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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Business
Martin Farrer

‘Final homecoming’: front pages as the Queen’s coffin arrives at Buckingham Palace

Queen Elizabeth II Buckingham Palace Daily Record Gran Scotsman Metro Sun
How Wednesday’s UK papers covered the return of the Queen’s coffin to Buckingham Palace.
How Wednesday’s UK papers covered the return of the Queen’s coffin to Buckingham Palace. Composite: The Mirror / The Guardian / The Daily Telegraph / The Sun / The Times / Metro / Daily Mail / Daily Record

There’s only one place to start for the papers as the Queen’s coffin was driven through the gates of Buckingham Palace in what was inevitably dubbed the “final homecoming”.

The front of Wednesday’s Mirror features a dramatic picture of the hearse sweeping towards the brightly lit palace as crowds formed a roadside guard of honour. “Led home by lights of love”, the headline says.

The Guardian’s front page pictures the hearse just moments later as it goes through the palace gates and also carries pointers to stories inside on anger about the sacking of some members of King Charles’s staff, and how the queue to see the Queen lying in state could stretch for five miles. It leads, however, on “Johnson’s junk food rules under threat as Truss targets read tape”.

The Telegraph’s headline is “The final homecoming”, and reports that the royal family will be “allowed to grieve in private” as the coffin rests overnight at the palace.

“Welcome home, ma’am” says the Sun, which is still using a regal purple in its masthead rather than the usual red one.

“Home to her family” says the Mail, while columnist Robert Hardman says that he’s been warning for years that “millions – tens of millions” of people will want to pay their respects to the Queen, making current plans for viewing her coffin “deeply inadequate”.

The Express goes with “Home … for one last time”.

“We’ll walk with Gran” – the Metro says William and Harry will follow the Queen’s coffin with King Charles as it is moved to Westminster.

The Times has “A last night at the palace” and shows the coffin being carried by Queen’s Colour Squadron troops at RAF Northolt, with an outside wrap of the scenes at the palace.

In the i it’s “The Queen returns home”.

Her final journey began, of course, in Scotland and the papers north of the border are saying farewell.

The Scotsman has a wraparound front cover with the scene at Edinburgh airport: “The final farewell”

The Daily Record reaches for the big guns – Scotland’s national bard, Robert Burns – by using the title of one of his poems, “Ae fond kiss”, to say goodbye to the monarch.

And the FT has a picture of the funeral rehearsals on its front but leads with “Businesses face delays to access £150bn energy support package”.

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