The queen has begun her journey from the Balmoral estate in Scotland to London ahead of her state funeral in eight days.
The monarch, who died at her beloved Scottish estate on Thursday, September 8, will travel down south as preparations begin for the funeral which will be held on Monday, September 19 at 11am. The coffin carrying Her Majesty was removed from the ballroom at Balmoral Castle to a hearse by six gatekeepers who all had a personal relationship with the monarch.
She is being driven to Edinburgh where, on Sunday afternoon, she will be received at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Monarch's official Scottish residence, by a Guard of Honour formed by The Royal Regiment of Scotland.
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The journey typically takes two hours but will take three times longer to allow people to pay their respects along the route. The coffin will be carried to the Throne Room where it will stay until Monday afternoon to allow palace staff to honour the Queen.
On Monday, King Charles and Camilla will travel to Edinburgh to join members of the Royal Family in a walking procession, taking the coffin at 2.35pm along Edinburgh’s Royal Mile from the Palace to St Giles’ Cathedral.
The Crown of Scotland will be placed on the coffin as it's carried inside, with the monarch lying in rest until Tuesday. It marks the first opportunity for the public to pay their respects.
At 2.22pm on Wednesday the coffin will be taken in procession to the Palace of Westminster where sthe Queen will lie in state in Westminster for four days. It is expected hundreds of thousands of people will turn out to pay their respects to the longest-reigning monarch in the history of the country.
The Queen will lie in state until 6.30am on Monday when the coffin will be taken to Westminster Abbey for her state funeral. After the funeral, she will travel to Windsor Castle, where she will be laid to rest in St George’s Chapel alongside Prince Philip
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