Many a shop in Ballater held a Royal Warrant for services rendered unto the Queen - but the town was largely closed for business as it said goodbye to its most famous neighbour.
Shops and cafes in the town closed to allow employees to pay their respects to Her Majesty, who was regarded by many locals as one of their own.
Two pubs opened to let residents gather and watch the state funeral together, but the streets of the Aberdeenshire village were otherwise quiet, save for pockets of mourners who stopped by the floral tributes to lay bouquets of their own.
A few miles away at the gates of Balmoral, a steady trickle of people continued to come and go throughout the morning. Those who spoke to the Record said they wanted to be somewhere the Queen held dear, rather than at home watching proceedings on TV.
Hollie Stinson, a 30-year-old florist from Insch, laid a bouquet of home-grown dahlias and cosmos alongside pet cockapoo Barley.
She said: “I didn’t get a chance to come here before and thought I would use the bank holiday to come and pay my respects.
“I enjoy the Balmoral estate a lot and I’m not a big royalist or anything but her death felt quite unexpected.
“We’re going to have a lovely walk and reflect. This feels like the right place to do it.”
Catherine Sala, 49, and her family travelled from Fife to be at Balmoral for the Queen’s last goodbye - but planned to watch the funeral later.
Catherine, who runs the Cat’s Mission charity, said: “I think it’s going to be hard to watch. I had to stop looking at it all because I felt like I knew her personally.
“She came from an era of respect. I think it’s such a shame her sense of humour wasn’t spoken about as much as it has been now - and what a smile she had.”
Her retired fireman dad Tad, 75, added: “It’s a strange feeling to be here. I didn’t personally think I would feel the way I do - very, very sad.
“But we as a family have always been in favour of the Queen. It’s just a sad, sad time, and how quickly it came to pass.
“She had such a huge smile, and you’ve really seen the sadness in Charles’ face in his first couple of days as King. I think we need to give him a chance to prove himself.”
Wojtek Wojcicki, 44, works in oil and gas in Aberdeen. He came to pay tribute to the Queen after being granted British citizenship in 2013 - a process in which he vowed an oath of allegiance to the monarch.
He said: “We thought it was a good time to come here - it is a major moment. This is Britain, and we always think of the Queen when we think of Britain.
“It is part of the British way of life. My citizenship is signed by the Queen, or on her behalf.
“When I became a British citizen and passed the test I took the oath and she admitted me ‘to the club’. She said yes to me becoming a citizen and I will always be thankful for that.
“She is an icon. It’s very sad - it’s the end of an era. We expected this to happen but that doesn’t mean we wanted it to happen. But at the end of the day, like all of us, she was human.”
The floral tributes have continued to accumulate at Balmoral and grew further still as people came and went throughout Monday morning.
One written tribute, from eight-year-old Poppy Weatherall, read: “To Your Majesty - the years you have on the throne have been amazing. You made people’s lives safe, happy and great. We are all very sad but we will still love you.
“You will always be our Queen. We all love you.”
Another, from the Keckler family from the USA, noted: “Grace - stability - dedication.”
Many of those who came to Balmoral at the time of the funeral did so as visitors from abroad - keen to play their own small part at a pivotal moment in history.
Rainer Jangor, 63, from Dresden in Germany, said: “We are here on holiday and the Queen left us at the same time. We thought it would be good to come.
“We have followed the Queen her whole life and we have seen all the things that she has done - it is very impressive that she has been Queen for so long, as the head of the British nation.
“And it has been very impressive to see how the people of the UK have come together at this time and how they feel. We do not have this kind of head of government in Germany, but I feel it now, I would say.”
Farmers Jo Yates, 58, and husband John, 70, from Helmsley in North Yorkshire, wanted to be somewhere close to the Queen’s heart.
Jo said: “We wanted to say thank you - thank you for being an amazing ruler, a constant in everyone’s lives. You always felt she was there in difficult times.
“I remember waving at her as a child in the 1977 Jubilee in London. It’s just wonderful to be a part of this - the royal family being people together and she has, I think, because she reigned for so long and through so much change.
“Hers is going to be a notable absence, and I think Charles will be a more relaxed, more handshaking king. Today is the start of the next step - the passing of the baton, so to speak.
“I’m not hugely religious or anything but I would like to believe she is resting at peace having done her duty, with Philip. I’m sure it’s a wonderful place to be.”
Californians Susan and Pete Lynn, 64 and 60, happened to be in Scotland at the time of the Queen’s passing, celebrating Pete’s retirement from American oil giant Chevron. The trip has become a semi-pilgrimage to the Queen, with the couple taking in the processions in Edinburgh before heading up to Balmoral via Aviemore.
Pete said: “She dedicated her life to public service and I realise now that she has been Queen the entire time of my existence.
“When you look at how she lived her life and the commitments she has fulfilled - she wanted to do the very best she could do for her people.
“We admire her dedication to her service.”
Susan says she found herself feeling a great affinity for the Queen after watching Netflix drama The Crown.
She said: “Every housewife has watched The Crown. I’ve never really been exposed to royalty until I watched it but I realised that these people are living their lives, trying to get through.
“They were born into it and but for the grace of God we could’ve been born into it as well. For her to be able to step into the role and understand all of what was asked of her, and to deal with her uncle’s abdication and everything else - she came across as a brilliant woman.
“I was five or six and in kindergarten when President Kennedy was assassinated and it had a strange impact on me. The impact the Queen’s passing will have on people here, especially young children, will be much greater than maybe those ten or 15 years older.
“This is a big event and we now have a generation that will grow up remembering only a King.”
Peggy Breed, 62, a nurse from Oregon, said: “We’re just finishing a trip around Scotland. I just felt like being here was something I had to do.”
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