King Charles leads a very British vigil for Queen Elizabeth
Ordinary people have been granted their first chance to pay personal homage to someone they considered extraordinary.
At last it was the people’s turn to say goodbye. When the hymns fell silent inside St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh and all the dignitaries, including the Queen’s four children, had left, they threw the gilded doors open to mums, dads and kids.
It was the first chance for ordinary people to pay personal homage to someone they considered extraordinary.
They bowed as they shuffled past the Queen’s casket, draped in the royal standard of Scotland with the Crown of Scotland sitting near a wreath partly made of white heather from her beloved Balmoral.
The coffin was guarded by the Royal Company of Archers but for a brief period it was guarded by the Queen’s four children, who stood around it in vigil, as members of the public walked past. And at the front of the casket, as Scots walked around, was a kilted King.
By nightfall, the queue to visit the Queen stretched across the old town of Edinburgh as thousands jumped at the chance to stand in front of their monarch of 70 years.
As Scotland paid its respects to the Queen, King Charles was due to attend a service in Belfast on Tuesday night (AEST) with Ireland’s Prime Minister Micheal Martin and President Michael D Higgins and accept condolences, as part of his tour around the United Kingdom.
The Queen, to lie in state for about 20 hours, was brought to St Giles’ Cathedral in a procession that included her four children – Charles, Anne, Andrew and Edward – marching behind her coffin. The sombre march was marked by almost complete silence as thousands watched on.
It was only when the procession finally reached St Giles’ Cathedral that people lining the route burst into spontaneous applause and cheers. Then they did what Scots do: they invaded the pubs to watch the Queen’s cathedral service on television.
It was standing room only as people cradled beers and listened to the hymn and sermons, bursting into applause after God Save the King was played.
They listened without expression as the Elder of the Church of Scotland, Morag Mylne, said: “We pray for all in our nation that we might live according to the standards set by our beloved Queen (and) that we may continually uphold in prayer our King as he seeks discernment and wisdom for his calling.”
Outside the cathedral, 76-year-old British Army veteran Alex Anderson, who waited for six hours before the Queen’s hearse passed by, fought back tears as he talked about the woman he called his “boss”. “She was wonderful, not one in a million, one in 10 million,” Mr Anderson said. “After 17 years in the army my boss was Her Majesty. There will never be another one like her.”
Mr Anderson is one of the few people who can remember the Queen’s coronation. “I was just six years old and I remember watching it on a television set that was about the size of an average mobile phone,” he said. “I’ll say God Save the King but good luck, Charlie, you’ve got a very hard act to follow.
But I’m confident he will win them over.”
Nearby, retired finance worker Sally Keen also arrived hours before the Queen’s procession, saying she came up from her home in northern England because she felt a duty to do so.
“She was a wonderful person, she epitomised everything about Great Britain, in fact she was Great Britain,” Ms Keen said.
“Look around you, we have people here from Wales, from England and from the Commonwealth.
“She wasn’t just a Queen on the throne; she was a part of us.”
In the cathedral earlier, King Charles was alongside Princess Anne and Prince Edward, all three dressed in ceremonial military uniform during the service.
However, their brother, Prince Andrew, wore a suit rather than a military uniform, a very public reminder of the fact the Queen had stripped him of his military titles earlier this year over his links with sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Tens of thousands had begun assembling along the length of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile from first light, many unfolding camping chairs.
Caroline Khay brought her daughter Eloise, 11, to see the Queen’s coffin because, she said, it was “a moment in history”.
“I mean, we will never see anything like this again in our lifetime, she was such a monumental figure in our history,” Ms Khay said. Ricky Hancock donned a kilt and waited five hours to get a glimpse of the Queen’s coffin.
“You know, I’m 70 years old and so I was born on the year of her coronation, so she has been my queen all of my life,” Mr Hancock said.
“So it has all been quite moving to me. The fact that she died in Scotland has given all of us Scots the chance to pay our respects, and I am paying mine.”
Samir Zentouri and Ben McGill, both 18, school friends from Balerno High School, in west Edinburgh, were meant to be starting their first week at university. Instead they returned to their home city, wearing dark suits and black ties.
“It is the least we can do to show respect,” said Mr Zentouri, a law student at Aberdeen.
“We want to pay tribute to a life of public service.
“We admire the Queen and what she has done in a long life, especially when you consider the social changes that have taken place.”
After the service King Charles attended the Scottish parliament and met Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
Ms Sturgeon said of the Queen: “In an ever-changing world, especially in turbulent times, Her Majesty was the great constant – the anchor of our nation. Even towards the end, as her health declined, her genuine love of Scotland and profound sense of public service never faltered.”
Before the service, King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla flew from London, where he had addressed a joint sitting of parliament, to Edinburgh.
The King's arrival at the Palace of Holyroodhouse was greeted with a 21-gun salute fired from the walls of Edinburgh Castle.
The Queen’s coffin was due to be flown late on Tuesday to Buckingham Palace in London, accompanied by Princess Anne.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING: THE TIMES
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