.m. The hearse will go down the Royal Mile with Charles and other royals following behind it.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the new Prince and Princess of Wales, who on Saturday put on a unified face at an appearance at Windsor Castle, are said to be among the royal mourners, but full details about the group have not yet been made public.
The Duke of York, the Earl of Wessex, the Princess Royal, and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence are anticipated to be among the royals Charles will lead on foot. The Queen Consort and other members of the royalty will follow in automobiles.
The casket will be covered with the Scottish Crown at the church. After a service, members of the public will be permitted to file by to offer their respects.
The Vigil of the Princes will be performed by the King and his brothers at 7:20 p.m. Tomorrow night’s flight to London with Princess Anne and her mother in the coffin is anticipated.
The casket will be transported to the State Hearse at 6.55 p.m. after arriving at RAF Northolt in west London. A guard of honour will welcome the casket at Buckingham Palace.
It will be carried by a bearer party from the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards to the Bow Room where it will be set up on trestles in front of King Charles and the Queen Consort. The casket will be watched over by chaplains to the king.
After the coffin arrived in the Scottish city from Balmoral, Sophie, the wife of the Queen’s youngest son Prince Edward, 58, was shown putting her hand on the Princess Royal’s back in a show of solidarity.
The Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, the Duke and Duchess of York, and the Earl and Countess of Wessex, along with other members of the Queen’s family, observed as soldiers from the Royal Regiment of Scotland carried the coffin into the Palace.
In a beautiful gesture, the men and ladies of the royal family also bowed their heads in respect for the king.
During the 180-mile trip, Her Majesty was not alone; Anne and her husband were riding in a limousine behind her as part of a procession.
The Queen will spend the night at the palace before being taken to St. Giles’ Cathedral tomorrow afternoon. Earlier, a sizable throng had assembled to see King Charles be proclaimed as head of state at noon.
Princess Anne and Sophie, along with other members of the royal family, yesterday appeared teary-eyed as they observed floral offerings made to the Queen at Balmoral.
As Her Majesty departed Balmoral for the last time, hundreds of Scottish mourners lined the path of her funeral procession as a mark of respect for her.
Well-wishers gathered alongside country roads, bridges, and in village and city centres to bid the woman farewell. She was never more at home than when she was in Scotland.
After more than six hours, the procession finally arrived at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. By this time, the crowds on the famous Royal Mile, a thoroughfare the Queen was well acquainted with, were at times ten deep.
As the procession drew to a close, flowers from William Purvis, a family-run funeral home based in Scotland, were thrown in front of the hearse, and parts of the crowds in the Royal Mile spontaneously applauded.
A single long-stemmed flower was seen on the hearse windshield at one point as the cortege passed through Dundee, while in a rural area of the route, farmers honoured the Queen by lining up tractors in a field.
Tomorrow, the King of England and Camilla, Queen Consort, will travel to Edinburgh, where they will join the King’s other siblings in following the coffin of his late mother as it is carried from the Palace to St. Giles’ Cathedral. The monarch and other members of the Royal Family will hold a vigil at the late Queen’s casket at 7:20 o’clock.
Yesterday, a lone police motorcycle outrider led the hearse as it made its way through the Aberdeenshire countryside at a leisurely pace.
A single long-stemmed flower was visible on the hearse windscreen at one point as the cortege passed through Dundee, and in a rural area of the route, farmers honoured the monarch with tractors parked in a row.
The Queen’s coffin was slowly driven through the main street of Ballater, the charming Victorian town closest to the Balmoral estate, where locals considered her a neighbour. Her Majesty and her family were frequently spotted in the Royal Deeside village that she had frequented since she was a young child and where the Royal Family is allowed to be themselves.
Following the announcement of the Queen’s passing, the Rev. David Barr rang the church bells at Glenmuick Church 70 times.
On both sides of the gloomy, silent road in Ballater, sympathisers threw flowers into the path of the hearse. The coffin was draped in the royal flag and the wreath was made of flowers from the Balmoral estate, including sweet peas, one of the Queen’s favourite flowers, dahlias, phlox, white heather, and pine fir. As the hearse slowed to a quick walking speed, mourners could plainly see the corpse.
The First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, paid tribute to the Queen when her final journey through the Scottish Highlands began just after 10am.
A sad and moving moment as Her Majesty, the Queen, departs her beloved Balmoral for the last time, Ms. Sturgeon wrote in a tweet. Scotland paid homage to a remarkable lady yesterday as she travelled to Edinburgh.
From the Queen’s summer retreat in the Highlands, the Queen’s oak coffin set off for Ballater, where it arrived first, draped with the Royal Standard of Scotland and topped with a wreath of Balmoral flowers.
The Queen was regarded as a neighbour by the people of Ballater because she and her family were frequently spotted in the village in Royal Deeside, which she had frequented since she was a young child and where the royal family has room to be themselves.
For the tens of thousands who flocked to the streets yesterday to see the Queen’s last voyage, her impending death became a terrible reality.
After Her Majesty made her final departure from her beloved Balmoral, many had travelled through the night to reserve their spots along the road.
As the Queen’s oak coffin, wrapped in the Royal Standard of Scotland, reached the destination of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, there was a mournful atmosphere.
As the Queen’s coffin was gently driven along the village’s main street, hundreds of people lined the roadway, and many businesses honoured the Queen by hanging pictures of her in their windows.
Following the announcement of the Queen’s passing, the Rev. David Barr rung the church bells at Glenmuick Church 70 times.
Mourners could see the coffin, which was draped in the royal flag and adorned with flowers from the Balmoral estate, including sweet peas, one of the Queen’s favourite flowers, dahlias, phlox, white heather, and pine fir, plainly when the vehicle slowed to a quick walking speed.
Aberdeen native Elizabeth Taylor was in tears as she processed what she had just witnessed.
It was quite emotional, she remarked. It was courteous and reflected what they thought of the Queen. Even a few days before to her passing, she undoubtedly rendered service to our nation.
Andrew Brown, a 63-year-old Royal admirer, saw the hearse as it moved slowly along the Royal Mile and commented, “This has brought it all home.” I believe that seeing the coffin and the cortege with my own eyes makes it more of a reality. I had been in a bit of a state of shock and numbness.
The Glasgow resident, Mr. Scott, said, “It’s a sad day, but I’m pleased I had a chance to say goodbye. The Queen adored Scotland and I believe it is appropriate that her final voyage started at Balmoral.’
Ashley Coventry, an Edinburgh-based hairdresser, said: “It simply seems strange.” I believe we all anticipated its arrival. But it’s also the realisation that this place is a mark of history. The quantity of people here astounds me. People have come from a great distance and from everywhere.
It’s simply a steady stream of people, Ashley, who was there with her daughter Hannah, 9, and husband Scott, 39, said. Scott said: “The Queen was deeply liked in our home and it’s a really sad day. I’ve never seen anything like that.
Lynda Amos, 69, and her husband Richard, 67, described how they took a detour from their vacation in the Scottish Highlands to pay their respects in Edinburgh. The couple live 50 miles south of the capital in Duns in the Scottish Borders.
Lynda said: ‘We came straight here. We’re heartbroken. It came as such a shock after we had seen pictures of her only a couple of days before when she met Liz Truss. Although it is very sad, a fresh beginning has also begun. Their lives have always included the Queen. My father was in the RAF and he was in Kenya where the Queen was on holiday when her father died. They all went to the airport and stood to attention when she flew back to Britain to become Queen.
‘We have gone to garden parties here a number of times. On her way up to Balmoral every year, the Queen would stop by to host them. Everyone dressed up and she would really make an effort. She was wonderful.
“Being here makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up,” said chartered surveyor Richard.
It happens after King Charles was welcomed by countless well-wishers as he arrived at Buckingham Palace to meet with Commonwealth officials.
Around 1pm, crowds lined The Mall, cheering and waving as Britain’s new monarch was driven through the Palace gates in his state Rolls-Royce, followed by a motorcade of four cars and four police motorcycles. The crowds included excited young children sitting on top of parents’ shoulders and trying to take photos with their phones.
The King was greeted by mourners as he entered Buckingham Palace, followed shortly after by his wife Camilla, Queen Consort.
Charles met Commonwealth general secretary Patricia Scotland in the 1844 Room at 2pm yesterday, before attending a reception with High Commissioners and their spouses from nations where he is head of state in the royal residence’s Bow Room. Then at 3.30pm, the King – who was formally proclaimed at St James’s Palace yesterday – received the Dean of Windsor.
Guests included Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and the Commissioner for Antigua and Barbuda – whose republican Prime Minister is threatening a referendum on ditching the Crown – as well as representatives for Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, New Zealand, St Christopher and Nevis, St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines, and the Honorary Consul of Tuvalu and the Acting High Commissioner for Australia.
Following his late mother’s passing at Balmoral on Thursday at the age of 96, the King and Queen will travel to each of the four home countries the following week in preparation for her state funeral at Westminster Abbey and burial at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor.