Before the Queen leaves Scotland forever, her supporters will have the opportunity to say goodbye. People waited for hours in front of St. Giles Cathedral to mourn the monarch’s coffin. One of them describes the atmosphere in the church as “absolutely amazing”.
Emotional scenes took place when Queen Elizabeth II said goodbye to Scotland. The closed coffin was laid out in St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh on Monday for the public to pay their respects to the monarch who died last Thursday. British media reported that many people burst into tears, bowed in front of the coffin or curtsied.
The Sun newspaper published pictures of mourners crying and holding each other. A former soldier was the first in the line to be let into the church early Monday evening. He had stayed at the cathedral for ten hours since the early morning to say goodbye to the Queen. “It was absolutely amazing. You could have heard a pin drop,” he told Sky News. “I’m glad I did and I would do it all over again. It was a poignant day and I will never forget it.”
The Queen’s body is due to be taken to London on Tuesday evening. A plane with the coffin is scheduled to take off from Edinburgh Airport at 7 p.m. (CEST) and land in the British capital just under an hour later. Queen’s daughter Princess Anne is also on board. The coffin stays in Buckingham Palace overnight and is then laid out in Westminster Hall for four days. Huge crowds are also expected here, wanting to pay their respects to Elizabeth II.
King Charles III will not be present on arrival in London, the monarch and his wife are traveling to Northern Ireland from Edinburgh on Tuesday. In the Northern Irish capital of Belfast, he and Queen Camilla visit an exhibition at Hillsborough Castle about the long bond between Elizabeth II and the British provinces. Meetings are also planned with the British Minister for Northern Ireland, Chris Heaton-Harris, and leaders of the Northern Irish parties. In the regional parliament, Charles will receive a message of condolences. Later, the royal couple attend a prayer at St. Anne’s Cathedral.
