With the Royal Standard and Crown of State resting on top of the coffin and artillery salutes at one-minute intervals, the official procession was designed to mark the Queen’s 70 years as head of state as the process of national mourning shifts to the high avenues and historic landmarks of the UK capital. King Charles III, his sons Princes William and Harry and other members of the royal family walked behind the carriage. The coffin was draped in the Royal Standard and topped with the Imperial State Crown – set with almost 3,000 diamonds – and a bouquet of flowers and plants, including a pine tree from the Balmoral Estate, where Elizabeth died last week. An escort of two officers and 32 men from the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards in red uniforms and bearskin hats walked on either side of the gun carriage. Tolled by Big Ben, a gun salute was fired from Hyde Park and the martial force of a military band accompanied the procession, which was watched by thousands of people along The Mall with flags outside the palace. The 38-minute procession will end in the historic Westminster Hall in Parliament. Thousands of others stood or sat in a queue along the banks of the River Thames waiting their turn to pass the coffin when it lies in state for four days before the Queen’s state funeral on Monday. The crowds are the latest in a nationwide outpouring of grief and respect for the only monarch most Britons have ever known, who died at her beloved summer retreat at Balmoral on Thursday aged 96, ending a 70-year reign. Joan Bucklehurst, a 50-year-old retail worker from Cheshire in northwest England, said the Queen “means so much to everyone”. “She was amazing, yes,” she added, choked up with emotion. “So we had to be here. We’ve been here a few times when there were special occasions, but this one, I couldn’t miss it.” Major Christopher Ghika, of the Household Division, which organized the ceremonial aspects of the Queen’s funeral, said it was a sad day, “but it’s our last chance to do our duty for the Queen and it’s our first chance to do it for the king and that makes us all very proud.” London’s Heathrow Airport suspended flights to prevent planes taking off from disturbing the procession. The airport said in a statement that the changes would “ensure silence in central London as the ceremonial procession moves from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall”. The troops taking part in the procession had been preparing since the queen’s death. So are the horses of the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery. Sgt. Tom Jenks, of the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery, said the horses have undergone special training, including how to handle criers, as well as flowers and flags being thrown in the streets as the procession passes. From early morning, people staked out prime viewing positions behind metal barriers along the Mall and other streets along the route. They stood or sat in folding chairs, umbrellas at the ready, coffees in hand. Crowds have lined the route of the Queen’s coffin as it was carried on its long journey from Scotland back to London. On Tuesday night, thousands braved the typical London drizzle as the state hearse, with interior lights illuminating the sovereign’s flag-draped coffin, drove slowly from a military airbase in the heart of London. Earlier in Edinburgh, around 33,000 people paid their respects in silence past her coffin as it lay in state for 24 hours at St. Giles. Hundreds of thousands are expected to do the same in London when the Queen lies in state at 900-year-old Westminster Hall, the oldest building of Parliament, for four days before her state funeral on Monday. The hall is where Guy Fawkes and Charles I were tried, where kings and queens hosted magnificent medieval banquets and where ceremonial addresses were presented to Queen Elizabeth II during her Silver, Golden and Diamond Jubilees. Chris Bond, from Truro in south-west England, was among those who lined the banks of the River Thames. He also attended the Queen Mother’s State Lying in 2002. “Obviously, it’s very difficult queuing all day, but when you walk through those doors in Westminster Hall, in this wonderful, historic building, there was a great sense of silence and someone was told you take as much time as you want, and it’s just amazing “, he said. “We know the Queen was of good age and served the country for a long time, but we hoped this day would never come,” he added. Chris Imafidon secured sixth place in the queue. “I have 1,001 emotions when I see her,” he said. “I mean, my God, he was an angel, because he touched so many good people and did so many good things.”
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