Queen Elizabeth II's coffin arrives in Edinburgh ahead of London funeral

London: Thousands lined the route to catch a glimpse as Queen Elizabeth II's coffin, seen in public for the first time, made its journey on Sunday from Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire to arrive at the late monarch's official Scottish residence of Holyroodhouse Palace in the capital city of Edinburgh.

It is the end of the first stage of what her eldest son, King Charles III, has described as his mother's "last great journey" ahead of her funeral in London on September 19.

At the end of a six-hour journey, the coffin draped with the Royal Standard of Scotland and featuring a wreath of flowers on top is to rest in the Throne Room of Holyroodhouse until Monday afternoon for the royal household to pay their respects to Britain's Queen, who died peacefully aged 96 at Balmoral on Thursday evening.

The seven-car cortege, with a police escort and the Queen's daughter Princess Anne, slowly made its way towards Edinburgh, as crowds of people gathered to see it pass and showered it with flowers on the way.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the "poignant" journey would give people in Scotland the chance to come together to "mark our country's shared loss".

She and other leaders in Scotland observed the coffin as it made its way past the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh.

The oak coffin will make an onward journey to London later in the week after Buckingham Palace has unveiled plans for the State Funeral, which will take place at Westminster Abbey on Monday, September 19 declared a Bank Holiday in the UK.

Prior to the funeral, the late monarch will lie-in-state at Westminster Hall within the Houses of Parliament complex for four days, to allow the British public to pay their respects.

On Saturday, members of the royal family viewed the several thousand floral tributes and messages left for the late Queen at her residences at Windsor, Balmoral and London.

In a show of royal unity, Prince William and Kate now the Prince and Princess of Wales joined Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle for a walkabout at Windsor to speak to members of the public gathered at the gates of Windsor Castle.

A social media video clip shows Kate telling one group how her youngest son, Prince Louis, had said that his great grandmother was now with great grandpa a reference to the Queen's husband Prince Philip, who died last

April aged 99.