Queen Elizabeth begins her last journey in meditation and tears

The remains of Queen Elizabeth II left her residence in Balmoral on Sunday. After 300km in Scotland, he will be presented at Edinburgh Cathedral, before returning to London for his funeral on September 19. Queen Elizabeth II began her final journey on Sunday, her coffin leaving the royal estate of Balmoral in Scotland, to pass the night in Edinburgh, greeted by thousands of moved people massed along the route. He will return to London on Tuesday, before the state funeral on September 19. The oak coffin, which passed through the gates of Balmoral shortly after 11 a.m. (French time), was covered with the Scottish royal standard on which had been placed a wreath of white heather, dahlias and sweet peas, from the gardens of the Balmoral estate. Thousands of people had massed along the route, some in mourning, others crushing a tear or bowing their heads as they passed of the convoy, to greet for the last time the one who had reigned for 70 years and 7 months, a familiar and reassuring presence, but still mysterious, having crossed times and crises imperturbable. Several people applauded the procession, made up of seven vehicles. Princess Anne, daughter of the late sovereign, had taken her place with her husband Tim Laurence in a limousine following the royal hearse. The hearse will travel 300km in the east of Scotland. around 5 p.m. after a journey of nearly 300 kilometers. He will spend the night there at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Scottish royal residence. King Charles III is expected there on Monday for a religious ceremony at Saint-Gilles Cathedral, where the coffin will be transferred. Some Britons had come to Balmoral, for this last tribute to the sovereign who died Thursday at the age of 96 in her Scottish castle. “Her Majesty gave us her life and time selflessly. Paying tribute to her in a traditional way was a way of thanking her for all she has done,” said Mark Lindley-Highfield, a 47-year-old scholar. arrived from Inverness, two hours north by car. He is wearing a black tail coat and a top hat for the occasion. The hearse first passed through Ballater, the village very close to the castle, where the Queen, who had been coming to Balmoral since childhood, well known. The inhabitants made him a guard of honour, collected, motionless at the edge of the road. Protected by the immensity of the royal domain (more than 20,000 hectares of moors, forests and agricultural land) the queen liked to spend the summer there. She lived a simpler, more relaxed life there. It was there that the one who was still only the young Princess Elizabeth had married in November 1947 to 21-year-old Philip Mountbatten. It was also there that she was crowned on June 2, 1953 at the age of 27, 16 months after becoming queen on the death of her father King George VI on February 6, 1952. Dignitaries from around the world are expected, including the American President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, as well as many crowned heads. Hundreds of thousands of people are also expected to pay their last respects to him at the Palace of Westminster, where his coffin will rest from 14 to September 19, before being transferred to the Abbey for the funeral which will begin at 12 p.m., decreed a public holiday in the United Kingdom.The accession of King Charles IIIAfter being proclaimed king on Saturday in London, King Charles III was again on Saturday in the other three constituent countries of the United Kingdom, during ceremonies with an immutable ritual, in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast. Twenty-one cannon shots were fired in the three cities. On Saturday, during the proclamation ceremony at Saint James’s Palace in London, he said he was “deeply aware of this great heritage, the duties and the heavy responsibilities of sovereignty, which are now passed on to me”, after hailing his mother’s reign “unmatched in its duration, her devotion and her devotion”. “In assuming these responsibilities, I will strive to follow the inspiring example which ‘was given,’ he added. Joint appearance of William and Harry His son William, now heir to the throne and Prince of Wales, also paid a moving tribute to his grandmother. “She was by my side in my moments the happiest. And she was by my side during the saddest days of my life. I knew this day was coming, but it’s going to take time to get used to the reality of life without Grandma,” a “Queen Extraordinary, he said on Saturday. I will honor his memory by supporting my n father, the king, in every possible way”. The prince then created a surprise by going with his wife Kate, but also his brother Harry and his wife Meghan to admire the flowers placed in front of Windsor Castle in tribute to Elizabeth II , where the highly acclaimed quartet enjoyed a long walkabout. The two couples are notoriously cold. While Harry and Meghan are now settled in California, they hadn’t been seen together in public for more than two years. They all left in the same car, but the faces were closed, the interactions minimal. According to the Sunday Times newspaper, it took “extended negotiations” behind the scenes between the two camps, delaying their appearance by 45 minutes. devoted his life to the monarchy. On Tuesday, she was still working, receiving in audience the resigning Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and the new Prime Minister Liz Truss, whom she had asked to create a new government. The monarch, however, remained at Balmoral for these audiences, too weak to travel . Her last photo shows her receiving Liz Truss, smiling and leaning on a cane. The next day, her health deteriorating, she canceled an online appearance. His death was announced Thursday at 7:30 p.m.