Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II embarks on her final journey on Sunday with thousands of her mourning subjects who are expected to line the path of her coffin from the Scottish retreat where she died.
The ceremonial departure of the Queen’s oak casket from Balmoral Castle to Edinburgh marks the beginning of an odyssey of national mourning, culminating in her state funeral in London on September 19.
Their journey begins a day after their son Charles III was officially proclaimed king, and after their feuding grandsons William and Harry and their wives Kate and Meghan reunited briefly for a tour.
A hearse carrying the coffin of Britain’s longest-serving monarch will make a six-hour journey through Scottish cities before arriving in Edinburgh, where it will rest for two days for people to pay tribute.
The King himself will then travel to Edinburgh for a prayer service on Monday before the body of the Queen, who died in Balmoral on Thursday aged 96, is flown to the capital on Tuesday.
She will then lie in state for four days at an event expected to draw at least a million people ahead of a funeral that is set to be watched worldwide and attracting scores of heads of state.
“We’re living in history right now,” said Laura Burns, 49, who was planning on trying to see the Queen’s coffin pass by in Edinburgh after coming to the city because her son is starting at university.
“It’s a very respectful atmosphere,” she told AFP.
– sign of unity –
While the accession of Charles has pushed Britain into what the newspapers have dubbed the new ‘Carolean’ era, Britain and the royal family are still coming to terms with the end of the Elizabethan era.
Prince William broke his silence on Saturday with an emotional tribute to his beloved “grannie”.
“She was by my side in my happiest moments. And she was by my side through the saddest days of my life,” said William, who is now the Prince of Wales.
But the Queen’s death also brought a surprise show of unity from William, 40, and his younger brother Harry, 37, as they emerged with their wives to speak to well-wishers outside Windsor Castle, near London.
The sight of the two couples, who have barely seen each other since 2020, together — even as they split to speak and shake hands with different sides of the cheering crowd — is likely to spark rumors of a reconciliation.
The picture of the four royals was splashed across the front page of The Sun newspaper on Sunday with the headline ‘All 4 One’.
Senior royals, including the Queen’s children Princess Anne and Princes Andrew and Edward, and their families also inspected flowers outside of Balmoral, where they have stayed since the Queen’s death.
The Queen’s coffin, draped with a Scottish Royal standard and a wreath of flowers, was kept in the Ballroom at Balmoral and is carried to her hearse by six of the estate’s game wardens.
– ‘Many, many people’ –
The symbolism of the Queen’s final journey will be heavy for a nation that has strong royal connections – but where there is a strong Scottish independence movement aiming to break the centuries-old union with the UK.
The Cortege will depart at 10:00 (0900 GMT) and then meander through Aberdeen and Dundee before reaching Edinburgh at 16:00.
Special vantage points will be set up along the route, although mourners are asked not to throw flowers at the passing convoy.
“We anticipate that many, many people will be interested in paying their respects,” said First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
The Queen’s coffin is taken to Holyroodhouse Palace, the monarch’s official residence in Scotland, where it will rest for a day.
King Charles and other royals will take part in a procession on Monday to take her coffin along Edinburgh’s Royal Mile to St Giles’ Cathedral.
The following day the coffin was flown on a Royal Air Force jet to Northolt Airport near London and driven to Buckingham Palace. It will then be moved to Westminster Hall on Wednesday to lie in state.
King Charles will also visit Northern Ireland and Wales to demonstrate national unity, accompanied by British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who was only appointed by the late Queen on Tuesday.
His popularity has rebounded since Diana’s death in a car accident in 1997, but he ascends to the throne at a moment of great concern in Britain over the rising cost of living and international instability caused by the war in Ukraine.
– ‘Inspirational Example’ –
Charles pledged at the formal Accession Council at St James’s Palace on Saturday that he would “seek to follow the inspiring example his mother set me during her ‘lifelong ministry'”.
The centuries-old tradition was televised live for the first time, with a trumpet fanfare and a court official wearing a plumed hat to proclaim him king from a palace balcony.
Thousands of people have gathered outside Buckingham Palace and other royal residences in recent days to lay flowers and condolences, or simply to witness the story of how it came about.
But officials expect far more people to pay their respects as the Queen lies across state ahead of the televised funeral service at Westminster Abbey.
The funeral of the Queen, who ascended the throne in 1952 aged just 25, will be attended by national leaders including US President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and possibly Japanese Emperor Naruhito.
Her record 70 years on the throne has been a constant in what has been a turbulent time for Britain, from a world of post-war hardship and the loss of its empire to more recent traumas such as the coronavirus pandemic.
The coronation of Charles, an elaborate ritual steeped in tradition and history, will take place in the same historic setting of Westminster Abbey as it has done for centuries, on a date to be determined.
