For hundreds of years, kings and queens have walked a stretch of road in central Edinburgh known as the Royal Mile, while their subjects have filled the narrow footpaths and the window frames overhead to catch a glimpse.
It is one of the most significant streets in the history of the United Kingdom and overnight it marked another moment.
This city is the final stop for the body of Queen Elizabeth II before she leaves Scotland for good.
The Queen's connection to Scotland was more than affection and duty, it was by blood.
And people gathered at the Royal Mile overnight were quick to point to her Scottish ancestry and claim her as one of their own.
This simple high street provides an intimate amphitheatre for extravagant royal ceremonies.
The Royal Mile runs from the royal residence in Edinburgh — the Palace of Holyroodhouse — uphill to St Giles' Cathedral and then on to Edinburgh Castle.
Mary Queen of Scots led a grand procession here, traitors and criminals were hanged here.
But some traditions that were forged when the street was made of cobblestone still endure now the thoroughfare has a Starbucks.
Queen Elizabeth II has made the journey up Edinburgh's Royal Mile before, riding in a carriage with Prince Philip to mark moments in her life.
Overnight, this street marked her death as her coffin travelled half the length of the Scots mile one final time to St Giles' Cathedral.
Lining the Royal Mile were the people who loved her and who wanted to witness this moment in history for themselves.
And then there were people who were there for the King, who were determined to watch him carry the weight of his grief for his mother in the knowledge he will spend the rest of his life trying to live up to her legacy.
For the union
The significance of the day and the chance it might not have happened was not lost on the crowd.
This event, and the procession that started in Balmoral two days ago, would likely not be had the Queen died at home in Buckingham Palace in the centre of London.
Perhaps it's fitting that people from the place she loved so much get to say their own farewell to their Queen.
Perhaps it was part of the plan.
"Contentious, but she probably did that deliberately I think. She's got an affinity for the union and I think she knew passing in Scotland would probably bring Scotland and England closer together," Barry Robertson said.
"I think it just cements that fact to everybody that it's the Queen of the UK."
Barry brought his daughter Darcy down to the Royal Mile, a place they know as hugely historic, and a place that now features in a royal memory of their own.
"Most Scots know about Mary Queen of Scots and they all know this is where royalty went up in the old days. It's very famous," he said.
He said calls for independence in his circle had been "much stronger than they've been" in the past, but "something like this will probably make it less".
The Royal Mile has been lined by barricades and police officers for two days. And crowds gathered a day earlier to watch as the royal hearse finished its winding journey from the south.
Some returned for another glimpse, and the crowd surged just a few hours before the King was due to walk behind his mother's coffin for the first time.
On the Royal Mile, a spot at the front of the barricade puts an onlooker mere metres from their ruler.
But as the crowds grew, initial jostling for prime positions fell away and people started to climb fences, buildings and stairs to get a better view.
The afternoon sun carved out the lucky few who could view the procession from their living room.
There are children on shoulders and media on cranes and it's all happening on a humble high street. There are flowers, flags and people who have packed provisions. There are children dressed as Paddington Bear and an overrun hotdog stand.
As 2pm arrives, the footpaths are full and there is nothing left to do but patiently wait.
And sitting quietly in the front row doing just that was Flo McCall, 68, who is from Belfast, but made the trip to Edinburgh just for the brief moment when the Queen's coffin passes by.
"I think she had a very strong faith and I believe this was a gift from God to her that she remained in Scotland right until the end … she appointed a new Prime Minister and then it was her time," she said.
Scotland's First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, is pushing for another vote on Scottish independence, and in Northern Ireland, the deeply fractious relationship with the United Kingdom is again being tested by post-Brexit arrangements.
King Charles will visit Belfast today as simmering tensions threaten to spill over.
In this crowd in Edinburgh, it is difficult to find anyone who actively wants to leave the union, but Flo will admit the Queen's farewell tour through Scotland has likely helped her side.
"I think it's good for Scotland and it shows the people of Scotland and all the territories like Northern Ireland, Wales that she was the Queen of the four units, she wasn't just a Queen of England," she said.
By 2:30pm, silence is spreading up the mile.
In a wave of anticipation and a collective holding of breath, the constant hum of the crowd dissipates and the click clack of horses' hooves on cobblestones echo up the tunnel.
Before you can see any of the procession you can hear the lack of anything else.
A moment of solace
After travelling from across the country and the kingdom, waiting for hours against a barrier and fighting for their spot, the people in the crowd are now still and focused on the scene in front of them.
The procession is a simple one.
The hearse is black and its windows catch the reflections of wide eyes as it passes by.
Right behind is King Charles III, Princess Anne, Prince Edward and Prince Andrew.
For the first time, the siblings walk the mile as the oldest living generation in the royal line.
One man who was visibly upset as he watched the Queen's coffin pass by and her four children walking behind was Hector McMillan.
He's 86 now, but he said as a young man he guarded the royal children as part of his Royal Scots posting at Balmoral.
He's not in the best of health, but Hector was at the front of the crowd in a wheelchair and tried to salute his Queen.
"You can't catch your breath. You're just speechless. I'm struggling for words," he said.
"Princess Anne was about seven years old when I was guarding them at Balmoral. That's the first time I've been near them since then. Very, very special.
"[When] she died in Scotland, my heart just flared up. I didn't want her to die, but she died in Scotland and that made me proud."
Hector's grandson, 10-year-old Leo, is with him and the young Scot has a maturity far beyond his years and an obvious appreciation for a legacy that was largely forged before he was born.
"I'm only 10, but I know by looking at everyone that it was very emotional," he said.
"I thought that now it's happening and after it happens it's not coming back again. After it's done, it's done, so everyone wanted to focus on that moment of the Queen passing by."
The scene is sombre, silent and intense but, as Leo says, within a few seconds the procession moves on.
And within a few seconds more, they are far enough up the mile that the crowd breaks the silence with applause.
The crowd wasn't silent for the entire time, with a heckler reportedly shouting at Prince Andrew before being ejected.
For Flo, the trip across from Belfast has been worth it.
"That was pretty special. Absolutely worth it … because when would I get the chance to be in London and be so close? The Royal Mile is narrow so they're literally walking right past you," she said.
The crush
After the procession passed, a strange flat silence fell over the crowd. And then a release.
Another energy took hold and a groundswell surged up the hill towards St Giles' Cathedral where the service was being held.
After hours of standing in the unexpected sunshine, masses of people were moving up the road and police were forced to block off the area around the cathedral.
The service was broadcast over speakers, but there was nothing to see but the stonework and soldiers standing guard.
The packed crowd remained quiet enough to hear the service, following along with the Lord's Prayer and a final rendition of God Save the King.
The messy crush of people was pushing forward towards the service, but also towards a place in the line to see the Queen's coffin.
For the first time, the public are able to personally pay respects to their late Queen as her body lies in St Giles' Cathedral where the people of Edinburgh will line up through the night to bid her a final farewell.
And the King returns to life behind the palace gates and then on to London where he will again walk behind his mother's coffin, but on a bigger stage and with higher stakes.
Tomorrow, the Queen will be moved back down the mile and out of her beloved Scotland, never to return, but never forgotten.
