Queen’s coffin arrives at Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh with thousands lining the streets – live
Queen’s coffin arrives at Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh with thousands lining the streets – live
Royal funeral cortege has travelled from Balmoral to Edinburgh
Our colleagues Libby Brooks, Mark Brown and Severin Carrell report on the Queen’s final Scottish journey:
The hush had settled on the waiting crowd even before the Queen’s cortege appeared over the rise in the road from Balmoral.
An oblivious toddler chattered into the silence on Ballater main street, where the country’s longest-serving monarch shopped for barbecue sausages at the local butcher.
It was a typically Highland farewell to a woman those lining the village streets considered a treasured neighbour: deeply felt, but understated in its expression.
There was no applause, no spontaneous chorus of anthem or hymn as the coffin passed by sedately, and all eyes were pulled to the east to follow it beyond sight.
Then, as though released from a trance, the bystanders turned to nod to friends and disperse promptly, leaving behind the metal crowd barriers, taking home the weight of their loss.
Read more: ‘We had to be here’: crowds bid farewell to Queen on her final Scottish journey
Mourners face a “less than 10% chance” of waiting in the rain to see the Queen’s coffin.
People in Edinburgh will be able to view the coffin at St Giles’ Cathedral from 5pm on Monday, where it will remain for about 24 hours until it is taken by RAF plane to London.
The thousands expected to file past to see the late monarch’s coffin are likely to escape any rain amid warnings of long waits, forecasters say.
Marco Petagna, a Met Office forecaster, told the PA news agency:
Tomorrow will be quite a cloudy day in Edinburgh with some patchy, light rain, however there’s every sign this will improve by the afternoon.
Later in the day it should become a lot brighter with a reasonable amount of sunshine, temperature-wise staying fair at around 17C, despite a fresher north-westerly breeze, growing cooler overnight.
Tuesday in the Scottish capital should be fine, with a fair amount of sunshine.
Meanwhile, London should be fairly cloudy that day, yet rather warm at 22C, but the evening will be of some concern as thundery showers move in from the south.
From Wednesday and until the funeral there will be a dry and fresher feel, with a fair amount of cloud and cooler winds and a less than 10% chance of rain.
The Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has said the footage of the Queen’s coffin leaving Balmoral was “incredibly moving”.
“I saw the images of the coffin leaving Balmoral this morning,” PA Media report he said to the media in his north London constituency.
I thought it was incredibly moving to see everybody who could come to the side of the road to pay their respects. It was an incredible, incredible moment. It reflects what the nation is feeling at the moment.
He also welcomed the appearance together of the new Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex with their wives in Windsor on Saturday.
He said:
I think it was very moving to see those images of them together. I think for many, many people across the country at times of uncertainty, they want the reassurance that everybody is pulling together and uniting, whether that’s across the royal family, whether it’s across politics.
So I thought it was an incredible moment and I think a lot of people will have smiled when they saw those images.
Our colleagues Jessica Elgot and Pippa Crerar have the latest on the arrangements for world leaders attending the Queen’s funeral:
Foreign heads of state arriving for the Queen’s funeral must travel by bus en masse to Westminster Abbey, rather than using private cars, according to newly issued government guidance.
The documents, seen by the Guardian, set out strict rules for the dozens of international presidents, kings, queens and prime ministers expected to attend the funeral, urging them to travel by commercial flights to avoid swamping London’s airports.
The instructions lay bare the logistical challenge of accommodating the sheer number of overseas dignitaries who will be arriving in London over next weekend – and will pose a dilemma for Joe Biden, who is likely to require a significant amount of additional security. The US president has confirmed he will attend the funeral in person.
Read more: Foreign dignitaries must share buses to travel to the Queen’s funeral
MPs, peers and parliamentary staff attended St Margaret’s Church in Westminster on Sunday evening for a special evensong service to mark the death of the Queen, reports PA.
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle and Lord Speaker Lord McFall of Alcluith read the lessons and the sermon was delivered by the Dean of Westminster, the Very Rev Dr David Hoyle.
Among the MPs present were the Father of the House, Sir Peter Bottomley, and the Attorney General, Michael Ellis.
On Monday, the King and Queen Consort will attend the Palace of Westminster to receive addresses from both Speakers before Charles then responds.
Nesrine Malik writes for us today that along with the Queen, Britain is laying to rest a sacred national image that never was:
The more the change in the country’s culture, class structure and economic profile demanded these confrontations with reality, the more the Queen became a refuge. A representation of a fictional time when things were simpler: when it was Shakespeare; Enid Blyton; the spirit of the blitz; standing alone against fascism; beneficent toffs; a cheeky working class; the welfare state; the swinging 60s; and friendly black and brown faces cleaning the floors and manning the wards. As long as the Queen existed, so did that country.
The reality is that, along with the noble empire, that country never really did exist. And over the Queen’s reign, the nation’s view of itself also became questioned every time its politics spat out a new disfranchised people. Every time a mine was closed, a deprived area rioted against the police, a foreign country was illegally invaded, a benefit was slashed, the “great” country’s narrative was tested. But these challenges never stuck. And having the Queen was always such a comfort, with her smile, her clothes, her brooches and her ritual all frozen in amber, not getting drawn into any of it.
Read more of Nesrine Malik’s column here: Along with the Queen, Britain is laying to rest a sacred national image that never was
US president Biden confirms he will attend Queen’s funeral
US president Joe Biden will attend the Queen‘s funeral along with his wife Jill, the White House has confirmed.
It comes amid reports that foreign heads of state will be asked to catch a coach to the service at Westminster Abbey on September 19.
Leaked documents seen by Politico say that world leaders will be told to leave their private state vehicles behind and will be escorted in coaches “because of tight security and road restrictions”.
Politico also reported that due to limited space within the historic building that only heads of state and their spouses or partners will be invited to the event.
According to the document, world leaders have also been told to travel on commercial flights and have been told they cannot use helicopters to travel around the UK.
Earlier on Sunday, Biden remembered the words of comfort that the late monarch had provided to the United States following the September 11 attacks more than two decades ago, PA reports.
“Grief is the price we pay for love,” said Biden, quoting part of the Queen‘s message to America during remarks on the 21st anniversary of the attacks.
The Royal Family has set up an online book of condolence so that members of the public can leave a tribute to the Queen.
Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has said now is not the time for change but rather to pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II after her death on Thursday.
Albanese had started to lay the groundwork for an Australian republic after elections in May.
The BBC’s popular and long-running radio drama The Archers has recognised the Queen’s death with a specially recorded scene broadcast on Sunday, PA reports.
Two of the serial’s most enduring characters, Lynda Snell and Lilian Bellamy, shared their memories of the Coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953.
Lynda, played by Carole Boyd, said:-
When you think of our lives since then, and everything that’s happened to us, the Queen has always been there – she’s just always been there.”
The two characters were also heard commenting on a book of condolence that had been opened inside the church in Ambridge, the fictional West Midlands village where The Archers is set.
The serial, which has been on the airwaves since 1951, has twice featured guest appearances by members of the royal family.
Most recently, in February 2011, the new Queen Consort, Camilla, visited Ambridge in her role as president of the National Osteoporosis Society.
