Queen Elizabeth II: Queen's coffin arrives at Buckingham Palace

Summary

The Queen's coffin has arrived at Buckingham Palace and was greeted by members of the Royal Family
It will move on Wednesday to Westminster Hall, where the Queen will lie in state for four days
The Queen's daughter, the Princess Royal has issued a statement saying she was "fortunate to share the last 24 hours of my dearest mother’s life"
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to file past the coffin to pay their respects, with a huge policing operation expected
King Charles III and Camilla, the Queen Consort, who are now in London, earlier visited Northern Ireland as part of a tour of the UK
They greeted crowds at Hillsborough Castle, met political leaders and attended a service at St Anne's Cathedral

Live Reporting

Edited by Marianna Brady

The state hearse carrying the Queenpublished at 19:54 British Summer Time 13 September 2022
Daniela Relph
Reporting from RAF Northolt
Image source, PA Media
The Queen’s coffin is being carried in the state hearse.
It was designed by the Royal Household and Jaguar Land Rover and the Queen was consulted on the plans.
It is finished in Royal Claret, the same colour as the official royal and state vehicles kept in the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace and used for official duties.
The state hearse has been designed to allow members of the public to have a clear view of the Queen’s coffin.
Thousands line road to see Queen's motorcadepublished at 19:45 British Summer Time 13 September 2022
Thousands of people are lining the A40 to catch a glimpse of the Queen's motorcade as it travels from RAF Northolt to Buckingham Palace.
Cars have drawn to a halt in the fast lane along the A40, as their drivers get out on the central reservation to see the royal motorcade.
Take a look:
Image source, Reuters
Image source, Reuters
Activity increases as palace prepares to receive Queen's coffinpublished at 19:38 British Summer Time 13 September 2022
George Bowden
Reporting from Buckingham Palace
There’s been a notable increase in activity at Buckingham Palace since the Queen’s coffin arrived in north-west London.
More police officers have arrived to line the route, while members of the military are now more visible.
Meanwhile, lights on the frontage of the palace are illuminating the facade as the light here fades.
The royal cortege's route to Buckingham Palacepublished at 19:35 British Summer Time 13 September 2022
The hearse carrying the Queen's coffin is slowly making its way along the A40 as it heads to Buckingham Palace.
After taking the A40, it travel through Westbourne Terrace towards Marble Arch, down Park Lane and Hyde Park Corner, over Constitution Hill and finally to the Centre Gate Centre Arch of Buckingham Palace.
The route usually takes about an hour.
Harry and Meghan arrive at Buckingham Palacepublished at 19:33 British Summer Time 13 September 2022
As we've just heard, members of the Royal Family will meet the Queen's coffin when it arrives at Buckingham Palace shortly.
As crowds continue to gather outside the palace, we've just seen the Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrive.
Royal Family to receive Queen's coffin at Buckingham Palacepublished at 19:22 British Summer Time 13 September 2022
As the official hearse slowly begins its journey towards central London, the Queen's children and grandchildren, as well as their spouses, are preparing to receive her coffin at Buckingham Palace.
In a private moment, the King will gather with his wife Camilla, the Queen Consort, his siblings, and the Queen's grandchildren.
A quiet, simple return to Londonpublished at 19:16 British Summer Time 13 September 2022
Daniela Relph
Reporting from RAF Northolt
Image source, PA Media
A Guard of Honour from the Queen’s Colour Squadron formed as the tailgate of the RAF plane was lowered and the bearer party moved the Queen’s coffin from the aircraft to the state hearse.
In almost total silence, a small ceremony accompanied the return of the Queen’s coffin - but unlike elsewhere there was no music or pomp.
It was a quiet, simple return to London for the Queen.
She now leaves here for a journey along the A40 through the suburbs of west London to Buckingham Palace.
PM Truss and defence minister witness plane landingpublished at 19:11 British Summer Time 13 September 2022
Prime Minister Liz Truss and Defence Minister Ben Wallace are among a small group of military and civic figures to receive the RAF aircraft in Northolt.
They stand in sombre silence in the rain to witness the coffin being removed from the place and placed into the hearse.
Princess Royal pays tribute to 'dearest Mother'published at 19:00 British Summer Time 13 September 2022
Image source, The Royal Family
The Princess Royal, the Queen's only daughter, has issued a statement in tribute to her mother. Princess Anne is accompanying the Queen's coffin on the journey from Scotland to London.
"I was fortunate to share the last 24 hours of my dearest Mother’s life. It has been an honour and a privilege to accompany her on her final journeys. Witnessing the love and respect shown by so many on these journeys has been both humbling and uplifting," it reads.
"We will all share unique memories. I offer my thanks to each and every one who share our sense of loss. We may have been reminded how much of her presence and contribution to our national identity we took for granted. I am also so grateful for the support and understanding offered to my dear brother Charles as he accepts the added responsibilities of the monarch.
"To my mother, the Queen, thank you."
Queen's coffin lands at RAF Northoltpublished at 18:55 British Summer Time 13 September 2022
Image source, reut
After just over an hour in the air, the plane carrying the Queen's coffin has landed at RAF Northolt in west London.
She will soon begin her journey to Buckingham Palace, where she will be met by members of the Royal Family.
Queen's flight takes scenic route over the UKpublished at 18:51 British Summer Time 13 September 2022
The plane carrying Queen Elizabeth II's coffin appears to have taken an indirect route to RAF Northolt from Edinburgh.
According to the flight-tracking website Flightradar24, the plane first travelled west to Glasgow, before moving across the border and over Lake Windermere, before passing Manchester, Stoke-on-Trent, Birmingham and Royal Leamington Spa.
Londoners divert to the palace to witness historypublished at 18:43 British Summer Time 13 September 2022
George Bowden
Reporting from Buckingham Palace
Many of those gathering at Buckingham Palace were in London for business or other reasons before deciding to visit to pay their respects to the Queen.
Rosemary Lawson, from north London, had an appointment in the capital on Tuesday afternoon but felt the compelled to walk to the palace and wait to see the Queen's coffin.
"There has been an incredible atmosphere," she says. "Observing the floral tributes has been wonderful."
Recalling the late monarch as a "lovely Queen", Lawson says her closest brush with royalty came at a garden party some 20 years ago when she briefly met Sophie, the Countess of Wessex.
"Now I'm here, I'll stay to see her," she adds of the Queen's cortege. "It is historic."
Cheers as King arrived at Buckingham Palacepublished at 18:30 British Summer Time 13 September 2022
Rajini Vaidyanathan
Reporting from Buckingham Palace
As the rain beat down heavily, the crowds lined up outside Buckingham Palace in anticipation of Queen Elizabeth’s final homecoming.
Just before 6pm, King Charles and Camilla, Queen Consort, arrived at the palace. A ripple of applause broke through the crowds, some cheered, as their car entered the palace gates. Moments after the King arrived, the Royal Standard was raised above the palace, signifying the arrival of the monarch.
As crowds huddle under umbrellas, and police guard the barricades, they wait for the Queen's coffin to arrive - the mood is sombre.
Image source, Reuters
Crowd builds at Buckingham Palacepublished at 18:13 British Summer Time 13 September 2022
George Bowden
Reporting from Buckingham Palace
Crowds are beginning to build near Buckingham Palace, where overcast skies frame the scene.
Many of those here are tourists moving through the area, though a sizeable number of people are now stood in place along the barriers placed on The Mall and Constitution Hill.
We aren't due to see the Queen's coffin at Buckingham Palace until later this evening. But a long wait will not dissuade many of those assembling here from paying their respects to the late monarch.
What is the plane carrying the Queen's coffin usually used for?published at 18:00 British Summer Time 13 September 2022
Let's get some details now on the military plane carrying the Queen's coffin home to London.
It's a C-17 Globemaster.
These planes have recently been used to deliver humanitarian aid and weapons to Ukraine during its war with Russia, and to evacuate huge numbers of people from Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2021 - the head of staff for the RAF told the BBC earlier.
Queen's coffin leaves Scottish soil for last timepublished at 17:42 British Summer Time 13 September 2022
The military plane carrying the Queen's coffin has now taken off.
It is due to land in Northolt, west of London, in about an hour.
National anthem played as flight carrying coffin sets offpublished at 17:36 British Summer Time 13 September 2022
The Guard of Honour is giving a final Royal Salute. As the aircraft starts to move, the regiment's band plays a verse of the national anthem.
Queen's coffin carried on to RAF planepublished at 17:29 British Summer Time 13 September 2022
Image source, Reuters
This is the moment the Queen's coffin was carried on to the RAF C-17 transporter plane which will fly it to London.
The plane's engines are running and it is preparing to take off.
King lands at RAF Northolt ahead of late Queenpublished at 17:23 British Summer Time 13 September 2022
King Charles and the Queen Consort have landed at RAF Northolt, in west London.
The royal couple will now travel to Buckingham Palace and prepare to meet the Queen's coffin there, once it has been flown down from Scotland.
The drive from Northolt to the palace normally takes around an hour.
Image source, Reuters
Image caption,
King Charles III and Queen Consort drive away from RAF Northolt after arriving from Belfast
Princess Anne: A very special rolepublished at 17:19 British Summer Time 13 September 2022
Dominic Casciani
News correspondent
Image caption,
Princess Anne is at Edinburgh Airport to accompany her mother's coffin on its journey to London
There is one great final duty that many children feel towards their parents: the duty to see them safely and peacefully to their last rest. And it’s emerged that Queen Elizabeth II wished that her only daughter - the Princess Royal, Princess Anne - should play the primary role in escorting her coffin in the days between her death and the state funeral.
That wish reflects not just the practical burden such a task would be for King Charles, but also Princess Anne's status as a family rock. The King’s days have so far been a whirlwind, requiring him to balance his personal grief with his duties towards the state as the new monarch.
So his sister has taken the lead in the very public role of being with the coffin on its journey so far. It's a role that acknowledges her vital importance to her late mother and to her brother - but also her record as the busiest and hardest-working member of the Royal Family.
Last year alone she attended more than 380 official engagements - a number that had been growing in the autumn years of her mother’s reign.
The coming days will see the Princess Royal complete her duties towards Queen Elizabeth - but there is no doubt that a new chapter in her public role is about to begin as she supports the King.