Queen Elizabeth II’s final journey has begun.
Her oak coffin left Balmoral at 10am on Sunday bound for Edinburgh, after it was lifted onto a hearse by six of the estate’s gamekeepers.
Thousands of mourners lined the route to pay tribute to her.
Soon after the cortège started its 100-mile journey, it passed through the village of Ballater, where crowds held silence as a mark of respect for the Queen.
Once the cavalcade reaches the Scottish capital, Elizabeth II’s body will be taken to the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon said the “poignant” journey would give the public a chance to “mark our country’s shared loss”.
Since her death on Thursday, the Queen’s coffin, which is draped with the Royal Standard of Scotland and topped by a wreath of flowers, has remained at rest in Balmoral so estate workers could say their last goodbyes.
Hundreds of miles south of the procession, huge crowds gathered outside Buckingham Palace to pay tribute to the late monarch.
