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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
National
Iona Young

Die-hard Edinburgh royal fans line up with chairs hours before Queen's procession

Edinburgh crowds have been spotted camping out early for the last chance to see the Queen before she leaves the capital and flies to London for her state funeral.

Many were seen with camping chairs and picnic blankets as they wait eagerly in the early morning sun for Her Majesty to make her final trip up the Royal Mile to St Giles' Cathedral for the final procession.

READ MORE - Queen Elizabeth II arrives in Edinburgh as coffin greeted by thousands

Similar to yesterday the historic old town street is covered with police officers and security staff lining both sides of the boarded off Mile in preparation for the royal cortège.

Her Majesty tragically passed away aged 96 peacefully at Balmoral, a place she adored. Due to her death taking place in Scotland a number of protocols were put in place under Operation Unicorn. The grieving King and his Queen Consort will fly into the capital today to take part in the services.

The solemn procession from the Palace of Holyroodhouse – where the coffin remained overnight – to St Giles, scheduled to begin at 2.30pm.

The coffin and royal cortège will travel up the Royal Mile to St Giles’ Cathedral for a service expected to last about an hour.

Members of public will then be able to view the monarch’s coffin from around 5pm. Long queues are expected, and people are being asked to be prepared to wait hours. Photographs will not be allowed to be taken inside St Giles’, while security checks will also be carried out.

Senior members of the Royal Family including the King, are reported to hold continuous vigils at St Giles' from 7.20pm on Monday known as the Vigil of Princes.

The Met Office forecast for Monday in Edinburgh is as follows: “cloudy changing to sunny by lunchtime”. There will be highs of 18C and lows of 11C. From 5pm when the public viewing opens, it will be sunny and around 16C growing cooler throughout the rest of the evening.

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The Queen will lie at rest in St Giles’ for 24 hours before being flown back to London from Edinburgh Airport on Tuesday. She will then lie in state at Westminster Hall from Wednesday until the morning of her funeral on Monday, September 14.

You can find out everything about travel restrictions and advice for the day here.


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