Wellwishers mourning the loss of Queen Elizabeth have left floral tributes at her Scottish home after she passed away on Thursday.
Despite the pouring rain on Thursday, people gathered throughout outside Balmoral the evening to pay their respects to Britain’s longest-serving monarch.
It comes as King Charles III is set to travel from Balmoral to London on Friday following the death of his mother. Prince Harry left the castle this morning after spending the night with his family.
The new King will be accompanied by Queen Consort, Camilla, while other senior royals remain gathered in Scotland for the time being.
The Queen’s other children, Prince Edward and Prince Andrew rushed to Balmoral on Thursday to be with her in her final moments. The Princess Royal had been on the Isle of Raasay on Wednesday and stayed at Balmoral overnight.
Prince William, Harry and the Countess of Wessex also travelled to the Scottish Estate, a country home much beloved by the late Queen, following news of her ill-health.
Tributes and flowers have been laid out on a bridge next to Balmoral, with one card reading: “I love you Queen. I’ll miss you. Tilly, aged 4.”
Another read: “A mother, a grandmother, a great grandmother, our Queen. Your job here is done. Rest easy. Charlotte, Adam, Harriet and Tilly.”
Gillian Neale and her daughter Jodie, 11, travelled from Alford, Aberdeenshire, to pay their respects at Balmoral Castle. “It’s a very sad mood here,” Ms Neale said.
“She was very popular around here, everybody loved her and she loved it here. We came here to be respectful.”
Reverend Kenneth MacKenzie, of Crathie Kirk - the church the royals attend while at Balmoral - said that locals in the area had learned of her death with “great sadness”.
He said her long life had been “shaped by faith, infused with grace, and characterised by selfless service.”
Photos taken on Thursday afternoon showed William driving Sophie, Edward and Andrew from Aberdeen airport to the royal estate. The death of the Queen was later confirmed in a statement at 6:30pm.
Downing Street said that prime minister Liz Truss had been informed of the Queen’s death at 4.30pm by the cabinet secretary while she was working in No 10.
Harry landed in Aberdeen nearly an hour and a half after the death of his grandmother was announced, arriving at Balmoral at 7.52pm.
Both William and Harry headed to the Scottish estate alone without their wives, with Meghan thought to be staying behind in London after the couple’s plans to attend the WellChild awards were cancelled.
Kate reportedly stayed behind in Windsor to help look after the children. Thursday was the first day of school for Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
The family will now be gathered at Balmoral castle as preparations get underway for the Queen to lie in state.
Charles will hold his first audience with the prime minister as king on Friday and will address the nation in a television broadcast in the evening.
Since the 19th century, the royals have found particular solace in the 50,000-acre country estate in Aberdeenshire.
It was a favourite residence of the late Queen and Queen Victoria referred to it as “my dear paradise in the Highlands”.
As children, the Queen and her sister would spend summers there playing charades with their family and singing Scottish ditties. It has often been a place where they could relax away from the pressures of royal life.
Balmoral was also the place where the Queen got to know her future husband Prince Philip and they spent some of their honeymoon there, in a country home on the grounds.
The newly married Queen described life with Philip and their corgis in a letter to the Queen Mother after their wedding, writing: “It’s heaven here. Philip is reading full length on the sofa (he has a cold).
“Susan is stretched out before the fire, Rummy is fast asleep in his box by the fire, and I am busy writing this in one of the armchairs near the fire (you see how important the fire is!).”
She also wasn’t afraid to get rid of the servants and make do herself. When Tony Blair visited the Queen at Balmoral he was surprised that she got stuck in with the hosting and cooking.
Recalling the stay, he said: “You think I’m joking, but I’m not. They put the gloves on and stick their hands in the sink. The Queen asks if you’ve finished, she stacks the plates up and goes off to the sink.”
Responding to news of the Queen’s death, Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon said that “Scotland loved, respected and admired her. And by all accounts Her Majesty was rarely happier than when she was here in Scotland, at her beloved Balmoral.
“I hope it will be a source of comfort to her family that she spent her final days in a place that she loved so much.”
Remembering her time spent with the Queen, Theresa May also mentioned her love of the Highland retreat.
“She took a great interest in the estate and in the animals on estate. Her great love of the countryside came through,” she said.
