Britain’s King Charles III was joined by his siblings as they staged a silent vigil at the side of their mother Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin, which lay at rest in Edinburgh’s historic cathedral on Monday (September 12).
King Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Edward and Andrew stood with heads bowed on the four sides of the oak casket, which was draped with the Royal Standard of Scotland with a wreath of white flowers and the Crown of Scotland.
Queen Elizabeth’s four children performed the traditional vigil around the coffin. They positioned themselves at each side of the coffin.
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The process is called the Vigil of the Princes and it was first carried out in 1936 when King George V passed away. King Edward VIII and his three brothers, Princes Albert, Henry and George, stood by the coffin of their late father.
All four children of Queen Elizabeth left the city’s St. Giles Cathedral to applause from onlookers as hundreds and thousands of people queued for hours to pay tribute to Britain’s longest-serving monarch.
King Charles and his siblings stood solemnly for 10 minutes next to the coffin, with their heads bowed. The late monarch’s coffin was taken from the royal residence of the Palace of Holyroodhouse where it had remained overnight for a prayer service.
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Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin will be taken in procession to Westminster Abbey for a state funeral on September 19 at 11:00am (local time).
After the funeral, the coffin will be taken to Windsor for a committal service at St George’s Chapel. It will be televised, hence, people across the world will be able to watch it.
After that, a private interment service is planned for later in the evening. The queen will be interred privately at the King George VI memorial chapel.
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