Members of the royal family were given spontaneous applause at the gate to Balmoral Castle after stopping to talk to well-wishers and inspect the deep mound of flowers lying at the wall.
Prince Andrew, his daughters Eugenie and Beatrice, Prince Edward and Sophie, and Princess Anne had driven to Crathie Kirk, the church close to Balmoral where the Queen and her family worshipped every Sunday during her holidays on Deeside, for a brief, private service shortly before 2pm on Saturday.
As they returned to Balmoral, their convoy stopped at the narrow granite bridge over the River Dee to allow the family to greet about 150 well-wishers, who had been waiting patiently for up to 45 minutes behind a crowd barrier.
