Members of the public pay their respects as they hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the Royal Standard of Scotland, is driven through Ballater. Photo: PAUL ELLIS
The coffin of Queen Elizabeth has been taken from her home in the Scottish Highlands on a slow, six-hour journey to Edinburgh, giving the public a chance to line the roads in tribute to the monarch who died after seven decades on the throne.
Thousands of people are lining the route to witness the Queen's final journey.
"You can feel the emotion from everybody around here," said local Ballater resident Cheryl Barr. "She was a very powerful lady, but very gentle at the same time."
In Aberdeen, Ashleigh and Donald Wilson were with their daughters, aged three and 11 months.
Ashleigh said: "In years to come my children will learn about her and learn about this moment. To show them they were here is important."
People stood in silence outside the gates of Balmoral as the Queen's cortege left.
The coffin was draped in the Royal Standard of Scotland with a wreath composed of some of the Queen's favourite flowers, all cut from the estate - white heather, dahlias and sweet peas.
When the cortege reached Ballater, Aberdeenshire - the closest village to Balmoral - flowers were thrown in the road by mourners, some of whom had tied union flags to barriers.
The death of the 96-year-old has provoked tears, sadness and warm tributes, not just from the queen's own close family and many in Britain, but also from around the globe - reflecting her presence on the world stage for the last 70 years.
Elizabeth Alexander, aged 69 and born on the day the queen was crowned in 1953, was waiting in the nearby village of Ballater to see the coffin go by.
"I think it will be very emotional for anyone saying goodbye, you don't know how you to know how you're going to feel when you see it," she said.
"It's like a family member, it overwhelms - the sadness - that she's not going to be with us."
Members of the public pay their respects as the hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the Royal Standard of Scotland, is driven through Ballater. Photo: PAUL ELLIS
Elizabeth's oak coffin, which has been in the ballroom of Balmoral Castle, was placed in a hearse by six gamekeepers.
Accompanied by the queen's daughter, Princess Anne, the cortege will slowly make its way from the remote castle, winding through small towns and villages to Edinburgh where the coffin will be taken to the throne room of the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
Members of staff at Balmoral have been able to pay their last respects before the Queen's coffin is moved. Many of the staff at the castle have spent a good deal of their lives working for the Queen.
"It is a scene of quiet dignity," the palace official said.
The Queen's love of her home in Balmoral was well known. She spent most summers at the 50,000-acre country estate in Aberdeenshire, usually with her beloved husband Philip and family by her side.
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said this is "a sad and poignant moment" as the Queen leaves "her beloved Balmoral" for the last time.
"Today, as she makes her journey to Edinburgh, Scotland will pay tribute to an extraordinary woman," Sturgeon wrote on Twitter.
A boy waves a Britain national flag as others gather outside of Buckingham Palace in London on 11 September, 2022. Photo: SEBASTIEN BOZON
On Monday afternoon local time, the coffin will proceed from Holyroodhouse to St Giles' Cathedral, accompanied by the King and other members of the Royal Family. The coffin will remain under continuous vigil for 24 hours, with the public able to pay their respects.
A service will be held at the cathedral in the evening.
The following day, Princess Anne will accompany her mother's coffin as it travels from Edinburgh Airport back to Buckingham Palace via RAF Northolt.
Members of the Public gather by a makeshift memorial to pay respects as they wait for the hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II to pass through Ballater. Photo: AFP
State funeral at Westminster Abbey
Elizabeth's state funeral will be held at London's Westminster Abbey on 19 September, which will be a public holiday in Britain, officials announced.
Before that, her coffin will be flown to London and there will be a sombre procession when it is later moved from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall where it will lie in state for four days.
Flowers and pictures of the late Queen Elizabeth II are placed outside of the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh on September 11, 2022. Photo: LOUISA GOULIAMAKI
In 2002 more than 200,000 people queued to pay their respects to Elizabeth's mother while her coffin lay in state and aides have previously said there is an expectation that millions may want to visit.
"It goes without saying that we can expect large numbers of people," the spokesperson for Prime Minister Liz Truss told reporters.
Children sit behind barriers in Ballater as they wait for Queen Elizabeth II's coffin to travel through the Scottish village. Photo: PAUL ELLIS
Truss, whose appointment as prime minister was the queen's last public act, will join King Charles as both the new head of state and prime minister tour the four nations of the United Kingdom in the next few days.
Charles, 73, immediately succeeded his mother but was officially proclaimed as King on Saturday in a colourful ceremony laden with pageantry and dating back centuries following a meeting of the Accession Council at St James's - a royal palace built for Henry VIII in the 1530s.
Charles is now the 41st monarch in a line that traces its origins to the Norman King William the Conqueror who captured the English throne in 1066.
- BBC/Reuters
