By DAVID KEYTON, JILL LAWLESS and MIKE CORDER
EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) — As Queen Elizabeth II’s 4 kids walked silently behind, a hearse carried her flag-draped coffin Monday alongside a crowd-lined avenue within the Scottish capital to a cathedral, the place a service of thanksgiving hailed the late monarch as a “constant in all of our lives for over 70 years.”
Four days after the 96-year-old queen died at Balmoral Castle within the Scottish Highlands, a army bagpiper performed as her oak coffin, draped within the red-and-yellow Royal Standard of Scotland, was borne from the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh in a solemn procession.
King Charles III, wearing military uniform, and his siblings Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward walked behind because the hearse traveled to St. Giles’ Cathedral, flanked by a bearer get together of the Royal Regiment of Scotland and a detachment of the Royal Company of Archers, the king’s ceremonial bodyguard in Scotland.
Inside the church, the coffin was positioned on a picket stand and topped with the golden Crown of Scotland, encrusted with 22 gems and 20 treasured stones together with freshwater pearls from Scotland’s rivers.
“And so we gather, to bid Scotland’s farewell to our late monarch, whose life of service to the nation and the world we celebrate. And whose love for Scotland was legendary,” stated the Rev. Calum MacLeod.
Because the queen died at her summer time house of Balmoral, Scotland has been the main target of the world’s consideration for the primary a part of Britain’s 10 days of nationwide mourning. Large crowds have lined the route as her coffin journeyed from the fortress to Edinburgh, underscoring the deep bond between the queen and Scotland. That bond continued at the same time as relations soured between the Conservative U.Ok. authorities in London and the pro-independence Scottish administration in Edinburgh.
Church of Scotland Moderator Iain Greenshields stated “most of us cannot recall a time when she was not our monarch.”
“Committed to the role she assumed in 1952 upon the death of her beloved father, she has been a constant in all of our lives for over 70 years,” he stated. “She was determined to see her work as a form of service to others.”
The coffin will stay on the cathedral till Tuesday so the general public will pay their respects. Thousands lined the 0.7-mile (1 kilometer) route between palace and cathedral, some arriving hours early to catch a glimpse of the coffin.
“I just wanted to be here, just to show … last respects. I cannot believe she is dead,” stated Marilyn Mclear, a 70-year-old retired trainer. “I know she was 96, but I just cannot believe the queen’s dead.”
One man shouted on the passing hearse, whereas others referred to as out: “God save the king!” But the procession was greeted principally with a respectful silence beneath a blue sky flecked with clouds.
After the service, many mourners submitting previous the coffin in Edinburgh stopped briefly and bowed their heads earlier than shifting on.
Charles, Anne and Edward all wore army uniforms, however Andrew didn’t. The Royal Navy veteran was stripped of his honorary army titles and was eliminated as a working royal over his friendship with the infamous U.S. intercourse offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Charles later donned a kilt as he visited the Scottish parliament, the place he was greeted by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
“The queen, like so many generations of our family before her, found in the hills of this land and in the hearts of its people a haven and a home,” Charles instructed Scottish lawmakers.
Earlier, the queen’s grandson, Prince Harry, hailed her as a “guiding compass” and praised her “unwavering grace and dignity.”
The authorities, in the meantime, introduced the nation will observe a minute of silence on Sunday, the night earlier than the queen’s funeral. The “moment of reflection” will happen at 8 p.m. (1900 GMT, 3 p.m. EDT).
Before flying to Scotland, Charles acquired condolences at Parliament on Monday and instructed lawmakers he would observe his late mom’s instance of “selfless duty.”
Hundreds of lawmakers crowded into the 1,000-year-old Westminster Hall for the service, wealthy in pageantry, wherein Parliament provided its condolences to the king. A trumpet fanfare greeted him and Camilla, the Queen Consort.
Charles instructed the House of Commons and the House of Lords that he would observe his late mom in upholding “the precious principles of constitutional governance” that underpin the U.Ok.’s political system.
“As I stand before you today, I cannot help but feel the weight of history, which surrounds us and which reminds us of the vital parliamentary traditions to which members of both Houses dedicate yourselves, with such personal commitment, for the betterment of us all,” Charles stated.
The ceremony was held in Westminster Hall as a result of monarchs usually are not allowed contained in the House of Commons. That rule dates from the seventeenth century, when King Charles I attempted to enter and arrest lawmakers. That confrontation led to a civil warfare which ended with the king being beheaded in 1649.
In a private tribute to his grandmother, Prince Harry stated he cherished their instances collectively “from my earliest childhood memories with you, to meeting you for the first time as my Commander-in-Chief, to the first moment you met my darling wife and hugged your beloved great-grandchildren.”
Amid acrimony within the House of Windsor, Harry stop as a senior royal and moved to the U.S. two years in the past. On Saturday, there was a attainable signal of a reconciliation as Harry and his spouse Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, joined his brother Prince William and sister-in-law Catherine, the Princess of Wales, in assembly mourners outdoors Windsor Castle.
Harry’s assertion ended on a poignant word, alluding to the dying of his grandfather, Prince Philip, final yr: “We too smile, knowing that you and grandpa are reunited now and both together in peace.”
The queen’s coffin can be flown Tuesday to London, the place it can lie in state on the Houses of Parliament from Wednesday afternoon till the morning of her funeral on Sept. 19. U.S. President Joe Biden is amongst these planning to attend the service at Westminster Abbey, together with heads of state and royalty from world wide.
Authorities have already got issued guidelines for folks desirous to pay their respects in London.
Vanessa Nathakumaran confirmed up greater than two days early to stake out a spot, hoping to be first in line. “I really, really want to be part of it,” she stated.
Judging by the scale of the gang in Edinburgh, the road behind Nathakumaran can be lengthy.
Rosamund Allen, 67, got here to Edinburgh from Rothbury in northern England to be a part of historical past.
“It was very moving. It was very quiet,” she stated. “I felt very sorry for the household itself to be on present. They are very courageous to do this. And I actually hope and pray that they get one thing out of at the moment and have an opportunity to mourn themselves.
“They were very kind to allow us to be part of their sadness.”
___
Corder and Lawless reported from London.
___
Follow AP tales on the dying of Queen Elizabeth II and Britain’s royal household at https://apnews.com/hub/queen-elizabeth-ii
Source: www.bostonherald.com”