Queen Elizabeth's Coffin Seen for First Time as It Travels from Balmoral Castle to Edinburgh

Mar. 15, 2025

Queen Elizabeth’s coffin has begun its journey.

The monarch’s oak coffin left Balmoral Castle, where she died on Sept. 8, on Sunday morning around 10 a.m. local time. Draped in the Royal Standard of Scotland and a wreath of flowers picked from the Balmoral estate including dahlias, sweet peas, phlox, white heather and pine fir, it began its six-hour drive south to the Palace of Holyroodhouse in the Scottish capital of Edinburgh.

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Queen Elizabeth’s hearse.ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP via Getty

The hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II covered with the Royal Standard of Scotland and a flowers is driven away from Balmoral Castle in Ballater, on September 11, 2022. - Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin will travel by road through Scottish towns and villages on Sunday as it begins its final journey from her beloved Scottish retreat of Balmoral. The Queen, who died on September 8, will be taken to the Palace of Holyrood House before lying at rest in St Giles' Cathedral, before travelling onwards to London for her funeral. (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP) (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP via Getty Images)

The coffin is expected to arrive at Holyroodhouse at around 4 p.m. local time and remain there overnight to enable staff at the palace to pay their respects.

On Monday, the late Queen’s coffin will be adorned with the Crown of Scotland and then be taken in a solemn procession up the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, in a procession to the city’s St. Giles’s Cathedral for a service.

Queen Elizabeth’s hearse.Scott Heppell/AP/Shutterstock

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Scott Heppell/AP/Shutterstock (13382392h) Members of the public line the streets in Ballater, Scotland, as the hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II passes through as it makes its journey to Edinburgh from Balmoral in Scotland, . The Queen’s coffin will be transported Sunday on a journey from Balmoral to the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, where it will lie at rest before being moved to London later in the week Royals, Ballater, United Kingdom - 11 Sep 2022

King Charles IIIwill walk behind his mother’s casket during the ceremony with his siblings,Princess Anneand her husband,Prince AndrewandPrince Edward. It is expected that theQueen Consort, Camilla, and Sophie, Countess of Wessex will travel up to the cathedral service in transport behind the marchers.

Princess Anne.Peter Summers/Getty

BANCHORY, SCOTLAND - SEPTEMBER 11: Princess Anne, Princess Royal travels in a vehicle behind the hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II on September 11, 2022 in Banchory, United Kingdom. Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born in Bruton Street, Mayfair, London on 21 April 1926. She married Prince Philip in 1947 and ascended the throne of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth on 6 February 1952 after the death of her Father, King George VI. Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8, 2022, and is succeeded by her eldest son, King Charles III. (Photo by Peter Summers/Getty Images)

Mourners in the British capital will then have a chance to pay respects when the Queen’s coffin rests in the 900-year-old Westminster Hall in the Houses of Parliament.

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Scott Heppell/AP/Shutterstock (13382392l) Members of the public line the streets in Ballater, Scotland, as the hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II passes through as it makes its journey to Edinburgh from Balmoral in Scotland, . The Queen’s coffin will be transported Sunday on a journey from Balmoral to the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, where it will lie at rest before being moved to London later in the week Royals, Ballater, United Kingdom - 11 Sep 2022

The plan to bring the Queen’s body home to England if she died in Scotland is dubbed Operation Unicorn, while the funeral arrangements are known asOperation London Bridge.

In a statement read at a briefing at Buckingham Palace on Saturday, the Earl Marshal the Duke of Norfolk, who is managing all the funeral arrangements, said, “We will carry out our duty in the coming days with the heaviest of hearts, but also with the firmest of resolve to ensure a fitting farewell to one of the defining figures of our times; a monarch whom we were truly privileged to have had as the Head of State of our country and the Realms, and Head of the wider Commonwealth.”

Queen Elizabeth’s coffin.PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty

TOPSHOT - Members of the public pay their respects as they hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the Royal Standard of Scotland, is driven through Ballater, on September 11, 2022. - Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin will travel by road through Scottish towns and villages on Sunday as it begins its final journey from her beloved Scottish retreat of Balmoral. The Queen, who died on September 8, will be taken to the Palace of Holyroodhouse before lying at rest in St Giles' Cathedral, before travelling onwards to London for her funeral. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP) (Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

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Flags will be flown at half-staff at royal residences through this period, and the buildings themselves will be closed.

Though there are no formal condolence books, supporters are invited to share sympathies on theroyal website.

source: people.com

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