St Giles' Cathedral

Queen Elizabeth II has been moved to St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, where her son King Charles and his siblings have performed the Vigil of the Princes ...

If she died in London, we would never have had this opportunity." - King Charles III and his siblings performed the Vigil of the Princes next to their mother's coffin Thousands of people in Edinburgh have lined up to pay their last respects to Queen Elizabeth II, with King Charles III and his siblings holding a silent vigil at the side of their mother's coffin.

It was an extraordinary scene: All four of the Queen's children standing vigil over her coffin in the spiritual heart of her Scottish capital.

She perceived little difficulty in belonging to two churches and appreciating the strength of each.” Not since the Union of the Crowns in 1603, surely, have we seen such a quintessentially Caledonian succession as this one. And the subtle differences added to the unique atmosphere of the occasion. So we saw the Hereditary Bearer of the Royal Banner of Scotland (the Earl of Dundee) bearing his standard alongside the Saltire held by the Hereditary Bearer of the National Flag of Scotland (the Earl of Lauderdale). So, the King was in his field marshal’s ceremonial uniform, the Princess Royal was dressed as an Admiral of the Royal Navy and the Earl of Forfar was dressed as the Honorary Royal Colonel of the Wessex Yeomanry. The Hereditary Bearer of the Crown of Scotland, the Duke of Hamilton, processed in with a crown first made for King James IV of Scotland. Though he was the only one to have fought for his country, the Duke of York – or Earl of Inverness as he becomes in Scotland – was wearing morning dress. To ensure this was done with the appropriate dignity, a set of steps was brought forth for the 44-year-old duke. The most striking aspect of the royal procession was the choice of royal uniform – or, rather, lack of it in the case of the Duke of York. Long-remembered as the Vigil of the Princes, the same family tribute was repeated in honour of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in 2002. And one of the greatest monarchs in our thousand-year history lies at rest beneath the oldest crown in the kingdom – the Crown of Scotland. This was the extraordinary scene last night as all four of the Queen’s children came to stand vigil over her coffin in the spiritual heart of her Scottish capital.

Queen's coffin makes its way down Edinburgh's Royal Mile from Palace of Holyroodhouse, the monarch's official residence in Scotland - Anadolu Agency.

[Anadolu Agency website contains only a portion of the news stories offered to subscribers in the AA News Broadcasting System (HAS), and in summarized form. During the service, the Right Rev. King Charles III and his three siblings walked behind the hearse down the Royal Mile.

The Crown of Scotland sits atop the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II during a Service of Prayer and Reflection for her life at St Giles' Cathedral on September ...

King Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward Reunited in Edinburgh Today. Queen Elizabeth's four children walked behind the procession of Queen ...

In attendance were politicians, like the new Prime Minister, Liz Truss, and Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, along with representatives from Scottish charities that the Queen was patron of. "We gather to bid Scotland's farewell to our late monarch, whose life of service to the nation and the world we celebrate, and whose love for Scotland was legendary," St Giles' minister, Reverend Calum I MacLeod, said in his opening remarks. All four of Queen Elizabeth's children—King Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward—walked behind the hearse as it drove