Princess Anne has paid tribute to her late mother the Queen, saying ‘it has been an honour and a privilege to accompany her on her final journeys’.
The Princess Royal has stayed by the late monarch’s side ever since she left her beloved Balmoral, where she died at the age of 96 last week, and is currently with Her Majesty’s coffin as it travels to London.
Thousands lined the streets of Edinburgh on Tuesday to pay their last respects before the Queen left the Scottish capital for the last time.
Anne joined her brothers, King Charles and Princes Andrew and Edward, in staging a silent vigil around as it lay at rest in the city’s St Giles’ Cathedral on Monday.
Her statement said: ‘I was fortunate to share the last 24 hours of my dearest Mother’s life.
‘It has been an honour and a privilege to accompany her on her final journeys.
‘Witnessing the love and respect shown by so many on these journeys has been both humbling and uplifting.
‘We will all share unique memories. I offer my thanks to each and every one who share our sense of loss.
‘We may have been reminded how much of her presence and contribution to our national identity we took for granted.
‘I am also grateful for the support and understanding offered to my dear brother Charles as he accepts the added responsibilities of The Monarch.
‘To my mother, The Queen, thank you.’
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Members of the Guard of Honour have assembled on the airfield at RAF Northolt where the Queen’s coffin has arrived by plane from Edinburgh.
They transferred the coffin to the official hearse, which will now take the Queen to Buckingham Palace.
Her Majesty’s grandchildren will be among members of the royal family paying their respects to the late monarch by witnessing her coffin’s arrival at Buckingham Palace.
Standing at the palace’s grand entrance, the new King and his Queen Consort will be surrounded by the late monarch’s children and grandchildren and their partners, including the Prince and Princess of Wales and Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
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