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Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Sophie Law

When will the Queen's body travel to Edinburgh and will there be a funeral in Scotland?

Queen Elizabeth II's body is set to be moved from Balmoral to Edinburgh after the sad news of her death.

The death of the Her Majesty in Scotland has triggered contingency plans known as Operation Unicorn.

It comes as King Charles has declared 17 days of mourning for the Queen as the official first details of the palace condolences are confirmed.

On Friday, September 9 - also known as D-Day - the Queen’s coffin is expected to be at rest in the Ballroom at Balmoral Castle – her private home in Aberdeenshire in the Scottish Highlands.

In around two days’ time, the Queen’s coffin is expected to be driven by car from Balmoral to Edinburgh.

The long, slow journey will take more than five hours as it passes through a myriad of towns and villages, watched by mourners gathered along the route.

The coffin will then rest overnight in the oak-panelled Throne Room at the Palace of Holyroodhouse – the Queen’s official residence in the Scottish capital.

The next day, in around three days’ time, it is expected to be taken in a procession along the Royal Mile in the heart of Edinburgh’s old town to historic St Giles’ Cathedral, where it will remain at rest for 24 hours.

Members of the royal family are expected to process behind the hearse.

It is expected thousands of people will venture to Scotland - with the Scottish Parliament, Holyrood and St Giles' Cathedral identified as focal points for members of the public who wish to pay their respects.

A service will be held in St Giles’ and the Queen’s children are expected to stage a vigil around the Queen’s coffin – known as the Vigil of the Princes – while it lies in the cathedral.

Members of the public are expected to be allowed in to file past the Queen’s coffin to pay their respects.

The next day as part of Operation Overstudy – the transfer of the Queen’s coffin by plane, the coffin will be flown to London by the RAF on a military aircraft, ahead of preparation for a lying in state.

Once the Queen's body and family return to London, King Charles III is expected to set off on a UK tour, visiting the Scottish Parliament and St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh, then Northern Ireland's Hillsborough Castle and a service at St Anne's Cathedral, Belfast.

Meanwhile in London, rehearsals for the Queen's the funeral will be taking place.

Five days later, a procession will begin, starting at Buckingham Palace and ending at the Houses of Parliament, before the service will at Westminster Hall.

The Queen will then lie in state for three days, as members of the public visit to see her coffin.

King Charles will visit the Welsh Parliament and service at Cardiff's Liandaff Cathedral. During these final days, The Government will be finalising their plans for the day of the funeral, as hundreds of thousands of mourners flock to the streets.

A funeral will take place at Westminster Abbey, followed by a committal service at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, where Queen Elizabeth II will be buried the King George IV Memorial Chapel.

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