King Charles III, Prince Edward, Princess Anne and Prince Andrew hold a vigil at St Giles' Cathedral as members of the public walk past. Getty Images
King Charles III, Prince Edward, Princess Anne and Prince Andrew hold a vigil at St Giles' Cathedral as members of the public walk past. Getty Images
King Charles III, Prince Edward, Princess Anne and Prince Andrew hold a vigil at St Giles' Cathedral as members of the public walk past. Getty Images
King Charles III, Prince Edward, Princess Anne and Prince Andrew hold a vigil at St Giles' Cathedral as members of the public walk past. Getty Images

Tears and solemn silence as thousands say final farewell to queen in Scotland


Nicky Harley
  • English
  • Arabic

Thousands of people queued throughout the night to say a final farewell to Queen Elizabeth II in Scotland.

Tears were shed by well-wishers as they entered Edinburgh’s historic St Giles' Cathedral where the monarch has been lying in state.

Filing past ancient flags in silence, the crowd snaked up to the queen’s coffin, which has been draped in the Royal Standard and topped with the ancient Crown of Scotland and a wreath of heather from Balmoral — the remote royal retreat where the queen died aged 96 last Thursday.

Four members of the monarch's Scottish bodyguard, the Royal Company of Archers, stood with their heads bowed at each corner of the oak coffin.

On Monday, King Charles III and his siblings had followed her hearse through the cobbled streets before standing vigil around the coffin.

Former West Yorkshire police inspector Anthony Walker drove 200 miles and queued for six hours alongside a nurse to pay his respects.

Former police inspector Anthony Walker drove 200 miles to see the queen’s coffin and queued through the night. Nicky Harley / The National
Former police inspector Anthony Walker drove 200 miles to see the queen’s coffin and queued through the night. Nicky Harley / The National

“I called her ma'am in my career and, to me, she was like a mother to the nation,” the 65-year-old told The National.

“She was driven by duty and responsibility and that is how I have viewed my career. I began queuing after 8pm on Monday and I finally got to see her at about 2.30am. It was very calm and very peaceful. I spent nine minutes in the cathedral reflecting on her life.

“It was about commemoration and showing her what she meant to us.”

On Tuesday, the queues to see the monarch stretched for miles around the city before her coffin is flown to RAF Northolt where it will make its final journey to London.

“It's part of history,” Lynn Templeton, who had travelled from the north-west of England.

A young girl holding stuffed toys waits to watch the procession of Queen Elizabeth's coffin from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to St Giles' Cathedral. AP
A young girl holding stuffed toys waits to watch the procession of Queen Elizabeth's coffin from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to St Giles' Cathedral. AP

“We are pensioners, we'll never see this again.”

As the hour of her departure drew near, there were scenes of pensioners running to desperately join the long queues. But by 12.30pm the Scottish government was forced to close them to ensure that those left in would get the chance to view the monarch before the lying at rest ended at 3pm.

Lord Ian Duncan, the Deputy Speaker in the House of Lords, said: “The streets around (the Royal Mile) were crammed and, as people waited to walk past the coffin itself, the expectation of the numbers and the sheer quantity of humanity in Edinburgh today was extraordinary.”

Marie Claire Cross was one of the 26,000 people in time to view the coffin.

“I was awed by the fact that I was in the cathedral with Queen Elizabeth, who I have looked up to all my life,” said the 55-year-old.

“It was awesome in the true sense of the word and it was so sad.”

Wege Singh, Hardial Singh and Kanak Singh met the queen four years ago at Buckingham Palace.

Wege Singh, Hardial Singh and Kanak Singh queued for hours to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth. Nicky Harley / The National
Wege Singh, Hardial Singh and Kanak Singh queued for hours to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth. Nicky Harley / The National

They queued to visit her while taking turns to carry a huge floral tribute from Scotland’s Sikh community.

“She respected all faiths and was such a lovely lady,” Wege Singh said.

“We wanted to show our respects to her and have waited for hours to see the coffin. It was quite a beautiful moment in the cathedral. We are now going to lay our flowers at the Palace of Holyroodhouse and read the other tributes.

“She has previously invited us to garden parties at [Buckingham] palace and always greeted us with a smile. Seeing her today was the least we could do.”

For professor of Neuroscience at Edinburgh University Seth Grant, losing the queen was like losing a loved one.

People queue to enter St Giles' Cathedral. AP
People queue to enter St Giles' Cathedral. AP

“My mother and people of her generation somehow were very similar to her,” he said.

“So it's a very personal thing, when the queen dies. It's like your mother dying.”

On Tuesday afternoon the queen's only daughter, Princess Anne, accompanied her mother's body on the next leg of its journey by Royal Air Force jet to an airfield near London.

A bagpiper played as the flag-draped coffin was carried out of the cathedral and crowds again lined the Royal Mile through the historic heart of Edinburgh to watch as the coffin was driven away.

On leaving Edinburgh Airport, the military will form a guard of honour and give the monarch a final royal salute. A band will play one verse of the British national anthem.

The queen will first be driven to Buckingham Palace, where her coffin will stay overnight in the Bow Room.

Her coffin will then be transferred to Westminster Hall on Wednesday, where she will lie in state for four days.

In London, people have already begun camping out. Scenes in the capital are expected to mirror those in Edinburgh with a large outpouring of grief expected.

The UK mourns Queen Elizabeth II — in pictures

WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?

1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull

2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight

3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge

4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own

5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed

THE BIO

Bio Box

Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul

Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader

Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet

Favorite food: seafood

Favorite place to travel: Lebanon

Favorite movie: Braveheart

SPECS

Nissan 370z Nismo

Engine: 3.7-litre V6

Transmission: seven-speed automatic

Power: 363hp

Torque: 560Nm

Price: Dh184,500

ENGLAND SQUAD

Team: 15 Mike Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Ben Te'o, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 1 Mako Vunipola, 2 Dylan Hartley, 3 Dan Cole, 4 Joe Launchbury, 5 Maro Itoje, 6 Courtney Lawes, 7 Chris Robshaw, 8 Sam Simmonds

Replacements 16 Jamie George, 17 Alec Hepburn, 18 Harry Williams, 19 George Kruis, 20 Sam Underhill, 21 Danny Care, 22 Jonathan Joseph, 23 Jack Nowell

How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE

When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.

SUE%20GRAY'S%20FINDINGS
%3Cp%3E%22Whatever%20the%20initial%20intent%2C%20what%20took%20place%20at%20many%20of%20these%20gatherings%20and%20the%3Cbr%3Eway%20in%20which%20they%20developed%20was%20not%20in%20line%20with%20Covid%20guidance%20at%20the%20time.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%22Many%20of%20these%20events%20should%20not%20have%20been%20allowed%20to%20happen.%20It%20is%20also%20the%20case%20that%20some%20of%20the%3Cbr%3Emore%20junior%20civil%20servants%20believed%20that%20their%20involvement%20in%20some%20of%20these%20events%20was%20permitted%20given%20the%20attendance%20of%20senior%20leaders.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%22The%20senior%20leadership%20at%20the%20centre%2C%20both%20political%20and%20official%2C%20must%20bear%20responsibility%20for%20this%20culture.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%22I%20found%20that%20some%20staff%20had%20witnessed%20or%20been%20subjected%20to%20behaviours%20at%20work%20which%20they%20had%20felt%20concerned%20about%20but%20at%20times%20felt%20unable%20to%20raise%20properly.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%22I%20was%20made%20aware%20of%20multiple%20examples%20of%20a%20lack%20of%20respect%20and%20poor%20treatment%20of%20security%20and%20cleaning%20staff.%20This%20was%20unacceptable.%22%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

Huddersfield Town permanent signings:

  • Steve Mounie (striker): signed from Montpellier for £11 million
  • Tom Ince (winger): signed from Derby County for £7.7m
  • Aaron Mooy (midfielder): signed from Manchester City for £7.7m
  • Laurent Depoitre (striker): signed from Porto for £3.4m
  • Scott Malone (defender): signed from Fulham for £3.3m
  • Zanka (defender): signed from Copenhagen for £2.3m
  • Elias Kachunga (winger): signed for Ingolstadt for £1.1m
  • Danny WIlliams (midfielder): signed from Reading on a free transfer
The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo

Power: 268hp at 5,600rpm

Torque: 380Nm at 4,800rpm

Transmission: CVT auto

Fuel consumption: 9.5L/100km

On sale: now

Price: from Dh195,000 

Stage 5 results

1 Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 3:48:53

2 Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana Pro Team -

Adam Yates (GBR) Mitchelton-Scott - 

4 David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ  0:00:04

5 Ilnur Zakarin (RUS) CCC Team 0:00:07

General Classification:

1 Adam Yates (GBR) Mitchelton-Scott 20:35:04

2 Tadej Pogacar (SlO) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:01

3 Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana Pro Team 0:01:33

4 David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ 0:01:48

5 Rafał Majka (POL) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:02:11

If you go

The flights

Etihad flies direct from Abu Dhabi to San Francisco from Dh5,760 return including taxes. 

The car

Etihad Guest members get a 10 per cent worldwide discount when booking with Hertz, as well as earning miles on their rentals. A week's car hire costs from Dh1,500 including taxes.

The hotels

Along the route, Motel 6 (www.motel6.com) offers good value and comfort, with rooms from $55 (Dh202) per night including taxes. In Portland, the Jupiter Hotel (https://jupiterhotel.com/) has rooms from $165 (Dh606) per night including taxes. The Society Hotel https://thesocietyhotel.com/ has rooms from $130 (Dh478) per night including taxes. 

More info

To keep up with constant developments in Portland, visit www.travelportland.com. Good guidebooks include the Lonely Planet guides to Northern California and Washington, Oregon & the Pacific Northwest. 

 

MATCH INFO

Champions League quarter-final, first leg

Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)

Match on BeIN Sports

RESULTS FOR STAGE 4

Stage 4 Dubai to Hatta, 197 km, Road race.

Overall leader Primoz Roglic SLO (Team Jumbo - Visma)

Stage winners: 1. Caleb Ewan AUS (Lotto - Soudal) 2. Matteo Moschetti ITA (Trek - Segafredo) 3. Primoz Roglic SLO (Team Jumbo - Visma)

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting 

2. Prayer 

3. Hajj 

4. Shahada 

5. Zakat 

ICC T20 Team of 2021

Jos Buttler, Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Aiden Markram, Mitchell Marsh, David Miller, Tabraiz Shamsi, Josh Hazlewood, Wanindu Hasaranga, Mustafizur Rahman, Shaheen Afridi

Disability on screen

Empire — neuromuscular disease myasthenia gravis; bipolar disorder; post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Rosewood and Transparent — heart issues

24: Legacy — PTSD;

Superstore and NCIS: New Orleans — wheelchair-bound

Taken and This Is Us — cancer

Trial & Error — cognitive disorder prosopagnosia (facial blindness and dyslexia)

Grey’s Anatomy — prosthetic leg

Scorpion — obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety

Switched at Birth — deafness

One Mississippi, Wentworth and Transparent — double mastectomy

Dragons — double amputee

GRAN%20TURISMO
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Neill%20Blomkamp%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20David%20Harbour%2C%20Orlando%20Bloom%2C%20Archie%20Madekwe%2C%20Darren%20Barnet%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Liverpool's all-time goalscorers

Ian Rush 346
Roger Hunt 285
Mohamed Salah 250
Gordon Hodgson 241
Billy Liddell 228

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Year Earth Changed

Directed by:Tom Beard

Narrated by: Sir David Attenborough

Stars: 4

KLOPP%20AT%20LIVERPOOL
%3Cp%3EYears%3A%20October%202015%20-%20June%202024%3Cbr%3ETotal%20games%3A%20491%3Cbr%3EWin%20percentage%3A%2060.9%25%3Cbr%3EMajor%20trophies%3A%206%20(Premier%20League%20x%201%2C%20Champions%20League%20x%201%2C%20FA%20Cup%20x%201%2C%20League%20Cup%20x%202%2C%20Fifa%20Club%20World%20Cup%20x1)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
WHAT ARE NFTs?

     

 

    

 

   

 

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are tokens that represent ownership of unique items. They allow the tokenisation of things such as art, collectibles and even real estate.

 

An NFT can have only one official owner at one time. And since they're minted and secured on the Ethereum blockchain, no one can modify the record of ownership, not even copy-paste it into a new one.

 

This means NFTs are not interchangeable and cannot be exchanged with other items. In contrast, fungible items, such as fiat currencies, can be exchanged because their value defines them rather than their unique properties.

 
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick

Hometown: Cologne, Germany

Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)

Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes

Favourite hobby: Football

Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk

White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogenChromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxideUltramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica contentOphiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on landOlivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour

Updated: September 13, 2022, 3:36 PM