Royal family to greet Queen's coffin in London after journey from Scotland

AFP

The late Queen Elizabeth's coffin was being driven slowly through London to Buckingham Palace on Tuesday, to be met by her son and successor King Charles and her children, grandchildren and their spouses – a historic gathering of the royal family in the final days of mourning before Monday's state funeral.

The flag-draped coffin was flown to London from Scotland in a Royal Air Force plane after lying at rest in St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh overnight. About 33,000 people had filed past the coffin through the night in the Scottish capital to pay their respects to Britain's longest-serving monarch.

Elizabeth died peacefully on Thursday in her holiday home at Balmoral Castle, in the Scottish Highlands, at the age of 96, plunging the nation into mourning for a monarch who had reigned for 70 years.

Earlier on Tuesday, Charles visited Northern Ireland to lead mourning for the queen there. Political leaders in Belfast paid tribute to his mother's efforts toward reconciliation between the divided communities of the British-run province and urged him to follow her example.

He then returned to London as the coffin was flown south.

Tens of thousands of people had turned out to observe the procession of the coffin along Edinburgh's historic Royal Mile on Monday after it was brought from Balmoral. On Monday night, Charles, his sister Anne and brothers Andrew and Edward attended a silent vigil at the cathedral.

Scotland bids farewell

The coffin was taken from St Giles on Tuesday afternoon and taken by hearse to Edinburgh airport, groups of people standing in silence by the roadside. It was accompanied by Princess Anne.

"It has been an honor and a privilege to accompany her on her final journeys," Anne said in a statement. "Witnessing the love and respect shown by so many on these journeys has been both humbling and uplifting."

A party of bearers from the Royal Air Force carried the casket onto the transporter plane. A kilted honor guard from the Royal Regiment of Scotland stood with fixed bayonets as a regimental band played the national anthem as the plane began to taxi. With that, Scotland bade farewell to the queen.

The plane arrived at RAF Northolt outside London to be driven to Buckingham Palace, the main royal residence. Again people lined the route through West London, some huddling under umbrellas as rain poured down.

Crowds of people also gathered outside Buckingham Palace – the site of many memorable festivities during the queen's reign, from royal wedding celebrations to jubilees.

On Wednesday, the coffin will be taken on a gun carriage as part of a grand military procession to Westminster Hall, where a period of lying in state will begin until the funeral on Monday.

Members of the public will be allowed to walk past the coffin for 24 hours a day until the morning of the funeral, which will be attended by dozens of world leaders including US President Joe Biden.

Support for Charles up

A new poll, meanwhile, showed Charles has enjoyed a surge in support since he became king.

Now 63 percent think he will be a good king, a rise of 24 percentage points since March, while 15 percent believe he will do a bad job, compared with 31 percent six months ago, the YouGov poll found.