Thousands of mourners thronged the route for the final journey of Queen Elizabeth II on Sunday as her coffin arrived in Edinburgh from the Scottish retreat where she died.
Huge crowds packed the streets of Scotlandâs capital as the hearse bearing Britainâs longest-serving monarch completed the first leg of a sombre odyssey that will culminate with her state funeral in London on September 19.
Soldiers in kilts stood to attention as the seven-car cortege arrived at Holyroodhouse palace after a six-hour drive from the queenâs Balmoral residence where she passed away on Thursday, aged 96.
Some of the well-wishers along the way had thrown flowers or applauded, while others were in tears as the convoy including the queenâs only daughter Princess Anne went by.
âIt is history, history in the making. We lived so long with the queen â 70 years,â said former soldier Stuart Mackay.
âItâs the only Monarch weâve known and I think itâs my duty to be here to wave her goodbye.â
The queenâs coffin will rest in Holyroodhouse Palace, the monarchâs official residence in Scotland, for a day before being moved to St Gilesâ cathedral for the public to pay their respects.
Her son Charles III â formally proclaimed monarch on Saturday â will travel to Edinburgh on Monday for a prayer service and mount a vigil by her coffin along with other members of the royal family.
The body of the queen will be flown to London the day after to lie in state for four days, which is expected to draw at least a million people, ahead of a funeral set to be watched worldwide and attended by numerous heads of state.
â âPoignant momentâ â
The symbolism of the queenâs last journey will be heavy for Scotland â a nation with deep royal links, but where there is also a strong independence movement intent on severing the centuries-old union with the United Kingdom.
Scotlandâs First Minister Nicola Sturgeon wrote on Twitter that it was a âsad and poignant momentâ to see the queen leave her cherished Balmoral refuge for the final time.
Charles â also declared monarch in Scotland at a pomp-filled ceremony on Sunday â and other royals will on Monday take part in a procession to convey her coffin along Edinburghâs Royal Mile to St Gilesâ Cathedral.
The following day the coffin will be flown by Royal Air Force jet to Northolt airfield near London, and driven to Buckingham Palace. Then, on Wednesday, it will be moved to Westminster Hall to lie in state.
King Charles will also visit Northern Ireland and Wales in a show of national unity. The new monarch will be joined at memorial services by British Prime Minister Liz Truss, who was only appointed by the late queen on Tuesday.
Charles has seen his popularity recover since the death of his former wife Diana, Princess of Wales, in a 1997 car crash, but he takes the throne at a moment of deep anxiety in Britain over the spiralling cost of living and international instability caused by the war in Ukraine.
â William and Harry together â
While Charlesâ accession has pushed Britain into what newspapers have called the new âCaroleanâ era, Britain and the royal family are still coming to terms with the end of the Elizabethan age.
Prince William broke his silence with an emotional tribute to his beloved âGrannieâ on Saturday.
âShe was by my side at my happiest moments. And she was by my side during the saddest days of my life,â said William, who has now become the Prince of Wales.
But the queenâs death also brought a surprise show of unity from William, 40, and his younger brother Harry, 37, when they emerged with their wives to speak to well-wishers outside Windsor Castle.
The sight of the two couples, who have barely seen each other since 2020, together â even if they separated to speak and shake hands with different sides of the cheering crowds â will likely spark rumours of a reconciliation.
Pictures of the four were splashed on the fronts of Sundayâs newspapers.
âReunited for granny,â read the Sunday Mirrorâs headline, while the Telegraph ran with âReunited in sorrowâ and the Sun with âAll 4 Oneâ.
The Sunday Times focussed on the apparent frostiness, with the headline: âWarring Windsorsâ awkward truce to honour the Queenâ.
â âInspiring exampleâ â
Charles vowed at the formal Accession Council at St Jamesâs Palace on Saturday that he would âstrive to follow the inspiring example I have been setâ by his mother during her âlifetime of serviceâ.
Thousands of people have gathered outside Buckingham Palace and other royal residences in recent days to lay flowers and messages of condolence, or simply to experience history in the making.
But officials expect far more people to pay their respects while the queen lies in state, before the televised funeral service at Westminster Abbey opposite.
The funeral for the queen â who came to the throne aged just 25 in 1952 â will be attended by national leaders including US President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and possibly Japanese Emperor Naruhito.
Chinaâs President Xi Jinping, who is not expected to attend, said he was willing to âexpand friendly exchanges and mutually beneficial cooperationâ as he congratulated Charles on ascending to the throne.
Charles was formally named king in Australia and New Zealand â former British colonies that have been independent for decades but retain the monarchy â in tandem ceremonies on Sunday.
He hosted his first reception Sunday for representatives of the Commonwealth realms, the 14 former colonies over which he reigns in addition to Britain.
With republican movements gaining ground from Australia to Antigua, one of the 73-year-oldâs biggest challenges will be how to keep together the worldwide family that his late mother Queen Elizabeth II so loved.
The queenâs record 70 years on the throne were a constant during a turbulent time for Britain, from a world of post-war deprivation and the loss of its empire to more recent upheavals like Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic.
Charlesâs coronation, an elaborate ritual steeped in tradition and history, will take place in the same historic surroundings of Westminster Abbey, as it has for centuries, on a date to be fixed.