The Queen is currently resting in the ballroom at Balmoral Castle, where estate staff can pay their last respects, a senior palace official said. Her oak coffin has been draped with the Royal Standard for Scotland and a wreath of flowers has been placed on top. On Sunday morning, her coffin will begin a six-hour journey to Edinburgh and the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the British monarch’s official residence in Scotland. On Monday, she will move to St Giles’ Cathedral for a service attended by the King and Queen Consort and a congregation made up of “all sectors of Scottish society”, the senior palace official said. After the service, the coffin will lie there for 24 hours to allow the Scottish public to pay their respects. Charles and members of the royal family will take part in the vigil — or vigil — on Monday evening. Princess Anne will accompany her mother’s body the next day as it is flown back to London and laid on a tribune in the Bow Room at Buckingham Palace overnight, the official said. Wednesday will see an exquisite silent procession carry the coffin in a carriage from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, the oldest part of the Palace of Westminster, where the Queen will lie in state until the morning of the funeral. In an incredibly poignant moment, members of the royal family will walk behind their beloved matriarch. During the procession, Big Ben will toll and the Royal Army Knight Artillery will fire fine guns in Hyde Park, the official added. It will be placed on a raised platform — or catafalque — in the middle of the hall and guarded around the clock by officers of the Home Office, the King’s Bodyguard or the Royal Company of Archers. On the morning of September 19, the coffin will travel in procession once again to Westminster Abbey for the funeral, details of which are likely to be announced in the coming days. After the service, it will again be taken in procession to Wellington Arch, before traveling to Windsor, where it will proceed to the Long Walk and St George’s Chapel for a commitment. Funeral arrangements have been in the works for many years. While the Queen would have a say in the plans before her death, they can only be signed off by the sitting monarch. Charles, who was officially proclaimed King earlier on Saturday, performed this duty alongside the Duke of Norfolk, who has the hereditary role of Earl Marshal, which is responsible for orchestrating state events. Speaking on behalf of the many agencies involved in the funeral arrangements, the Earl Marshal said on Saturday “we will carry out our duty in the coming days with the greatest of hearts”. And he continued, “But also, with the firmest determination to ensure a fitting farewell to one of the defining figures of our time; a monarch we were truly privileged to have as Head of State of our country and Kingdoms, and Head of wider Commonwealth”. Westminster Abbey, founded in 960 AD. by Benedictine monks, is one of London’s most recognizable landmarks. The historic church has been the setting for every coronation since 1066, and was where the then-Princess Elizabeth married Prince Philip in 1947. But there hasn’t been a monarch funeral there since George II’s in 1760. Heads of state and dignitaries from around the world are expected to be invited to the British capital to join members of the royal family in celebrating the Queen’s life and her steadfast service to the nation and the Commonwealth. Although a guest list has not yet been announced, US President Joe Biden told reporters on Friday that he planned to attend the funeral. Other familiar faces on the televised service will be some of the Queen’s 15 former prime ministers and senior MPs.
