Where is RAF Northolt? Landing location of Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin from Edinburgh, can I visit London base

The Queen’s coffin is due to arrive in England following her death.

Queen Elizabeth II died on Thursday 8 September at her holiday home of Balmoral in Scotland, aged 96.

The Queen’s coffin is currently at St Giles’s Cathedral in Edinburgh with many people around the world visiting to pay their respects to the late monarch.

But how will the Queen’s coffin get to London and when can we expect it to arrive?

Where is Queen Elizabeth’s coffin?

The Queen’s coffin is currently at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh and is guarded by Vigils from The Royal Company of Archers.

The coffin is currently open to mourners from the Scottish capital who are able to visit the coffin until 3pm on Tuesday 13 September.

When will Queen Elizabeth’s coffin arrive in London?

The Queen’s coffin will leave St Giles’s Cathedral for the final time on Tuesday 13 September. It will depart in a Royal Air Force aircraft from Edinburgh Airport and will arrive into RAF Northolt on Tuesday evening.

How will the Queen’s coffin get to London?

The Queen’s coffin will travel to London on a C-17 Globemaster. This is a strategic airlifter which has previously been used to for aid missions in Ukraine and to help evacuate people from Afghanistan.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston, head of the Royal Air Force, said “As you can imagine, there’s a lot of planning goes into a unique task like this, and we’ve worked closely with the Palace to deliver it to their wishes, and it’s a day that we all clearly hoped would never come.

The Queen’s coffin will have a royal guard of honour when it is loaded on to the aircraft in Edinburgh made of 96 gunners from the RAF regiment, the Queen’s Colour Squadron.

The aircraft will arrive in London at 7pm on Tuesday 13 September and will be received by another guard of honour by the Queen’s Colour Squadron before being put into a hearse and taken to Buckingham Palace.

Where is RAF Northolt?

RAF Northolt is a Royal Air Force station in South Ruislip which is around six miles north of London Heathrow Airport.

The station was first built in 1915, making it the oldest RAF base.

The station handles a number of private civil flights in addition to Air Force flights. It is primarily used for government and VIP transport to and from London.

Which members of the royal family will travel with the Queen’s coffin to London?

The Queen’s coffin will be accompanied by her eldest daughter Princess Anne and her husband Sir Tim Laurence.

At Edinburgh Airport, the coffin will be conveyed on to an aircraft by a Royal Air Force Bearer Party and a guard of honour will be found by The Royal Regiment of Scotland. There will be a royal salute as the coffin arrives and The Band of the Royal Regiment of Scotland will play one verse of the national anthem when the aircraft departs.