Members of the public stand on Cannongate, Edinburgh, to watch the hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the Royal Standard of Scotland 11 September 2022 Photo: AFP
Queen Elizabeth II's cortege has arrived in Edinburgh on the first part of a journey to London where she will lie in state later this week.
The Queen's coffin was carried from the ballroom of Balmoral to the hearse, and she was piped out one final time by the Sovereign's Piper to the tunes Balmoral and Glen Gelder.
The hearse with her oak casket made the six-hour drive through the Scottish countryside to the British monarch's official residence in Edinburgh, the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
Thousands of mourners showed up to watch the casket pass by and laid flowers in towns and on grass verges along the route.
Over the following 24 hours, the Queen will lie in rest at St Giles in Edinburgh so members of the Scottish public can pay their respects.
Then it will be transported to London on an RAF plane, accompanied by Princess Anne, where the coffin will be readied for four days of lying in state at Westminster Hall.
If the huge crowds and public outpouring of grief over the weekend at Buckingham Palace is anything to go by, those four days will be quite something, with hundreds of thousands likely to line up to pay their respects.
"We've got to be part of history, haven't we?" one mourner told RNZ. "As friends as well, we thought we could come down this year, and then in 30 years' time come back when it could be another big occasion with our children."
"It's kind of strange, because we'll probably never see another Queen, will we?" another said.
Meanwhile, for the new King - still grieving his mother's death - it has been a whirlwind weekend of royal duties formalities and procedures, culminating in the formal Proclamation of Accession on Saturday night.
The hectic pace for King Charles III is not likely to let up.
He will head back to Scotland in the next day to be with the Queen, before embarking on a visit to Northern Ireland on Wednesday.
As for the other royals, the focus over the weekend was firmly on the surprise public appearance of William, Kate, Harry and Meghan greeting well-wishers outside Windsor Castle.
The signs of a thawing in that family relationship - one bright spot perhaps for a Royal Family and country navigating uncharted territory.
