Queen lies at rest in St Giles' as mourners queue for viewing

Huge queues as mourners wait to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth II.

Queen Elizabeth II lies at rest in St Giles’ Cathedral after Edinburgh procession up Royal Mile Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth II is lying at rest in St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh as mourners queue for miles outside to view her coffin.

She will remain there until Tuesday afternoon, when she is flown to London ahead of her funeral on Monday.

Members of the public are being allowed to view the coffin and pay their respects, and thousands of people were expected to wait their turn through the night.

The Queen's coffin lies at rest in St Giles' Cathedral.

Queues of around two miles from the St Giles’ to the Meadows were being reported on Monday evening.

Airport-style security checks were in place, while photography inside the cathedral was not allowed.

Earlier, thousands watched on as King Charles III took part in a procession up the Royal Mile ahead of a special remembrance and thanksgiving service for his mother’s life.

Her other children – Anne, Andrew and Edward – also walked behind a hearse from the Queen’s official Scottish residence, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, to the cathedral.

Charles and his siblings walk up the Royal Mile behind the Queen's coffin.

Members of the public held their phones high to capture images of the historic event and shouts of “God bless the Queen” could be heard as the hearse made its way past.

Members of the royal family, including the Queen Consort, then joined a congregation drawn from all areas of Scottish society for the special service, which included a reading by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

Rt Rev Dr Iain Greenshields, moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, told the service: “We are united in sorrow at the death of our monarch, but we are also so aware that His Majesty King Charles and all his family are not just grieving the loss of their Queen, but their mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.”

‘Worth the wait’

George Higgins, a former soldier in the Scots Guards, was at the front of the queue to view the coffin, with hundreds of well-wishers behind him lining George IV bridge.

The 61-year-old has been queuing since 7am, shortly after he finished an overnight shift as a security guard at the University of Edinburgh.

He said: “I’ve been here since 6.45am, I came straight here after a night shift at work.

“I took my clothes to work, got changed and came straight here. I’m going back on shift at 9.30pm tonight, so I’m going to be very tired.

“But it’s worth it, with her service to the country, to us, to people and to the Commonwealth, the least I can do is give her a couple of days of my time to say farewell.

Mourners are queuing to view the Queen's coffin.

“It’s a real privilege to be here. I can’t believe I’m actually first. I have actually got to pinch myself. It’s just luck.”

Fiona James, 24, from Llandrindod Wells in Wales, travelled to see the procession in Edinburgh.

She said: “I felt a lot of sadness not being with other people grieving, so it feels really good, it feels like the right thing to be here today.

“I was excited to see the King and the Queen Consort. I feel very special that they’re right here on the doorstep where we live. It feels very close. Even though they, and she, are world famous, it feels very intimate that they’re here. It’s like we’re all a big family.”

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