Queen tributes in Edinburgh: mourners pay respects to Queen Elizabeth II - ‘She was part of our family’

Crowds gathered in the steets of Edinburgh city centre as the Queen made her final journey to the Palace of Holyroodhouse today (11 September). The mood was sombre in the Old Town of the Scottish captial, as thousands lined the Royal Mile.

Some had come on the off-chance they could catch a glimpse of the late monarch as she arrived in the city, while others camped out to get a closer look as the procession of cars made its way slowly through the cobbled streets.

Mourners were also able to leave floral tributes inside the gardens of Holyroodhouse as a tribute to the late monarch, while brave members of the public also scaled the edge of the Crags, the 150-feet cliffs which tower over Edinburgh, to catch an aerial view of the procession.

‘Something like this in Scotland is special’

Nicola and Chris McNiven live in Edinburgh and took the rare opportunity to visit the gathering in person. “The fact that we have been able to do something like this in Scotland is special”, said Chris.

Nicola added: “We would normally only expect a procession in London, so we’ve really glad we’ve been able to come down today to pay our respects.”

The couple had brought their young son Monroe to see the procession, an occasion which they hope he will long remember.

Nicola said: “I’m glad we’ve been able to bring Monroe down to see this today. He was already asking questions about her death and I don’t think he fully understood it yet, so we’ll be able to talk to him later and he’ll have those memories when he is older hopefully.”

“She was our Queen, and I guess she was a grandmother to us all, so we felt we should come out to pay our respects”, added Chris.

‘She was a part of our family’

The crowd swelled in size over an hour before the Queen arrived for the final time at the palace, with idle chatter between the mourners filling the time in between. Brave members of the public also scaled the edge of the Crags, the 150-feet cliffs which dominate Edinburgh’s skyline, to catch a bird’s-eye view of the procession.

Ben Woods, 23, and Alastair Mackenzie, 29, travelled to Edinburgh from Glasgow with their friend Martin Barnsley, 23 from Airdire, and camped out from 10.30am to see the events unfold.

“We had arrived earlier to watch the proclamation at the cathedral, before heading down the length of the Royal Mile to the palace”, said Ben.

Martin added: “It was a bit of a last minute [decision] from myself to come down - it was more the fact that I knew I wouldn’t be able to make it to see her at St Giles’ [Cathedral] on Monday as I’ll be working. I took the opportunity while I could.”

Alastair said: “It sounds like it is going to be packed at St Giles tomorrow so to see the cortege would be the best way to pay respects.”

The Queen was a figure the group looked up to, not just as a monarch, but as a woman also.

Ben said: “I wanted to pay respects to a woman who had given 70 years of service to this country and, while it may not be fashionable, her duty and also to support the institution of the monarchy.

“The first thing I did when I heard the news was phone my family and told them I loved them, because to us, she was a part of our family.”

‘We had to take this opportunity’

The looming rain clouds over Edinburgh held off until Queen Elizabeth II’s procession arrived safely at the palace. As the cortage passed through the historic Old Town, crowds quietened before erupting into claps and cheers at the sight of the hearse.

Michelle Tread, 48 from Leicester, had been visiting the Scottish capital when news broke on Thursday that the Queen had passed away. Upon learning of the plans to bring her to Edinburgh, Michelle and her family’s plans changed.

“We were supposed to be leaving Edinburgh on Friday, but when we found out that the Queen’s body would be travelling to Edinburgh, we had to extend our visit.”

She added: “The only other place that the public will be able to visit is London and we won’t be able to make it down, so we had to take this opportunity when we could.”

Michelle described the claps and cheers from the crowd as “a touching moment”, adding: “It’s really busy - we were saying that we should have got down earlier but luckily we got a good view of Her Majesty as she passed by.

“We’re planning to visit her coffin at St Giles’ Cathedral, and if this is anything to go by, she’ll get a fantastic turnout.”