By DAVID KEYTON, JILL LAWLESS and MIKE CORDER
EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) — The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II was carried Tuesday from an Edinburgh cathedral because the late monarch started a last journey from her beloved Scotland to London, the place she is going to lie in state.
Her son, King Charles III, headed again to London from Northern Ireland, the place his go to drew a uncommon second of unity from politicians in a area with a contested British and Irish id that’s deeply divided over the monarchy.
As a bagpiper performed, the flag-draped oak coffin was carried from St. Giles’ Cathedral. Crowds lining the Royal Mile by the historic coronary heart of Edinburgh broke into applause because the coffin, accompanied by the queen’s daughter, Princess Anne, was pushed to Edinburgh Airport.
Over the previous 24 hours, 1000’s of individuals filed silently previous the coffin after it was dropped at Edinburgh from the queen’s beloved Balmoral Estate, the place she died Thursday at age 96, ending her 70-year reign.
Charles left Belfast to obtain his mom’s coffin in London, the place it’s going to keep in a single day at Buckingham Palace. The coffin might be taken Wednesday to the Houses of Parliament, the place it’s going to lie in state for 4 days earlier than Monday’s funeral.
Earlier, a whole lot of individuals lined the road resulting in Hillsborough Castle close to Belfast, the royal household’s official residence in Northern Ireland, within the newest outpouring of affection following the queen’s demise. The space in entrance of the gates to the citadel was carpeted with a whole lot of floral tributes.
Charles and his spouse Camilla, the Queen Consort, obtained out of their automobile to wave to the gang and generally used each arms to succeed in out to villagers, together with schoolchildren in vivid blue uniforms. Charles even petted a corgi — famously his late mom’s favourite breed of canine — held up by one particular person, and a few chanted “God save the king!”
“Today means so much to me and my family, just to be present in my home village with my children to witness the arrival of the new king is a truly historic moment for us all,” stated Hillsborough resident Robin Campbell as he waited for Charles, who’s on a tour of the 4 components of the United Kingdom.
While there was a heat welcome in Hillsborough, the British monarchy attracts blended feelings in Northern Ireland, the place there are two foremost communities: principally Protestant unionists who contemplate themselves British and largely Roman Catholic nationalists who see themselves as Irish.
That cut up fueled three a long time of violence referred to as “the Troubles” involving paramilitary teams on either side and U.Ok. safety forces, during which 3,600 folks died. The royal household was touched personally by the violence: Lord Louis Mountbatten, a cousin of the queen and a much-loved mentor to Charles, was killed by an Irish Republican Army bomb in 1979.
A deep sectarian divide stays, 1 / 4 century after Northern Ireland’s 1998 peace settlement.
For some Irish nationalists, the British monarch represents an oppressive overseas energy. But others acknowledge the queen’s function in forging peace. On a go to to Northern Ireland in 2012, she shook arms with Sinn Fein deputy chief Martin McGuinness, a former IRA commander – a once-unthinkable second of reconciliation.
Alex Maskey, a Sinn Fein politician who’s speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly, stated the queen had “demonstrated how individual acts of positive leadership can help break down barriers and encourage reconciliation.”
In an indication of how far Northern Ireland has come on the highway to peace, representatives of Sinn Fein attended commemorative occasions for the queen and assembly the king on Tuesday.
Maskey expressed condolences to the king at an occasion in Hillsborough Castle attended by leaders from all the principle political events in Northern Ireland.
Charles responded that his mom “felt deeply, I know, the significance of the role she herself played in bringing together those whom history had separated, and in extending a hand to make possible the healing of long-held hurts.”
He stated he would draw on his mom’s “shining example” and “seek the welfare of all the inhabitants of Northern Ireland.”
Still, not everybody was welcoming the brand new king.
On the Falls Road in Belfast, a nationalist stronghold, a number of partitions are adorned with murals of Bobby Sands, an IRA member who died whereas on a starvation strike in jail in 1981, and others killed within the Troubles.
“No, he’s not our king. Bobby Sands was our king here,” stated 52-year-old Bobby Jones. “Queen never done nothing for us. Never did. None of the royals do.”
Politicians from throughout Northern Ireland’s divides attended a memorial service for the queen in Belfast. British Prime Minister Liz Truss, her Irish counterpart Micheal Martin and Irish President Michael D. Higgins had been at St. Anne’s Cathedral within the heart of Belfast for the Anglican “service of reflection.”
Clergy praised the queen’s function in serving to convey peace to Northern Ireland. Archbishop of Armagh John McDowell stated she had “walked the hard road of reconciliation.”
Irish leaders additionally attended regardless of tense relations between Dublin and London over Brexit. Since Britain left the European Union in 2020, the U.Ok. and the EU have been wrangling over commerce guidelines for Northern Ireland, the one a part of the U.Ok. that shares a border with a member of the bloc.
On Monday night time, Charles and siblings Anne, Andrew and Edward briefly stood vigil round their mom’s flag-draped coffin in St. Giles Cathedral as members of the general public filed previous.
The following morning, a person carrying a go well with adorned with medals stood silently, bowed his head and moved on. A lady dabbed away tears with a handkerchief. Another girl with two younger kids at school uniforms walked slowly previous the coffin.
In the road of mourners exterior the cathedral within the historic coronary heart of Edinburgh, Sheila McLeay referred to as the queen “a wonderful ambassador for our country.”
“She was such an example for every single one of us. She was dignified. She was just, she was beautiful inside and out. And I have known her all of my life. And I miss her very much,” she added.
The queen’s coffin might be flown again to RAF Northolt, an air pressure base in London, and pushed to Buckingham Palace.
The Royal Air Force C-17 Globemaster that may carry the coffin has been used to evacuate folks from Afghanistan and to take humanitarian assist and weapons to Ukraine following Russia’s invasion, U.Ok. Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston stated.
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Lawless and Corder reported from London.
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Follow AP tales on the demise of Queen Elizabeth II and Britain’s royal household at https://apnews.com/hub/queen-elizabeth-ii
Source: www.bostonherald.com”