When is the Queen's coffin in Edinburgh? Royal Mile procession and St Giles' Cathedral ceremony timeline

Following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the Queen’s coffin is expected to arrive in Edinburgh ahead of a formal procession up the Royal Mile to St Giles’ Cathedral.
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Full details and timings of the ceremonial plans for the 48 hours of the Queen’s final visit to the Capital have not yet been released.

However, the following is understood to be an approximate timeline of events for Operation Unicorn.

When is the Queen’s coffin arriving in Edinburgh?

A procession up the Royal Mile to St. Giles Cathedral is expected to take place on Monday.A procession up the Royal Mile to St. Giles Cathedral is expected to take place on Monday.
A procession up the Royal Mile to St. Giles Cathedral is expected to take place on Monday.
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It is understood the cortege bringing the coffin from Balmoral will arrive in Edinburgh on Sunday (September 11) and go to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland.

Earlier on Sunday (September 11) the Lord Lyon is expected to make a formal proclamation of the Queen’s death and the accession of King Charles III to the throne. This will take place first at the Mercat Cross in Edinburgh’s Parliament Square at noon and at Edinburgh Castle at 12.30pm.

When will there be a procession in Edinburgh for the Queen?

The Queen’s coffin will remain at the Palace of Holyroodhouse overnight on Sunday ahead of the procession scheduled for Monday (September 12).

Members of 105 Regiment Royal Artillery, Army Reserves, during the Gun Salute at Edinburgh Castle to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday. (Photo: Jane Barlow/PA Wire)Members of 105 Regiment Royal Artillery, Army Reserves, during the Gun Salute at Edinburgh Castle to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday. (Photo: Jane Barlow/PA Wire)
Members of 105 Regiment Royal Artillery, Army Reserves, during the Gun Salute at Edinburgh Castle to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday. (Photo: Jane Barlow/PA Wire)

It is understood a Ceremony of the Keys will take place at Holyroodhouse before the solemn procession sets off from there at around 2.30pm. It will travel up the Royal Mile to St Giles’ Cathedral for a service expected to last about an hour.

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Crowds are expected to line the street as the procession passes, and a series of road closures in the Capital have already been announced.

The Queen will then lie at rest in St Giles’ until Tuesday afternoon (September 13) and members of the public will be able to file past to pay their last respects.

The coffin will then be taken to Edinburgh airport and flown down to London early on Tuesday evening.

In London, hundreds of thousands of people are expected to file past the Queen’s coffin while it lies in state at Westminster Hall for four days.

When is the Queen’s state funeral in London?

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The state funeral is expected to take place on Monday, September 19, at Westminster Abbey.

The new King was formally proclaimed monarch at a historic Accession Council in the State Apartments of St James's Palace on Saturday (September 10) ahead of similar proclamations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on Sunday (September 11).

King Charles III confirmed the day of the Queen’s funeral is to be a Bank Holiday.

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