Queen At Buckingham Palace One Last Time

On Tuesday night, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II stayed at Buckingham Palace in London, where she lived almost all her life, for one last time.

After her body arrived in London from Edinburgh on a Royal Air Force C-19 Globemaster aircraft on Tuesday evening, it was driven to Buckingham Palace after a sombre ceremony at the Royal Air Force's Northolt base.

On Wednesday afternoon, the queen's body will be taken to Westminster Hall, where it will lie in state till Monday morning on the day of her funeral, enabling an estimated half million Britons to pay homage to their late monarch.

King Charles III, his sister Princess Anne -- the princess royal who accompanied her mother's body from Balmoral Castle on its six hour journey to Edinburgh and then to London -- his younger brothers Prince Andrew, the duke of York, and Prince Edward, the earl of Wessex, will walk behind their mother's coffin, a journey of 38 minutes.

Prince William, the prince of Wales, and his estranged brother Prince Harry will also be present.

IMAGE: A bearer party from the Queen's Colour Squadron of the Royal Air Force carries Queen Elizabeth's coffin aboard the RAF aircraft. Photograph: Andrew Milligan/Pool/Reuters

IMAGE: Earlier, members of the public had gathered to see the coffin leave St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, Scotland. Photograph: Louisa Gouliamaki/Pool/Reuters

IMAGE: Britain's Prime Minister Liz Truss awaits the arrival of the queen's coffin at RAF Northolt.
Truss, who has been in office for less than a week, earlier flew to Belfast in Northern Ireland for a memorial service in the province, which was attended by King Charles III. Photograph: Kirsty Wigglesworth/Pool/Reuters

IMAGE: Princess Anne and her husband Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence (retd) arrive on the RAF plane carrying her mother's coffin at RAF Northolt. Photograph: Kirsty Wigglesworth/Pool/Reuters

IMAGE: The queen's coffin is carried off the plane at RAF Northolt, to be taken to Buckingham Palace. Photograph: Kirsty Wigglesworth/Pool/Reuters

IMAGE: The coffin is lifted into a hearse. Photograph: Kirsty Wigglesworth/Pool/Reuters

IMAGE: As the hearse with her mother's coffin passed Princess Anne on the tarmac at RAF Northolt, she curtsied, as is required of British women when they are before the monarch.
The princess -- of whom one commentator exclaimed was 'What a wonderful daughter!' -- posted a moving tribute to her mother on Tuesday night. Photograph: Andrew Matthews/Pool/Reuters

IMAGE: Seen from the top of the Wellington Arch, the queen's coffin passes by the heart of London. Photograph: Marco Bertorello/Pool/Reuters

Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com