Queen Elizabeth II has begun her journey toward her final resting place.
On Sept. 11, the late monarch's coffin was driven from her vacation home at Balmoral Castle, Scotland, where she died three days ago at age 96, to the Palace of Holyroodhouse in the city of Edinburgh, where it will remain for one day until it continues its route towards London, where a state funeral will take place next week.
The hearse passed by tens of thousands of mourners and was draped in the royal standard and adorned with a wreath of flowers made up of dahlias, sweet peas, phlox, white heather and pine fir from Balmoral, according to Buckingham Palace. The queen's daughter, Princess Anne, and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Lawrence, accompanied the cortège. Upon arrival at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the two were joined by her brothers Prince Andrew and Prince Edward and the latter's wife, Sophie, Countess of Wessex.
The coffin is set to rest in the Throne Room of the palace. On Sept. 12, the queen's eldest son, King Charles III, and other members of the royal family will take part in a procession to convey the hearse to St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh, where a service will be held.
For one day, the coffin will lie at rest in the church, guarded by Vigils from The Royal Company of Archers, to allow the people of Scotland to pay their respects.
The coffin is then set to be flown to England. The queen's state funeral is due to be held on Sept. 19 at Westminster Abbey in London, the site of her 1953 coronation and 1947 wedding to Prince Philip, who died at age 99 in 2021.
The late monarch is expected to be laid to rest at Windsor Castle, her home for the past two years, next to her late husband. Her parents, King George VI, who died in 1952, and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, who died in 2002, and sister Princess Margaret, who also died in 2002, are interred at the King George VI Memorial Chapel at St. George's Chapel in Windsor.