Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin arrives at London’s Buckingham Palace

London – The coffin of Queen Elizabeth the second has arrived back at Buckingham Palace, the Associated Press reported. Earlier on Tuesday, the late monarch left Scotland for the last time.

A military C-17 Globemaster carrying the Queen’s remains landed at RAF Northolt, an air force base in west London, on Tuesday night, about an hour after leaving Edinburgh, Scotland, the Associated Press reported. The state hearse carrying the coffin made its way through the rain-soaked streets of London, where throngs of mourners lined up to pay their respects.

Crowds filled Scotland’s capital earlier in the day pay their respects to the queen personally.

Hundreds of thousands are expected to wait for hours for an opportunity to see the Queen’s coffin later this week as it is on display at Westminster Hall.

The coffin was earlier brought from St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh after being carried to silent crowds in a solemn procession through the Scottish capital.

At the airport, while the Royal Regiment of Scotland looked on in ceremonial kilts, a Royal Air Force porter slowly carried the coffin on board.

That revised national anthem was played as the plane taxied to the runway and the Queen, who died last week aged 96 at her beloved home in Balmoral in the Highlands, left Scotland for the last time.

The late monarch will first be taken to Buckingham Palace for the night before being transported to Westminster Hall on Wednesday, where some well-wishers have been queuing for 24 hours to bid Britain’s longest-serving sovereign goodbye.

Two women, Grace and Vanessa, said they had already taken their place in the queue and waited overnight to pay their respects a full day before the Queen’s coffin arrived in Westminster.

“This morning we went to the actual rehearsal as Her Majesty’s coffin walked into Westminster Hall. It was heartbreaking, the solemnity of the occasion,” Grace told the BBC. “I think the whole nation will be heartbroken and in tears. It was us.”

“It’s our way of showing respect to the Queen who has done a great service to the country, the Commonwealth and the world,” said Vanessa.

The coffin is transported by hearse to Buckingham Palace in the heart of the capital. On Wednesday, the Queen’s coffin will be carried in procession the short distance from the Palace to Westminster Hall, where the late monarch will be laid out until her state funeral on Monday.

King Charles III was visiting Belfast, Northern Ireland, with his wife Camilla, the Queen consort, on Tuesday. You’ll meet politicians and religious leaders and attend a service at St Anne’s Cathedral before returning to London later in the day.

AFP contributed to this report.