Queen Elizabeth II has started her last journey from her Balmoral residence in Aberdeenshire to Edinburgh. She will travel along the north-east coast.

The thousands of people who lined the route to say their final goodbyes to the nation’s longest-reigning queen and the woman many in the area regarded as a beloved neighbour gathered as the cortege bearing her coffin left Balmoral at around 10 am.

Also read: King Charles III is the new UK monarch: Who were Charles I and Charles II?

The hearse arrived at the nearest village of Ballater, where the Queen was a frequent shopper and well-known to locals, after passing Craithie kirk, the little granite church where the Queen attended every Sunday during her yearly summer holidays in the Highlands.

Before 7 am, crowds had been forming there, with the well-prepared arriving with grocery bags filled with refreshments and fold-away seats.

The cortege was to depart from Ballater and proceed east along the narrow, winding A93 through a series of towns along the Dee, including Aboyne, Banchory, and Peterculter, before reaching the dual carriageway A90 that would take it south and through Perth and Dundee before arriving in Edinburgh six hours later.

Also read: Queen Elizabeth II funeral details: Here’s what will happen over the next 7 days

To witness the coffin’s passage, the first minister will go to a party leaders’ meeting at the parliament. 

The King has declared Monday, September 19, to be a day of mourning and a bank holiday, and Buckingham Palace has confirmed that the Queen’s state funeral will take place at Westminster Abbey at 11 am on that day.

Prior to being laid to rest on Monday in St. Giles’ Cathedral, it will remain at Holyroodhouse Palace. 

Also read: Next generation of the British Royal Family will see more scrutiny

The King, Queen Consort, and other royal family members will follow behind. The Scottish crown will be placed on the casket at a service at 3 o’clock that will be attended by the King and his family.

The people of Scotland will then have the opportunity to pay their respects when military vigils are held while the Queen rests at St. Giles’ Cathedral for 24 hours. The King and other members of the royal family will conduct their own vigil that evening.