While mourners queued overnight in Edinburgh to pay their respects to the Queen, final preparations for events in London saw a full rehearsal for the procession of her coffin to Westminster Hall taking place.
Thousands of soldiers in ceremonial uniform gathered at Buckingham Palace in the early hours of Tuesday for the practice run.
Mourners queued overnight to pay their respects to the Queen at St Giles’s Cathedral in Edinburgh (Mitch Stevenson/PA)While many people were warned to expect a 12-hour wait to see the monarch’s coffin, those who queued overnight said their wait time was five or six hours (Gavin Hamilton/PA)Members of the public queueing to pay their respects to the Queen at St Giles’s Cathedral (Peter Byrne/PA)Mitch Stevenson and his sister queued for just under five hours to pay their respects and said they were ‘overwhelmed with the power and emotion of the occasion’ (Mitch Stevenson/PA)
Meanwhile, in central London, an early morning rehearsal saw the horse-drawn carriage of the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery being led along the processional route.
A black coffin was placed on the gun carriage and, at around 4am, the procession was ordered to march and the carriage, pulled by seven black horses, made its way via Queen’s Gardens, The Mall, Whitehall, Parliament Street, Parliament Square and New Palace Yard.
Many of central London’s streets were sealed off for the massive operation (James Manning/PA)The real procession begins at 2.22pm on Wednesday, and it will last 38 minutes (James Manning/PA)King Charles III, members of the royal family and senior staff of the Queen and King’s households are expected to walk behind the coffin (Danny Lawson/PA)The rehearsal, which took place before the sun came up, saw people standing in for members of the royal family (James Manning/PA)Few onlookers were present for the military spectacular (Danny Lawson/PA)People have been warned not to wait or camp along the route where the Queen’s coffin will be taken for the lying in state (Danny Lawson/PA)Viewing areas along the route with limited capacity will open at 11am on the day (Corporal Paul Watson/MoD/PA)The Queen’s coffin will remain in Westminster Hall until Monday, when it will be taken in procession to Westminster Abbey for the state funeral service (Corporal Paul Watson/MoD/PA)
Few onlookers were present for the rehearsal, with some finding themselves there by chance and others camped outside Buckingham Palace.
Chris Imafidom carrying tributes outside Buckingham Palace (Danny Lawson/PA)John Loughrey wearing a hat with various badges on outside Buckingham Palace (Danny Lawson/PA)
Elsewhere, floral tributes were left outside Hillsborough Castle, in Northern Ireland, ahead of a visit by the King and the Queen Consort.
Charles and Camilla will travel to Hillsborough Castle in Co Down, the royal residence in Northern Ireland, for several engagements (Michael Cooper/PA)Hundreds of people gathered in the village of Hillsborough in Co Down ahead of the royal visit (Michael Cooper/PA)
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