Queen’s coffin to begin journey from Balmoral to final resting place
The Queen’s coffin will begin its journey from Balmoral to its final resting place today as it travels down through Scotland to Edinburgh.
Draped with the Royal Standard of Scotland and with a wreath of flowers on top, it has remained at rest in the Balmoral ballroom so the late monarch’s loyal Balmoral estate workers can say their last goodbyes.
The oak coffin will be lifted into a hearse at 10am by six of the estate’s gamekeepers, who have been tasked with the symbolic gesture, ready for a six-hour journey to Edinburgh.
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the ‘poignant’ journey, which will see the Queen’s coffin transported to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, would give the public a chance to come together to ‘mark our country’s shared loss’.
On Saturday, the royal family received the condolences of well-wishers when they viewed floral tributes left in memory of the late Queen at her homes of Balmoral and Windsor Castle.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were united in grief with Prince William and the Princess of Wales when they went on a walkabout meeting the public close to the Berkshire castle.
Earlier that day, King Charles III had been formally confirmed as the nation’s new monarch during a meeting of the Accession Council.
Well-wishers are expected to gather along the route the cortege will take as it travels from Balmoral to the Scottish capital – which is expected to take about six hours.
It will first head to the nearby town of Ballater, where it is expected at approximately 10.12am.
Queen Elizabeth II dead: What happens next?
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has died after 70 years on the throne, her death announced by Buckingham Palace on September 8, 2022.
She died at the age of 96 at her home in Balmoral, with her son, the now King Charles, and daughter Princess Anne by her side.
About an hour later it will arrive in Aberdeen, with tributes expected to be paid in the city’s Duthie Park.
Travelling south along the A90, it will then arrive in Dundee at about 2pm.
In Edinburgh, Ms Sturgeon and other party leaders in Scotland are expected to observe the coffin as it goes past the Scottish Parliament.
From there it will be taken into the Palace of Holyroodhouse, where it will remain for the night.
Transport bosses said an ‘unprecedented’ amount of preparation and planning had gone into drawing up the route.
In London, Charles will meet Baroness Scotland, the Commonwealth Secretary-General, at Buckingham Palace, and he will later host High Commissioners and their spouses, from countries where he is head of state, at the royal residence’s Bow Room.