Thousands gathered to say their farewells to Queen
Tributes with horses, flowers, toys, flags and even tractors
HER final journey began in the cool autumn sunshine, watched by a trickle of silent mourners outside the gates of Balmoral.
But that trickle soon became a rush as thousands poured forth to line the route of the cortege.
While many came simply to pay their final respects in quiet contemplation, others brought with them their own deeply personal tributes to a monarch who had touched so many lives in so many ways.
Among the sea of flowers laid by the entrance to the Queen’s beloved Highland hideaway were many colourful blooms plucked from people’s private gardens.
In Ballater, where the cortege slowed as it headed down Bridge Street past pavements packed with hushed locals at 10.23am, the lowering of standards and salutes of local dignitaries took place just yards from a post box topped by a jolly-looking knitted monarch, complete with angel and a flower.
The accompanying note said: ‘Thank you Your Majesty’, adding that it was ‘made with love’ by a resident of Torphins, Aberdeenshire.
Locals in the area have long regarded themselves as good friends and neighbours of the Queen and with such displays of impish humour, it seems, that bond of kinship remains strong
‘A monarch who had touched so many lives in so many ways’
even in death. It set the tone of gentle humour, which offered a counterpoint to the solemnity of the day as the hearse completed its 175-mile journey to the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.
Deeper into rural Aberdeenshire, farmers made their own mark of respect by parking dozens of tractors and farm machinery – gleaming in the late morning sun – in fields either side of the road to form an agricultural ‘guard of honour’ as the cortege passed by. Not irreverence, but driven by a need to bid a fitting farewell to their Queen.
In Aboyne, pipes played as a hush fell over the village and hundreds of people of all ages joined together to watch the procession. ‘You’re on your way now,’ said one onlooker.
Further on, one spectator threw some flowers over the hearse in Banchory, despite express pleadings by Aberdeenshire Council not to do so. Unusually, as the cortege left the village, crowds began applauding.
While most people have laid floral tributes at sites of remembrance, David Edwards arrived in Aberdeen with a bouquet which he planned to take upstream and cast into the River Dee as a tribute to Her Majesty.
‘She’s a great bridge with the past from my parents’ era,’ he said.
‘I was going to cast the flowers into the River Dee because it flows through Royal Deeside, where she loved to be.’
In Peterculter outside Aberdeen, horses and riders had gathered by the roadside to pay tribute.
And in Perthshire, three horse lovers, Emma Laing, Jenny Heard and Susie Knox, trotted down to the Kinfauns flyover above the A90 to watch as the cortege headed past.
Miss Knox said they wanted to come down because the Queen ‘loved horses’.
To the south, farm workers in Kinross had a different use for their combine harvester, using it as a makeshift viewing platform to watch from a wheatfield as the Queen’s coffin headed past. While they relaxed in comfort, motorists were seen to park their cars on the hard shoulder and get out to applaud as the cortege passed in the opposite direction.
In Edinburgh, one local was spotted out walking their own pet corgis ‘in true royal style’, according to a post on social media.
Near the Palace of Holyroodhouse, where the Queen’s coffin arrived at the end of the first leg of her journey around 5pm yesterday, cuddly toys including a teddy dressed in a purple Guides T-shirt – a reminder of the Queen’s role as patron of the Guide Association – were dotted among the carpet of floral offerings.
Among the flowers, a Saltire flag had been laid carefully. On it was written simply: ‘Thank you Ma’am. RIP.’
One special gift left by a mourner summed up perfectly the warmth and affection in which Her Majesty was held – a small Paddington Bear cuddly toy clutching a sealed plastic bag with a label which read, ‘A marmalade sandwich for your journey ma’am’.
It was a nod to the Queen’s muchloved Platinum Jubilee sketch during which she had tea at Buckingham Palace with the popular children’s story character.
Another well-wisher appeared to be on a similar wavelength after leaving a copy of Michael Bond’s book Paddington At the Rainbow’s End, bearing the inscription, ‘One last story Ma’am’.
Back up in Ballater, a single stone had been left among all of the flowers, neatly painted with a sunflower and the words ‘RIP Queen Elizabeth II’.
Having served as the nation’s rock for so long, perhaps that simple symbol is the most fitting tribute of all.