People gather in tribute as the cortege carrying the coffin of the late Queen Elizabeth II passes by in Banchory, United Kingdom.
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A cortege carrying Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin left her estate in northern Scotland on Sunday morning, traveling more than 100 miles to the royal Palace of Holyroodhouse in the capital of 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.
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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.
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In Scotland, there is respect for the queen but skepticism for the institution of monarchy.
Heather McGrath, a chef who lives in Glasgow, told NPR she thinks the royal family is redundant.
"We don't really need them. It's just like it's a tourist attraction more than anything."
Heather McGrath, 38, who works as a pastry chef in Glasgow, supports Scottish independence and does not support the monarchy.
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A Scottish nationalist, McGrath voted for independence in the 2014 referendum and said she would do so again if she gets the chance.
For others, though, the cortege felt personal and historic. Terry Rigby, a retired air traffic controller, brought his grandson to watch in the town of Banchory.
Terry Rigby, 72, a retired air traffic controller, brought his grandson, River, 11, to watch the queen's funeral cortege pass through the Scottish town of Banchory.
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Rigby said he had celebrated the queen's coronation in 1953 outside Buckingham Palace.
"I was sitting on my father's shoulders," Rigby recalled. "That was her first journey. This is the last."
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The queen's death kicked off a series of events that will last more than a week before her funeral, scheduled to take place Sept. 19. 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.
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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.
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