![The hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped with the Royal Standard of Scotland, leaving Balmoral as it begins its journey to Edinburgh. [Owen Humphreys / PA Images via Getty Images]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/c1ee393/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4703x3086+0+0/resize/840x552!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fimages%2Fnews%2Fnpr%2F2022%2F09%2F1122249004_653152038.jpg)
A cortege carrying Queen Elizabeth II's coffin left her estate in northern Scotland on Sunday morning, on the way to Edinburgh.
The convoy carrying the Queen began slowly snaking through the hills and forests of the Scottish highlands. The route takes her through villages and towns which are expected to be lined by her subjects.
Gamekeepers from the summer retreat Balmoral, where the Queen died on Thursday after 70 years on the throne, carried the late sovereign's oak coffin from the castle's ballroom to a hearse. The hearse drove out of the gates of Balmoral past piles of flowers left by the public.
It will drive more than 100 miles to the south in Scotland's capital, Edinburgh, at the royal Palace of Holyroodhouse.
On Monday, she'll be conveyed from the palace to nearby St. Giles Cathedral, to lie at rest, before being flown to London on Tuesday.
Over the weekend, the queen's eldest son was formally proclaimed the new monarch — King Charles III — at an accession ceremony.
"I am deeply aware of this great inheritance and of the duties and heavy responsibilities of sovereignty, which have now passed to me," he said.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.