EDINBURGH: The late Queen Elizabeth's coffin was taken along the Royal Mile in the Scottish capital Edinburgh on Monday in a silent and solemn procession as thousands queued for hours for a chance to pay their respects to Britain's longest-serving monarch.
The sombre mourners, some weeping, others with heads bowed or curtsying, walked slowly past the oak coffin. Draped in the Royal Standard of Scotland, the coffin was topped with a wreath of white flowers and the Crown of Scotland, as it lay at rest in the city's St. Giles Cathedral.
It had earlier been brought from the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the monarch's official residence in Scotland, in a procession watched by a huge grieving crowd, mostly in silence, with King Charles and other members of the royal family walking slowly behind the hearse.
"We were very upset. It was so emotional. It brought it all home," said Michael Hainsworth, 70, a retired music teacher, who was comforting his crying wife and had been one of the first to enter the cathedral to see the coffin.
"It is hard to put into words. You don't think it will hit you but then it does," said Hainsworth, who had patiently waited for seven hours.
Queen Elizabeth died on Thursday in her holiday home at Balmoral, in the Scottish Highlands, at the age of 96 after a 70-year reign, plunging Britain into mourning even as it faces an economic crisis and a change of government.
Her coffin had arrived from Balmoral on Sunday and stood overnight at Holyroodhouse.
A bagpipe lament was the only sound as kilted soldiers from the Royal Regiment of Scotland bore the casket from the palace and placed it in the hearse for the short journey to the cathedral.
A gun salute boomed out from a battery on Edinburgh Castle when the hearse moved off and a single round was fired each minute of the procession. Other than that there was just silence - except a brief shout from a heckler aimed at Prince Andrew.
Under a sunny sky, Charles, 73, who automatically became king on his mother's death, and his siblings - Anne, Andrew and Edward - walked slowly behind the hearse, while the Royal Company of Archers provided the guard of honour.
Tina Richardson, 63, a retiree from Dunbar, was among those standing on the centuries-old Royal Mile beside the cathedral. She said her middle name was Elizabeth after the late queen.
Queen Elizabeth's coffin arrives in Edinburgh as mourners line streets
"There'll never be anyone like her," she told Reuters. "She was such a beautiful lady who gave us all so much. She dedicated her whole life to the country. In good times and bad she was there, especially during COVID. She united everybody."
Ellie Merton, 52, an arts producer, who travelled up from the border region of Scotland, said: "We had pipers, horses and archers. There was the sense of the Scottish community being around here as she made her final journey."
'Our democracy'
In a packed timetable for the new monarch, Charles went to the devolved Scottish assembly after the service to hear a motion of condolence. He had begun the day in London, when he addressed members of the British parliament at Westminster Hall.
He called parliament the "living and breathing instrument of our democracy" and pledged to follow his late mother's example in maintaining its independence.
As with all the ceremonies to mark the queen's death and Charles' accession to the throne, there was much pageantry.
He arrived at Westminster Hall to a fanfare of trumpets with his wife Camilla, Queen Consort. The royal couple sat on ceremonial chairs, with cavalry troopers in red tunics and plumed helmets standing to attention behind.
"She set an example of selfless duty which, with God's help and your counsels, I am resolved faithfully to follow," he told members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
The assembly then sang "God Save the King".
Charles, who is now king of the United Kingdom and 14 other realms including Australia, Canada, Jamaica, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, is known for expressing his views on matters ranging from the environment to youth issues.
He has suggested that as king, he would moderate his style, in keeping with the tradition that the monarch keeps out of political matters.
On Tuesday, the coffin will be flown to London, where on Wednesday it will begin a period of lying in state until Sept. 19 - the day of Elizabeth's state funeral - on a catafalque at Westminster Hall.
In London, members of the public will be allowed to process past the coffin, which will be covered by the Royal Standard with the sovereign's Orb and Sceptre placed on top, for 24 hours a day until 6.30 a.m. (0530 GMT) on Sept. 19.
The government said those wishing to do so should expect to queue for many hours and possibly overnight due to the huge number of people expected.
Britain last saw such a display of public mourning in 1997 after the death of Charles's first wife, Princess Diana, in a Paris car crash.
In his first public comment since the queen's death, Prince Harry - Diana's son - paid an emotional tribute to his "granny" on Monday, saying she would be sorely missed not just by the family, but the world over.
"We, too, smile knowing that you and grandpa are reunited now, and both together in peace," Harry said, a reference to Elizabeth's husband of 73 years, Prince Philip, who died last year.
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