Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin in a hearse
Queen Elizabeth II’s final journey began on Sunday when her coffin was moved from Balmoral Castle, on the country estate where she died, at the start of a six-hour procession to Edinburgh, which will be the focus of Scotland’s farewell to its monarch.
NewsVerse Nigeria reports that Elizabeth’s oak coffin was moved by a hearse from the gates of Balmoral Castle, where she died on Thursday aged 96, to drive slowly towards the Scottish capital.
The coffin was draped in the Royal Standard of Scotland with a wreath on top made up of flowers taken from the Balmoral estate including sweet peas, one of Elizabeth’s favourites.
Crowds lined parts of the route as the nation mourns its longest-reigning monarch, the only one most Britons have ever known. In the Scottish village of Ballater, where residents regard the royal family as neighbors, hundreds of people watched in silence and some threw flowers in front of the hearse as it passed.
“She meant such a lot to people in this area. People were crying, it was amazing to see,” said Victoria Pacheco, a guest house manager.
NewsVerse Nigeria reports that Sunday’s solemn drive through Scotland comes a day after the queen’s eldest son was formally proclaimed the new monarch — King Charles III — at a pomp-filled accession ceremony steeped in ancient tradition and political symbolism.
“I am deeply aware of this great inheritance and of the duties and heavy responsibilities of sovereignty, which have now passed to me,” Charles said as he took on the duties of monarch.
Accompanied was her daughter Princess Anne in the.
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