'To My Mother The Queen, Thank You', Says Anne

The Princess Royal said it was an "honour and a privilege" to accompany the Queen's coffin as it left Scotland yesterday on its journey to Buckingham Palace.

- Holly Bancroft

The late monarch's only daughter said the love and respect shown to the Queen on her journey from Balmoral to Edinburgh and onto London had been “both humbling uplifting”.

Crowds broke into applause as the coffin was taken from St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh, where some 26,000 well-wishers had queued for many hours around the clock to pay their respects.

Princess Anne escorted the hearse to Edinburgh Airport, where the coffin was flown by military transporter to RAF Northolt and taken through rush hour traffic to central where the Queen will lie in state at Westminster Hall from Spm today.

“Tt has been an honour and a privilege to accompany her on her final journeys,” she said in a statement. “Witnessing the love and respect shown by so many on these journeys has been both humbling and uplifting.”

She finished: “To my mother, the Queen, thank you.”

The princess was in Scotland when the Queen was taken ill, and stayed at her bedside at Balmoral Castle, as senior royals rushed to say their final farewells.

“T was fortunate to share the last 24 hours of my dearest mother’s life,” Anne said.

The Queen’s coffin arrived at Buckingham Palace shortly before 8pm yesterday, where crowds had waited patiently in the rain.