Crowds lined the road in Scotland as the United Kingdom mourned its longest-reigning monarch, the only one most Britons have ever known.
Queen Elizabeth II’s flag-covered coffin has arrived at Holyrood House in Edinburgh after a six-hour flight from Balmoral Castle, where the United Kingdom’s longest-reigning monarch died on Thursday.
Thousands of people lined the road in Scotland to pay their last respects to the late monarch, the only person most Britons have ever known. Earlier on Sunday, flowers and other items piled up outside the gates of Balmoral and Holyrood House.
The coffin will be moved from Holyrood House to nearby St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh on Monday, where it will remain before being taken to London for a state funeral on September 19.
He will then be moved from Buckingham Palace on Wednesday to the Houses of Parliament to remain in state until the funeral at Westminster Abbey.
Elizabeth Alexander, 69, who was born on the day of the Queen’s coronation in 1953, was in the village of Ballater to see the coffin pass.
“I think it would be very emotional for anyone to say goodbye. It’s like a family member, it’s heartbreaking – because she won’t be with us,” Alexander said.
The Queen ascended to the throne after the death of her father, King George VI, on February 6, 1952, when she was only 25 years old. She was crowned a year later.
Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher said, from the front of the Holyrood House mansion where people have been laying flowers since the early hours.
“It gives people the opportunity to say goodbye collectively to a woman who was loved and loved by the Scots…and let’s face it the Scots don’t tend to love everyone, but they have a special place of affection for the Queen,” Fisher said.
Heavy Sovereignty Responsibilities
Sunday’s ceremonial trip across Scotland comes a day after the Queen’s eldest son officially declared the new king – King Charles III – in a pomp-filled inauguration ceremony steeped in ancient tradition and political symbolism.
“I am fully aware of this great legacy and the great duties and responsibilities of the Sovereign, which have now passed on to me,” said Charles as he assumed the duties of King.
He has been declared king in other countries of the United Kingdom – Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – and in cities across the country.
Earlier, pronouncements were made in other parts of the Commonwealth – the group of former British Empire colonies – including Australia and New Zealand.
Even while grieving for his late mother, Charles intended to act. He met the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, a group of nations grappling with affection for the Queen and persistent bitterness over her colonial legacy, at Buckingham Palace. This ranged from slavery to corporal punishment in African schools to looted artifacts found in British institutions.
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