Queen Elizabeth’s coffin was carried from an Edinburgh cathedral on Tuesday as the late monarch began a final journey from her beloved Scotland to London, where she will reside in state.
His son, King Charles, returned to London from Northern Ireland, where his visit sparked a rare moment of unity for politicians in a region with a contentious British-Irish identity that is deeply divided over the monarchy
As a bagpiper played, the flag-draped oak coffin was carried from St. Giles. Crowds lining the Royal Mile through Edinburgh’s historic center erupted in applause as the coffin, accompanied by the Queen’s daughter Princess Anne, was driven into Edinburgh Airport.
Over the past 24 hours, thousands of people filed past the coffin in silence after it was brought to Edinburgh from the Queen’s beloved Balmoral estate, where she died on Thursday at the age of 96, ending her 70-year reign.
Charles left Belfast to receive his mother’s coffin in London, where he will spend the night at Buckingham Palace. The coffin will be taken to the Houses of Parliament on Wednesday, where it will lie in state for four days before the funeral on Monday.
Street of hundreds of lines near Belfast
Earlier, hundreds of people lined the street leading to Hillsborough Castle near Belfast, the royal family’s official residence in Northern Ireland, in the latest show of affection following the Queen’s death. The area in front of the castle gates was covered with hundreds of floral tributes.
Charles and his wife, Camilla, the queen consort, got out of their car to wave to the crowd and sometimes used both hands to reach out to villagers, including schoolchildren in bright blue uniforms. Charles even stroked a corgi, famously his late mother’s favorite breed of dog, being held by a person, and some chanted “God save the king!”
“Today means a lot to me and my family, just to be present in my hometown with my children to witness the arrival of the new king is a truly historic moment for all of us,” Hillsborough resident Robin Campbell said. while waiting for Charles. , which toured the four parts of the United Kingdom.
Members of the public gather outside Hillsborough Castle in Belfast ahead of King Charles’ visit to Northern Ireland on Tuesday. (Paul Faith/AFP/Getty Images)
Although there was a warm welcome at Hillsborough, the British monarchy stirs mixed emotions in Northern Ireland, where there are two main communities: mostly Protestant unionists who see themselves as British and largely Roman Catholic nationalists who see themselves as Irish.
This division fueled three decades of violence known as “the Troubles” between paramilitary groups on both sides and UK security forces, in which 3,600 people were killed. The royal family was personally touched by the violence: Lord Louis Mountbatten, a cousin of the Queen and a much-loved mentor to Charles, was killed by an Irish Republican Army bomb in 1979.
A deep sectarian divide remains, a quarter of a century after the 1998 Northern Ireland peace deal.
An oppressive foreign power to some
For some Irish nationalists, the British monarch represents an oppressive foreign power. But others recognize the Queen’s role in forging peace. On a visit to Northern Ireland in 2012, he shook hands with Sinn Fein deputy leader Martin McGuinness, a former IRA commander, in a moment of previously unthinkable reconciliation.
Alex Maskey, a Sinn Fein politician who is Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly, said the Queen had “demonstrated how individual acts of positive leadership can help break down barriers and foster reconciliation”.
In a sign of how far Northern Ireland has come on the road to peace, Sinn Fein representatives attended memorial services for the Queen and met the King on Tuesday.
LOOK | The traditions and protocols of Queen Elizabeth’s British farewell:
The traditions and protocols of the British farewell to Queen Elizabeth
Mr Maskey offered his condolences to the king at an event at Hillsborough Castle attended by leaders from all of Northern Ireland’s main political parties.
Charles replied that his mother “felt deeply, I know, the importance of the role she herself played in bringing together those whom history had separated and reaching out to make possible the healing of lingering wounds.”
He said he would build on his mother’s “shining example” and “seek the welfare of all Northern Irelanders”.
“He is not our king”
Still, not everyone welcomed the new King.
In Falls Road in Belfast, a nationalist stronghold, several walls are decorated with murals of Bobby Sands, an IRA member who died during a prison hunger strike in 1981, and others who died in the Troubles.
“No, he’s not our king. Bobby Sands was our king here,” Bobby Jones, 52, said. “The Queen never did anything for us. She never did. None of the royals do.”
Politicians from across Northern Ireland attended a memorial service for the Queen in Belfast. British Prime Minister Liz Truss, her Irish counterpart Micheal Martin and Irish President Michael D. Higgins were at St Anne’s Cathedral in central Belfast for the Anglican “service of reflection”.
Clergy praised the Queen’s role in helping to bring peace to Northern Ireland. The Archbishop of Armagh, John McDowell, said he had “walked the hard road of reconciliation”.
Irish leaders also attended despite strained relations between Dublin and London over Brexit. Since the UK left the European Union in 2020, the UK and the EU have been sparring over trade rules for Northern Ireland, the only part of the UK that shares a border with a member of the bloc.
Silent vigil in Scotland
On Monday night, Charles and his siblings Anne, Andrew and Edward held a brief vigil around their mother’s flag-draped coffin at St. Giles as members of the public passed by.
The next morning, a man in a suit adorned with medals stood up silently, bowed his head, and continued. A woman wiped her tears with a handkerchief. Another woman with two small children in school uniform walked slowly past the coffin.
LOOK | Scotland bids farewell to Queen Elizabeth:
Scotland bids farewell to Queen Elizabeth
In the line of mourners outside the cathedral in Edinburgh’s historic centre, Sheila McLeay called the Queen “a wonderful ambassador for our country”.
“She was an example for each of us. She was dignified. She was fair, she was beautiful inside and out. And I’ve known her all my life. And I miss her a lot,” he added.
The Queen’s coffin will be taken back to RAF Northolt, an air force base in London, and moved to Buckingham Palace.
The Royal Air Force C-17 Globemaster that will carry the coffin has been used to evacuate people from Afghanistan and to bring humanitarian aid and weapons to Ukraine after the Russian invasion, said Chief Marshal of the UK Air Sir Mike Wigston.