EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) — In a somber, regal procession, Queen Elizabeth II’s flag-draped coffin was driven slowly through the Scottish countryside Sunday from her beloved Balmoral Castle to the Scottish capital of Edinburgh. Mourners packed city streets and highway bridges or lined rural roads with cars and tractors to take part in a historic goodbye to the monarch who had reigned for 70 years.
The hearse drove past piles of bouquets and other tributes as it led a seven-car cortege from Balmoral, where the queen died Thursday at 96, for a six-hour trip through Scottish towns to Holyroodhouse palace in Edinburgh. The late queen’s coffin was draped in the Royal Standard for Scotland and topped with a wreath made of flowers from the estate, including sweet peas, one of the queen’s favorites.
The procession was a huge event for Scotland as the U.K. takes days to mourn its longest-reigning monarch, the only one most Britons have ever known. People turned out hours early to grab a space by the police barricades in Edinburgh.
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND – SEPTEMBER 11: Pallbearers carry the coffin of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II as the hearse arrives at the Palace of Holyroodhouse on September 11, 2022 in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born in Bruton Street, Mayfair, London on 21 April 1926. She married Prince Philip in 1947 and ascended the throne of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth on 6 February 1952 after the death of her Father, King George VI. Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8, 2022, and is succeeded by her eldest son, King Charles III. (Photo by Alkis Konstantinidis/WPA Pool/Getty Images) EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND – SEPTEMBER 11: People gather in tribute as the cortege carrying the coffin of the late Queen Elizabeth II, draped with the Royal Standard of Scotland, passes down the Royal Mile, Edinburgh, on the journey from Balmoral to the Palace of Holyroodhouse on September 11, 2022 in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born in Bruton Street, Mayfair, London on 21 April 1926. She married Prince Philip in 1947 and ascended the throne of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth on 6 February 1952 after the death of her Father, King George VI. Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8, 2022, and is succeeded by her eldest son, King Charles III. (Photo by Jane Barlow/WPA Pool/Getty Images) LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – SEPTEMBER 11: A image of Queen Elizabeth II and her children lays among the flowers at a memorial site in Green Park, near Buckingham Palace following the death of the queen on September 11, 2022 in London, United Kingdom. Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born in Bruton Street, Mayfair, London on 21 April 1926. She married Prince Philip in 1947 and acceded to the throne of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth on 6 February 1952 after the death of her Father, King George VI. Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8, 2022, and is succeeded by her eldest son, King Charles III. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND – SEPTEMBER 11: People line the street as the cortege carrying the coffin of the late Queen Elizabeth II is driven past the Scottish Parliament Building on its way to Palace of Holyroodhouse on September 11, 2022 in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born in Bruton Street, Mayfair, London on 21 April 1926. She married Prince Philip in 1947 and ascended the throne of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth on 6 February 1952 after the death of her Father, King George VI. Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8, 2022, and is succeeded by her eldest son, King Charles III. (Photo by Robert Perry/Getty Images) LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 11: A statue draped in floral tributes in memory of Queen Elizabeth II at Birdcage walk near the gates of Buckingham Palace on September 11, 2022 in London, England. Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born in Bruton Street, Mayfair, London on 21 April 1926. She married Prince Philip in 1947 and acceded to the throne of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth on 6 February 1952 after the death of her Father, King George VI. Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8, 2022, and is succeeded by her eldest son, King Charles III. (Photo by Tristan Fewings/Getty Images) EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND – SEPTEMBER 11: The hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped with the Royal Standard of Scotland, passing along the Royal Mile, Edinburgh, as it continues its journey to the Palace of Holyroodhouse from Balmoral on September 11, 2022 in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born in Bruton Street, Mayfair, London on 21 April 1926. She married Prince Philip in 1947 and ascended the throne of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth on 6 February 1952 after the death of her Father, King George VI. Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8, 2022, and is succeeded by her eldest son, King Charles III. (Photo by Euan Cherry/WPA Pool/Getty Images)
From left, Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence, Princess Anne, Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Prince Edward stand as the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped with the Royal Standard of Scotland, completes its journey from Balmoral to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, where it will lie in rest for a day, in Edinburgh, Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022. Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch and a rock of stability across much of a turbulent century, died Thursday Sept. 8, 2022, after 70 years on the throne. She was 96. (Aaron Chown/Pool Photo via AP) EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND – SEPTEMBER 11: People gather on the Royal Mile at Cannongate Kirk to watch the cortege carrying the coffin of the late Queen Elizabeth II, draped with the Royal Standard of Scotland, as it completes its journey from Balmoral to the Palace of Holyroodhouse on September 11, 2022 in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born in Bruton Street, Mayfair, London on 21 April 1926. She married Prince Philip in 1947 and ascended the throne of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth on 6 February 1952 after the death of her Father, King George VI. Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8, 2022, and is succeeded by her eldest son, King Charles III. (Photo by Jamie Williamson/WPA Pool/Getty Images) EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND – SEPTEMBER 11: Lord Lyon King of Arms leads three cheers during a Accession Proclamation Ceremony at Mercat Cross, publicly proclaiming King Charles III as the new monarch on September 11, 2022 in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. King Charles III ascended the throne of the United Kingdom on the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II on 8 September 2022. (Photo by Robert Perry/Getty Images)
SOUTH QUEENSFERRY, SCOTLAND – SEPTEMBER 11: People gather in tribute as the cortege carrying the coffin of the late Queen Elizabeth II passes over the Queensferry Crossing road bridge on September 11, 2022 in South Queensferry, United Kingdom. Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born in Bruton Street, Mayfair, London on 21 April 1926. She married Prince Philip in 1947 and ascended the throne of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth on 6 February 1952 after the death of her Father, King George VI. Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8, 2022, and is succeeded by her eldest son, King Charles III. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images) EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND – SEPTEMBER 11: Pallbearers carry the coffin of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II as the hearse arrives at the Palace of Holyroodhouse on September 11, 2022 in Edinburgh, United Kingdom. Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born in Bruton Street, Mayfair, London on 21 April 1926. She married Prince Philip in 1947 and ascended the throne of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth on 6 February 1952 after the death of her Father, King George VI. Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8, 2022, and is succeeded by her eldest son, King Charles III. (Photo by Alkis Konstantinidis/WPA Pool/Getty Images) LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – SEPTEMBER 11: Members of the Buckingham Palace guard march through the forecourt following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on September 11, 2022 in London, United Kingdom. Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born in Bruton Street, Mayfair, London on 21 April 1926. She married Prince Philip in 1947 and acceded to the throne of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth on 6 February 1952 after the death of her Father, King George VI. Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8, 2022, and is succeeded by her eldest son, King Charles III. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
BALLATER, ABERDEENSHIRE – SEPTEMBER 11: People gather in tribute as the cortege carrying the coffin of the late Queen Elizabeth II passes by on September 11, 2022 in Ballater, United Kingdom. Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born in Bruton Street, Mayfair, London on 21 April 1926. She married Prince Philip in 1947 and ascended the throne of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth on 6 February 1952 after the death of her Father, King George VI. Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8, 2022, and is succeeded by her eldest son, King Charles III. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
