Thousands of people are in the Scottish capital today to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth II.
On Monday, mourners were photographed lining up with Union Jack flags and homemade banners in front of St Giles’ Cathedral as the sun’s first rays began to break through the morning clouds.
A week before her state funeral in London, tens of thousands are expected to line up to pay their respects to the Queen’s flag-draped coffin.
The queen’s casket will return to Edinburgh through a convoluted route. It will be transferred from Holyroodhouse to the neighboring St. Giles’ Cathedral on Monday, where it will remain until Tuesday, when it will be flown to London.
King Charles III will walk behind his mother’s corpse in a solemn procession from Holyroodhouse palace to the cathedral. The casket arrived at Holyroodhouse palace on Sunday after a six-hour road journey from Balmoral Castle.
Yesterday, heavily armed police and security services built steel rings outside the Palace of Holyroodhouse and St Giles’ Cathedral in preparation for the largest single security operation in the country’s history, which will involve up to 10,000 policemen.
As part of a major, cross-agency security operation for the Queen’s funeral, it is believed that specialized police teams and intelligence professionals have canceled vacations.
Hundreds of international dignitaries and hundreds of thousands of mourners are expected to create an unparalleled “security problem” in the nation’s capital.
The operation will intensify throughout the week when the Queen’s body is returned to London before to her state funeral at the Palace of Westminster.
It is the first time that special forces teams, including SAS units, are anticipated to be pre-deployed to London bases in preparation for future assaults.
On Monday, mourners and well-wishers who camped overnight outside St. Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh will pay their respects to the Queen.
Thousands of people are in the Scottish capital today to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth II, causing the Royal Mile in Edinburgh to be swarmed by crowds.
On Monday, mourners were photographed lining up with Union Jack flags and homemade banners outside St Giles’ Cathedral as the sun’s first rays began to penetrate the morning clouds.
Thousands are expected to line up to pay their respects to the Queen’s casket a week before her official funeral in London.
The crowd watches as the hearse carrying Queen Elizabeth II’s casket, draped in the Royal Standard of Scotland, drives through Edinburgh.
The Princess Royal curtseys as the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped with the Royal Standard of Scotland, arrives at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh after traveling from Balmoral.
When the hearse arrives at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, two pallbearers carry the coffin of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, one with his eyes closed and the other looking to the sky.
The House of Commons and the House of Lords will assemble at Westminster for a Motion of Condolence, which will be attended by the King.
He will deliver his first speech as king to MPs and peers before heading to Edinburgh to attend the Scottish Parliament later today.
The King and Queen consort will arrive at Edinburgh Airport at 12:45 p.m. and then proceed to the Palace of Holyrood, where Charles III will examine the Guard of Honour.
The King and Queen Consort will then fly to the Scottish capital and visit the palace to view the honour guard. Charles and Camilla will join a procession to St Giles’ Cathedral, which is 1,200 yards distant, at 2.35 p.m.
The procession will include a hearse flanked by the Bearer Party of the Royal Regiment of Scotland and the Royal Company of Archers detachment of The King’s Body Guard in Scotland.
The King and other senior members of the Royal Family will walk the distance of 1,200 yards.
The King will be accompanied by his brothers, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, and Prince Andrew, Duke of York, as well as his sister, Princess Royal.
Saturday’s unexpected reunion in front of Windsor Castle has sparked rumors that Prince William, Prince Harry, and their spouses Kate and Meghan will also be present.
Her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, is scheduled to accompany her on foot, while the Queen Consort and other members of the royal family will follow in cars. Once placed in St. Giles’ Cathedral, the Crown of Scotland will be affixed to the casket of the Queen.
This afternoon, King Charles will meet with leaders and deliver a speech at the Scottish parliament. This trip will mark the beginning of his tour of the nations.
The King and other family members will begin a vigil at the casket at 7:20 p.m.
There are rumors that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the new Prince and Princess of Wales, who appeared at Windsor Castle on Saturday with a united front, will be among the royal mourners.
The Queen will then relax for 24 hours, during which time many are anticipated to pass by.
After departing England and touring Scotland, Prince Charles will eventually travel to Wales and Northern Ireland as part of Operation Spring Tide.
The Queen’s oak coffin, draped with the Royal Standard of Scotland and topped with a wreath of Balmoral flowers, began its trip from the Queen’s summer retreat in the Highlands, and Ballater was the first settlement it reached.
She spent the night in the palace before being transferred to St. Giles’ Cathedral, where a great crowd had had gathered to witness King Charles’ lunchtime proclamation as head of state.
Earlier in the day, a solitary motorcycle police outrider led the hearse through the Aberdeenshire countryside at a sedate pace.
At one point during the cortege’s journey through Dundee, a single long-stemmed flower was seen on the hearse’s windscreen, while in a rural section of the road, farmers paid tribute to the monarch by lining up their tractors in a field.
The Queen’s coffin was carefully driven through the main street of Ballater, the lovely Victorian village adjacent to the Balmoral estate, where locals considered her a neighbor.
Her Majesty and her family were frequently spotted at the Royal Deeside village that she has frequented since her youth and where the Royal Family has the freedom to be themselves.
The hearse passed Glenmuick Church, where the Rev. David Barr rung the church bells 70 times upon the announcement of the Queen’s death.
In Ballater, which was solemn and silent, well-wishers on both sides of the road threw flowers into the path of the funeral.
The vehicle slowed to a quick walking pace, allowing mourners to see the royal flag-draped casket and the wreath of flowers from the Balmoral estate, including sweet peas – one of the Queen’s favorite flowers – dahlias, phlox, white heather, and pine fir.
Following ten days of sorrow, police were given a no-fly zone above London on the day of the funeral, Monday, September 19th.
In addition to the thousands of uniformed Metropolitan Police officers who will be deployed, plainclothes cops will also patrol the crowds for any threats.
Under “mutual aid,” it is anticipated that other forces will be asked to contribute officers.
On Friday, police snipers were observed on the roof of Buckingham Palace with their weapons focused on the masses as King Charles greeted the public outside upon his return from Balmoral.