Queen Elizabeth news: Her Majesty’s coffin arrives at Thanksgiving service after Edinburgh Royal Mile procession

Transport chiefs have warned that London will experience “unprecedented travel demand” and public transport users are being advised the city will be “exceptionally busy”.

Tube stations might even have to close to stop overcrowding.

Today a spokesperson for Liz Truss said commuters may want to “change their working patterns accordingly”.

But they added that “not everyone will have that ability”.

The Royal Family have now returned to Holyroodhouse following the service at St Giles’ Cathedral.

Later, members of the public will be able to visit the Queen’s coffin at St Giles’ Cathedral, where it will remain for 24 hours.

A special service held at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh for Queen Elizabeth II has now ended. 

King Charles and his siblings Andrew, Edward and Anne, were seen leaving the cathedral.

Crowds outside waved and clapped as they drove down the Royal Mile to the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

King Charles and the Queen Consort have now left the service.

Credit: AP

A service held to remember the “long and happy reign” of Elizabeth II was told simply that the Queen has “gone home”.

The Rt Rev Dr Iain Greenshields, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, spoke about her “extraordinary life” at a service attended by the King and other members of the royal family.

Charles III was in St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh for a service of thanksgiving, held four days after the death of the Queen.

Rev Greenshields told the congregation that over those days “tributes to her Majesty have poured in” but it was now “beginning to sink in that she is gone from us – ‘gone home’ to express her own words”.

He said the service was taking place to “express our thanks to God, for her Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s extraordinary life”.

The Rev Greenshields added: “We are united in sorrow at the death of our Monarch, but we are also so aware that His Majesty King Charles and all his family are not just grieving the loss of their Queen, but their mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.”

He told the packed congregation how the Queen “began her reign, like King Solomon by asking for wisdom, something she demonstrated in large measure”.

The national anthem is sung as the service draws to a close.

The members of the royal family are led out of St Giles’ Cathedral.

Four of the Queen’s Royal archers have come in to begin the first vigil.

They stand at all four corners of The Queen’s coffin.

Elder of the Church of Scotland, Morag Mylne, has said: “For the long life, the shining example, the steadfast commitment to duty, the strong faith, and the good humour of our wise and great Queen”.

“We thank you for the deep love she has inspired from all her subjects, for the myriad ways in which she met and welcomed people from all walks of life, for the diplomacy with which she resolved conflict, and for the stability she brought to her realms and to the Commonwealth.”

Credit: PA

A man has been arrested after heckling Prince Andrew during the procession to St Giles’ Church.

The man could be seen shouting as the royal’s name as the Queen’s coffin was driven past.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “A 22-year old man was arrested in connection with a breach of the peace on the Royal Mile around 2.50pm on Monday, 12 September 2022.”

Those in attendance are singing Psalm 23, the Lord’s My Shepherd.

This is a song favoured by the Queen and was even sung at her wedding to Prince Philip in 1947.

A special crown was placed on the Queen’s coffin – The Crown of Scots – which was first used for the coronation of Mary Queen of Scots in 1543.

It was given to Queen Elizabeth in the cathedral shortly after her coronation in 1953.

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has given a reading from a passage from the Bible.

Nicola Sturgeon, dressed in all black, read the first lesson Ecclesiastes 3: 1-15.

He said: “We gather to bid Scotland’s farewell to our late monarch, whose life of service to the nation and the world we celebrate, and whose love for Scotland was legendary.”

The service will include psalms, choral numbers, a reading by the First Minister and prayers. 

There will be singing in Gaelic and two pieces of music from the Scottish composer, Sir James MacMillan.

The Crown of Scots has been placed upon the coffin by the Duke of Hamilton.

The thanksgiving service for the Queen at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh is now underway. 

Credit: PA

King Charles and the other senior members of the royal family have taken their positions alongside the Queen’s coffin.

The Queen’s coffin has been greeted by the Guard of Honour and Band.

The High Constables and the Baillie’s Guard in position under the Colonnade. 

The band will play one verse of the national anthem.

The Queen’s coffin has now been carried into St. Giles Cathedral.

The Queen will lie in state for 24 hours, allowing Scots to come to pay their respects.

The Procession has now reached St. Giles Cathedral.

The Queen’s coffin will be carried into the cathedral for a service.

The children of Queen Elizabeth II are accompanying her coffin on a procession through the Scottish capital.

A military bagpiper played mournful music as the coffin, draped in the royal standard, was carried from the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh and placed in a hearse Monday.

King Charles III, dressed in army uniform, and his siblings Princes Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward are walking behind the hearse as the procession moves slowly toward St. Giles Cathedral.

The hearse is flanked by a bearer party of the Royal Regiment of Scotland and a detachment of The Kings Body Guard in Scotland, the Royal Company of Archers.

The coffin will remain at the cathedral until Tuesday so that members of the public can pay their respects.

The minute guns continue as the Queen approaches St. Giles’ Cathedral.

The sound gradually becoming louder and louder.

There was a hush across the usually-bustling city as the King followed his “darling mama’s” coffin from the palace to a black hearse.

Credit: AFP

The procession moves at a slow pace up the Royal Mile.

Either side of the Royal Mile is filled with thousands of mourners.

The flowers on the Queen’s coffin consist of white Spray Roses, white Freesias, white button chrysanthemums, dried white heather from Balmoral, spray eryngium, foliage, rosemary, hebe, and pittosporum.

Credit: PA