Queen Elizabeth II has made her final return to England before lying in state. The late monarch has been flown to RAF Northolt from Edinburgh after an emotional journey from Balmoral Castle.
The sovereign was staying at her Highlands bolthole when she passed away on Thursday (September 8). Protocol for the removal of the Royal coffin to London then involved a journey by road from Balmoral to Edinburgh.
After a stage in St Giles' Cathedral in the Scottish capital, the coffin has now been flown to RAF Northolt via an RAF Globemaster. It will then be transported to London ahead of lying in state.
Members of the Guard of Honour assembled on the airfield at RAF Northolt ahead of the arrival of the Queen’s coffin by plane from Edinburgh. The guard was formed of three officers and 96 non-commissioned officers and gunners of The Queen’s Colour Squadron.
As the flight came into land, the Princess Royal released a statement, saying: "I was fortunate to share the last 24 hours of my dearest Mother’s life. It has been an honour and a privilege to accompany her on her final journeys. "Witnessing the love and respect shown by so many on these journeys has been both humbling and uplifting."
They transferred the coffin to the official hearse, which will take the Queen to Buckingham Palace. As sovereign and head of state, the Queen was Head of the Armed Forces and their Commander-in-Chief.
According to flight tracking website Flightradar24 “nearly six million people attempted to follow” the flight carrying the Queen’s coffin from Edinburgh to RAF Northolt in London. The number of people attempting to track the plane caused the website to run into problems, but not before more than half a million were able to briefly follow.
“In the moments before takeoff, nearly six million people attempted to follow the flight, causing disruption to our platform. We are working to ensure stability across our platform at the moment,” a statement on Flightradar24’s Twitter account read.
Another tweet confirmed: “600k able to follow. Six million total attempts (which is what brought the site down).”
Flight KRF01R was the most-tracked flight in the world on Flightradar24 once the website recovered, with over 350,000 watching the Boeing C-17A Globemaster III as it moved south through the UK, having left Edinburgh at 17:42 on Tuesday.
