The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II has arrived in London. On Sept. 13, the late monarch’s casket reached Buckingham Palace from St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, Scotland. Following a regal send off and transfer from the hearse to a plane, the coffin was received in London by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. King Charles, Prince William and Kate Middleton also arrived to Buckingham Palace to pay their respects.
Princess Anne, who accompanied the coffin to London from Scotland, shared a statement the final moments she spent with her mother, the Queen.
“I was fortunate to share the last 24 hours of my dearest Mother’s life,” she wrote in a statement to on Sept. 13. “It has been an honour and a privilege to accompany her on her final journeys.”
Crowds gathered outside the Palace to pay their final respects to Her Majesty before she reaches her ultimate resting place in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
The Queen’s coffin will stay overnight at Buckingham Palace before it makes its way to the Houses of Parliament, where it will lie in state until the funeral on Sept. 19. Her Majesty passed away at the age of 96 on Sept. 8, just hours after Buckingham Palace issued a statement sharing that doctors were “concerned” with her health.
After her death, the King paid a heartfelt tribute to his late mother, who he watched lead for 70 years as the longest-reigning British monarch.
“To my darling Mama, as you begin your last great journey to join my dear late Papa, I want simply to say this: Thank you,” Charles said in a pre-recorded address Sept. 9, his first as King. “Thank you for your love and devotion to our family and to the family of nations you have served so diligently all these years. May ‘flights of Angels sing thee to thy rest.'”
And after Charles was officially proclaimed King in a formal ceremony, he emphasized his commitment to continuing his mother’s legacy.
“My mother’s reign was unequalled in its duration, its dedication and its devotion,” he said Sept. 10, per NBC News. “Even as we grieve we give thanks for this most faithful life. I am deeply aware of this great inheritance and of the duties and heavy responsibilities of sovereignty which have now passed to me.”