Details of Her Majesty’s final journey from Balmoral to Windsor and when members of the public can pay their respects have been released by the Earl Marshal, the Duke of Norfolk, who is coordinating the funeral arrangements. The late Queen currently lies in an oak coffin in the ballroom at Balmoral Castle, covered by a royal standard and a wreath of flowers, where estate staff were able to pay their respects after her death on Thursday. It was described as a “scene of quiet dignity” by a senior palace official. At 10am on Sunday six gamekeepers from the Balmoral Estate will carry Her Majesty’s coffin into a hearse which will make the slow six-hour journey to Edinburgh, where it will be taken to the throne room of the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the official royal residence. in Scotland. Staff there will be able to pay their respects before the next leg of the late Queen’s journey begins at 2.35pm on Monday, where the King and Queen Consort will travel behind the coffin on its way from Holyroodhouse to the Cathedral of St Giles, where the Crown of Scotland will be placed on the coffin. After a service, the late Queen will lie in state in the cathedral for 24 hours to allow the people of Scotland to pay their respects. Full details of the lie-in-status settlements will be released soon, officials said. On Tuesday at 5 p.m. the coffin will be carried on the 45-minute journey from St Giles’ Cathedral to Edinburgh Airport, where the Princess Royal will join her late mother on the flight to RAF Northolt in London, where she will land at 6.55pm. From Northolt the coffin will be taken in a state hearse to Buckingham Palace, where it will lie in the Bow Room overnight. On Wednesday the coffin will be adorned with the imperial crown and members of the royal family will say prayers before the coffin leaves the palace by carriage at 2.22pm. on a trip to Westminster Hall in the Houses of Parliament. The royals will walk behind the coffin, with guns from nearby parks and Big Ben tolling during a silent journey, ending at 3pm with a brief service. Queen Elizabeth will lie in state for four clear days – Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday – during which members of the public can apply to pay their respects. At 6.30 am on Monday 19th, the audience in state will finish, before the State Funeral at Westminster Abbey at 11am that morning.
