Beyond words: A country salutes a Queen

It was a glorious autumn day as the last visitors queued to see the late Queen lying in state in St Giles’ Cathedral, the last chance to pay their respects before she left her beloved Scotland for the last time.

More than 30,000 people had turned out to file past the coffin and they set the tone for what followed in London, as tens of thousands more snaked along the Thames to see her in the Palace of Westminster.

The mood in Scotland’s capital was respectful, but good natured. I heard one man being asked by a journalist what had kept him going through his eight-hour wait. “Water, crisps and hope,” he replied.

And one woman had even queued up seven times to see the Queen’s coffin. Elizabeth Sabey said: “It’s beyond words, and I feel deeply moved every time I go through”.

Edinburgh had been a glorious backdrop and I think most Scots feel glad that we played a part in this significant chapter of history.