Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin left Buckingham Palace last night (Macau time) as it was taken amid somber pageantry on a horse-drawn gun carriage past crowds of mourners to the Houses of Parliament, where the late monarch will lie in state for four days.
Crowds began massing early along the flag-lined road outside the palace for the procession from the monarch›s official London residence to the historic Westminster Hall at Parliament. King Charles III and other members of the royal family will walk behind the coffin.
Thousands of people gathered on The Mall outside Buckingham Palace and along the banks of the River Thames hours before the coffin procession begins.
About a half-hour before the procession was due to start, the gun carriage passed through the palace’s wrought iron gates.
London’s Heathrow Airport halted flights that could disturbing the procession. British Airways canceled 16 flights as a result of the changes.
