King Charles III to lead royal family in Edinburgh procession behind Queen’s coffin

King Charles III will lead the royal family in a poignant procession behind the Queen’s coffin as it travels to an Edinburgh cathedral to allow the public to pay their respects.

The Queen will be taken from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to nearby St Giles’ Cathedral where her family, and a congregation drawn from all areas of Scottish society, will attend a service of thanksgiving for her life.

Full details about the royal mourners have yet to be released but there is speculation that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the new Prince and Princess of Wales, who on Saturday put on a united front during an appearance at Windsor Castle, will be part of the group.

Charles will lead some of the royals on foot - expected to be the Duke of York, Earl of Wessex, Princess Royal and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence – while the Queen Consort and other members of the monarchy will follow in cars.

Members of the public will be able to view the coffin to pay their respects for 24 hours before it is taken to London ahead of a period of lying in state.

The King and other members of his family, likely his siblings, will mount a vigil at the cathedral later in the evening in honour of their mother.

Both Charles and Camilla are in London, but before leaving for the Scottish capital they will visit Westminster Hall where both Houses of Parliament will express their condolences to the new monarch and his wife, and the King will give his reply.

During his day in Edinburgh, the King will inspect the Guard of Honour at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, before attending the ceremony of the Keys on the forecourt.

At the Palace, the King will hold audiences with the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, followed by an audience with Alison Johnstone, the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament.

Words of sympathy will be expressed by the Scottish Parliament when Charles and Camilla attend to receive a motion of condolence, with the King replying.

Public can attend lying-in-state in London

On Wednesday (14 September), the King will lead a procession behind the gun carriage carrying his late mother’s coffin to Westminster Hall, where the Queen’s lying in state will begin before the state funeral on 19 September.

The coffin, adorned with the Imperial State Crown, will be transported on a gun carriage of The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery from Buckingham Palace.

The King, members of the royal family and senior staff of the late Queen and King’s households will walk slowly behind in silence without music in a route that will take 38 minutes. The Archbishop of Canterbury will then conduct a short service following the coffin’s arrival.

Members of the public wishing to pay their respects to the Queen will be able to file past the coffin 24 hours a day from 5pm on Wednesday until 6.30am on the day of the funeral.

The government has warned that people who want to attend should expect long queues and be prepared to stand for many hours through the night.

Guidelines on how people should behave and what they should wear have been issued, stating that they should remain silent inside the Palace of Westminster.

It urged people to “dress appropriately for the occasion to pay your respects”, banning clothes “with political or offensive slogans”.

Senior royals are also expected to pay their own moving tribute, standing guard at some stage around the coffin – the tradition known as the Vigil of the Princes.