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Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin arrives at Buckingham Palace amid tears and applause

Many people lining the street put down their umbrellas as a sign of respect while phone cameras lit up the crowds as people documented the historic moment

LONDON, ENGLAND: Despite the rain, thousands of people gathered on the streets of London to welcome the late Queen Elizabeth II as she arrived at Buckingham Palace for the last time on Tuesday evening, September 13. Many people in the crowd put down their umbrellas out of respect as the late monarch's coffin was taken away by RAF Northolt, and some were even seen crying as the lights of telephone cameras illuminated the crowd.

The new state hearse was followed by mourners who applauded and clapped as it passed by the Queen Victoria Memorial, down Constitution Hill, through the gates of the palace, and the main arch into the quadrangle. Many are still outside the palace. 

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The coffin of the late Queen Elizabeth II was received by King Charles III, his wife Camilla, and a number of other Royal Family members, including Prince William, the Princess of Wales, Prince Harry, and Meghan Markle. Princess Anne, Queen Elizabeth II's stoic daughter, was escorted by the State Hearse, which carried the coffin that had been flown in from Edinburgh to RAF Northolt.

Before the late monarch is presented to the country and laid to rest for four days at the historic Westminster Hall, the coffin will rest in the palace's bow room for one night. Thousands of people lined up all night last night in Edinburgh to see the Queen's coffin before it started its journey to London ahead of the funeral at Westminster Abbey on September 19. Many visitors to the cathedral were seen sobbing, hugging loved ones, and finding solace in the large gathering of people who had come to pay their respects to the late queen. Some visitors made the trip to the Scottish cathedral in the hope that paying their respects to the Queen would be simpler there than at Westminster Hall in London, where lines are predicted to go on for miles and take up to "30 hours." As Queen Elizabeth II made her last trip back home, tens of thousands of people lined the streets in the vicinity of a military airbase in west London. 

Mourners stood for hours in the pouring rain just to witness the late Queen returning home for the last time. Daily Mail reported, that Emma Keech, a teaching assistant, described how she and her mother Pat, sister Claire, and two great-nephews, Codey, 8, and Caleb, 6, hurried from school to make the 50-mile drive from Bedford. She said, "I literally finished work and drive up the M1 to get here. We made it two hours before the arrival. There were hundreds of people here already. I knew this was our only chance to say goodbye. We don't want to take the little ones to London for the ceremonies because there will be so many more people then. I've got work commitments as well apart from the day of the funeral itself." She added, "I rang at 7.00 am and said 'We need to do this for the boys'. This is a moment of history. There are three generations of us and it is something we will never again see in our lifetimes."

To commemorate the historic occasion, Janet Price 70 from Ruislip, brought her six-year-old granddaughter Sophie. She said, "I stood in this very spot 25 years ago after Princess Diana died. Her body was flown into RAF Northolt. That was a day I will never forget - like this one. She added, "I'm sure Sophie will feel the same in years to come. We got here two hours before the flight came in. It was something we just had to come and see. It was very emotional."

Robert Carter, a government employee, age 49, and his wife Kristina Carter, 47, a nurse, watched from the side of the road and said, "We wanted to see the Queen come home. It's a moment in history. We knew there would be many people here but we live close by so we thought we had to try."

Buckingham Palace said in a statement, "Her Majesty The Queen’s coffin has arrived at Buckingham Palace, where it will rest overnight in the Bow Room. Tomorrow the coffin will be borne in Procession on a Gun Carriage of The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery to the Palace of Westminster."

Princess Royal has released a statement paying tribute to her late mother as she travels with the Queen's coffin from Scotland to London. She 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." She added, "Witnessing the love and respect shown by so many on these journeys has been both humbling and uplifting."

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