The coffin of Queen Elizabeth arrived in Edinburgh, six hours after leaving her summer home in the Scottish Highlands, through tens of thousands who lined the roads and streets to bid farewell to the late Queen, where many of them remained silent, some of them clapped and cheered and others burst into tears.

Meanwhile, King Charles III went to Scotland to attend his mother's funeral.

At the end of his slow journey through the picturesque Scottish countryside and villages and towns and small towns, soldiers in kilts carried his casket to the throne room of Holyroodhouse, Elizabeth's official Scottish residence, where it would lie overnight.

In a moving tribute to his mother on Friday, the new king said she had embarked on a "last great journey" to catch up with her husband, Prince Philip, who died last year after 73 years of marriage.

Earlier, a carriage carrying an oak casket made its way through the gates of Balmoral Castle, where the Queen died last Thursday at the age of 96, at the beginning of the journey to the Scottish capital.

The casket was covered with the Royal Flag of Scotland, surmounted by a wreath of Balmoral flowers, including the sweet pea, which was one of the late's favorite flowers.

Crowds gathered in great numbers in central Edinburgh to greet the procession, which included Princess Anne, the Queen's daughter, and arrived at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, where he was greeted by a military honor guard.

Anne and her younger brothers, Andrew and Edward, bowed as soldiers from the Royal Scots carried the casket.

"There was no way I could miss this event. I would have regretted it for the rest of my life," said Elde Mackintosh, 62, who left her home at 6 am to ensure that she was well positioned on Edinburgh's famous Royal Mile so that she could catch a glimpse of the Queen in the throng of crowds.

The slow procession from Balmoral is the first in a series of events that ends with the state funeral at Westminster Abbey in London on the 19th of this month.

Her death sparked deep sadness and many tributes to the late Queen, not only from those close to her family and many in Britain, but also around the world in a reflection of her presence on the international stage for seven decades.


Wherever the procession goes, people line the roads or stop their cars and get off to follow.

At one point the procession passed a "guard of honor" of dozens of tractors that farmers lined up in the nearby fields.

Many silently watched the procession in the bright sunlight.

Some threw flowers on the road.

Others couldn't help themselves from crying.

"She was like a member of the family, we are heartbroken that she will not be with us," said Elizabeth Alexander, 69, who was born on the day the Queen's coronation in 1953.

Thousands continue to gather at royal palaces across Britain to lay flowers and pay their respects, and others write messages of condolence on trees.

Elizabeth ascended the throne after the death of her father, King George VI, on February 6, 1952, when she was only 25 years old.

And her coronation ceremony took place a year later.

Although Elizabeth's death was not entirely a surprise given her age and the fact that her health has recently deteriorated, the news was received with shock.

"We all thought she was invincible," her grandson Prince William, now heir to the throne, told mourners yesterday as he met the crowds at Windsor Castle.

Charles is going to Scotland

While the elaborate mourning plans continue, King Charles is expected to join other senior royals in Edinburgh, where the casket will be carried in procession from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to the city's St Giles Cathedral.

He will remain there for 24 hours to allow people to see their farewells, and the king and family members will also remain there for nightly services at the church where the coffin will be laid to rest before being transported to London on Tuesday.

Before traveling to Scotland, Charles, 73, who is automatically king of the United Kingdom, and 14 other countries including Australia, Canada, Jamaica, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, will head to the British Parliament for another traditional ceremony.

Officials announced that Elizabeth's funeral would be a public holiday in Britain, and US President Joe Biden said he would attend the funeral, although full details of the event and attendance have not yet been revealed.

Before that, the coffin will be flown to London, where it remains at Buckingham Palace and then taken the next day to Westminster Hall, where it remains open for 4 days.

"It goes without saying that we can expect large numbers of people," the prime minister's spokeswoman told reporters.

Prime Minister Liz Truss, whose inauguration last Tuesday was Elizabeth's last public act, will join King Charles for a four-day tour of the United Kingdom together.

Charles became the 41st King to the British throne in a line that traces back to Norman King William I the Conqueror, who seized the throne of England in 1066.