Led by the King, her children, grandchildren and their spouses gathered at the grand entrance of the palace as her entourage arrived. Among those present were the Queen Consort, the Prince and Princess of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Outside the palace thousands of well-wishers cheered as the state hearse, used for the first time, entered the palace gates as darkness fell. The Queen had been consulted on plans for the hearse, designed to allow the public to have a clear view of her coffin, and with her personal royal code. The coffin was to rest overnight in the Bow Room, where the Queen had hosted foreign royalty, high-profile figures and dignitaries during her reign. It was a rare moment of intimacy for her family, whose grief was on public display, and will be again on Wednesday during the ceremonial procession that will carry the coffin into Westminster Hall for her four-day stay in state. There Charles, William and Harry will join other senior members of the royal family and Princess Anne who will walk behind the coffin. Princess Royal accompanied her mother as she left her beloved Scotland for the last time on the flight from Edinburgh, where mourners had lined up overnight to pay their last respects as the late queen lay in state at St Giles’ Cathedral. In a personal statement, Princess Anne said: “I was lucky enough to share the last 24 hours of my dear mother’s life. It was an honor and a privilege to accompany her on her final journeys. “The testimony of love and respect shown by so many on these trips was both humbling and uplifting. We will all share unique memories. I offer my thanks to all who share our sense of loss. Perhaps it reminded us how much we took her presence and contribution to our national identity for granted. Well-wishers outside the gates of Buckingham Palace as the hearse carrying the Queen’s coffin arrives in London to lie in state Picture: Paul Childs/Reuters “I am also so grateful for the support and understanding offered to my dear brother Charles as he accepts the added responsibilities of a monarch. To my mother, the queen, I thank you.” The coffin was loaded onto The Royal Air Force C-17 Globemaster III, bearing the ‘Kittyhawk’ call sign, the official call sign for any military flight with the Queen on board. It was most recently used to transport humanitarian aid and weapons to the Ukraine, and during the evacuation from Kabul, and arrived at RAF Northolt around 7pm hoping for the evening rain. Inside the palace, the King and Queen Consort gathered with the Duke of York, while the Earl and Countess of Wessex were also present. So were the Queen’s grandchildren and their spouses, including the new Prince and Princess of Wales, as well as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. They were joined by Princess Margaret’s children, Earl Snowdon and Lady Sarah Chatto. Earlier, the king had traveled to Northern Ireland for the first time as a monarch. A flag-waving crowd, six deep in places, greeted him and Camilla as they arrived at Hillsborough Castle, near Belfast. Among his first tasks was a one-on-one meeting with the new Northern Ireland secretary, Chris Heaton-Harris, before meeting the leaders of the five main parties across the political divide. In the Throne Room he received a condolence message from the Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly. The royal couple later attended a memorial service for the life of Queen Elizabeth II at St Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast. He then shook hands with the president of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, and although the meeting was informal, it marked the first meeting as head of state for the King. King Charles III and the Queen Consort at the Assembly of Northern Ireland, Hillsborough Castle, Co Down. The monarch pledged to follow the late queen’s “brilliant example”. Photo: Niall Carson/PA Addressing politicians at Hillsborough Castle, the King reflected how his mother had “seen Northern Ireland go through momentous and historic change”. “Throughout the years, he never stopped praying for better times for this place and its people, whose stories he knew, whose sorrows our family had felt, and for whom he had great affection and esteem. Charles added. , who in 2015 made a personal pilgrimage to the site of his uncle Lord Mountbatten’s assassination in an IRA bomb attack. He would follow, he pledged, the late Queen’s “brilliant example” as she resolved to “pursue the well-being of all the people of Northern Ireland”. London is preparing for huge queues for the Queen to lie in state at Westminster Hall, before which her coffin will be taken in silent procession to Westminster Hall from Buckingham Palace in a carriage of the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery. As the tolls of Big Ben are launched from Hyde Park, senior members of the Royal Family will walk behind the coffin, including The King, The Duke of York, The Princess Royal, The Earl of Wessex, The Prince of Wales, The Duke of Sussex, Peter Phillips, Rear-Admiral Sir Tim Lawrence, the Duke of Gloucester and the Earl of Snowdon. As a non-working royal Harry, like his uncle Andrew, will wear morning dress to the ceremonies. His spokesman said: “Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex will wear a morning suit to all events in honor of his grandmother. His decade of military service is not defined by the uniform he wears and we respectfully ask that the focus remain on the life and legacy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.” The coffin will be carried from the gun carriage to the hearse in the center of Westminster Hall. A short service will be held and then Westminster Hall will be open to the public to pay their respects from 5pm. The Queen’s coffin is placed in a hearse on the Royal Mile at St Giles Cathedral in Parliament Square, Scotland, to lie in lieu before departing for London. Photo: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian The Queen had lain in St Giles’ Cathedral for 24 hours before making the journey south to England. People who queued up overnight to get through the catafalque had faced a wait of five to six hours. The mood was somber and reflective, except for a group of civil liberties protesters who gathered on the sidewalk opposite the cathedral entrance, holding white sheets of paper and a white banner and “protesting their right to protest,” after several arrests made in the midst of ceremonies for King Charles and the late Queen. About 500 dignitaries from around the world are to attend the state funeral. “This is the biggest international event we have hosted for decades,” a Whitehall source said. For most countries the invitation is addressed to the head of state plus one guest. It was a logistical task equivalent to organizing “hundreds of state visits” in a few days, the source said. Invitations have not been sent to Russia, Belarus and Myanmar, the sources said, while Iran will only be represented at ambassadorial level.
