As Queen Elizabeth returned home to Buckingham Palace for the final time, thousands of well wishers congregated to pay their respects to Her Majesty.
Her coffin had taken days to travel from Balmoral in Scotland where she died, to London’s Buckingham Palace, as mourners cheered and clapped in the rain for the late monarch as the hearse travelled around the Queen Victoria memorial before entering the gates of the palace.
Outriders stopped with their heads bowed at the end of the journey, while a police officer at the gate saluted.
People also cheered “hip hip hooray” after the coffin drove under the arch, with many putting down their umbrellas as a sign of respect.
Others could be seen wiping tears from their eyes as phone camera lights lit up the crowds lining the streets in central London.
The royal family began the procession, as King Charles, Queen Consort Camilla, Prince Harry, Kate Middleton, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle waited in the Grand Entrance of the palace for the Queen’s final return.
For one night the coffin, which is draped in the Royal Standard flag, will lie at rest in the palace’s Bow Room.
Then, the monarch is handed to the nation to allow the public to pay their respects when she lies in state at the ancient Westminster Hall for four days until Monday September 19th – the day of her state funeral at Westminster Abbey and burial at St George’s Chapel in Windsor.
Image credits: Getty Images
This article first appeared on OverSixty.