THE Queen will begin her final journey today as her coffin is taken from her beloved Balmoral ahead of her state funeral.
Mourners are already lining the streets to pay their respects as Her Majesty's oak coffin is taken on a slow procession through Scotland.
At 10am, six Balmoral gamekeepers will lift the Queen into a hearse ready for the six-hour journey to Edinburgh.
Draped with the Royal Standard of Scotland, the coffin will first be taken to the town of Ballater at around 10.12am.
It comes as…
- Princes William and Harry and wives Kate and Meghan dramatically reunited yesterday in tribute to the Queen
- Princess Kate revealed son Louis' poignant reaction after she told him the Queen had died
- Senior royals faced a mysterious hour-long delay as they raced to be with the dying Queen
- Prince Harry told mourners "it's a lonely place up there now without her" as he met crowds of well-wishers
- Meghan Markle revealed her support for Princess Kate and Prince William with a telling gesture
Families have already arrived to attach Union flags to barriers outside the village church.
The procession will then arrive in Aberdeen an hour later as tributes are paid in the city's Duthie Park.
Read more on the Queen’s death
Prince Harry & William FINALLY reunite as Meghan and Kate join to mourn Queen
How to see Queen’s coffin as up to 1m Brits set to file past at lying in state
Her Majesty's coffin will be taken to Dundee at 2pm and then on to Edinburgh for 4pm.
Scottish party leaders including First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will observe the journey to Holyroodhouse.
The Queen will remain there overnight as the Scottish capital becomes the first point on the nation's period of mourning.
Well-wishers have been invited to gather along the route to honour the UK's longest-serving monarch.
Most read in The Sun
Kate reveals poignant reaction of Louis, 4, after great-gran The Queen died
Meghan and Harry join William and Princess Kate to mourn Queen at Windsor
Bank Holiday date for Queen’s state funeral confirmed – when will it be?
Eugenie breaks down beside cousin Zara as Royals read tributes to Queen
King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla will arrive in Edinburgh tomorrow to travel with the coffin from Holyroodhouse to St Giles Cathedral.
She will lie in state for 24 hours, allowing Scots to come to pay their respects.
Princess Anne will then accompany her late mother from Edinburgh Airport to RAF Northolt on Tuesday evening.
The coffin will be met by a Guard of Honour from the King's Guard as it arrives at Buckingham Palace.
King Charles and Queen Camilla will watch as it is carried to the Bow Room where chaplains will keep watch.
On Wednesday, there will be a horse and carriage procession through the streets of London at 2.22pm to Westminster Hall.
One million mourners are expected to visit her coffin as the Queen lies in state for four full days.
Details on how to attend will be released in the coming days but it is expected to operate on a first come first served basis.
Soldiers will guard the coffin around the clock as the streams of mourners file past.
Members of the Royal Family are also expected to take turns standing guard in a tradition known as the Vigil of the Princes.
Prince Edward and Charles both stood watch over the Queen Mother's coffin in 2002.
Her Majesty will then be laid to rest on Monday 19 September at 11am.
The state funeral has officially been declared as a Bank Holiday with a two minute's silence expected to beheld across the nation at midday.
The Queen's final resting place will be the King George VI memorial chapel where her mother and father were buried along with the ashes of her sister, Princess Margaret.
Prince Philip's coffin will move from the Royal Vault to the memorial chapel to join his beloved wife of 73 years.
Source: Read Full Article
