London, Sep 12 (PTI) All four of Queen Elizabeth II's children, led by eldest son King Charles III, came together on Monday to escort her coffin in a procession through the streets of Edinburgh for a special service at St. Giles' Cathedral in the Scottish capital.

Lined in order of their age, next to Charles walked Princess Anne – the Princess Royal, followed by Prince Andrew – the Duke of York, and Prince Edward – the Earl of Wessex.

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The coffin and the four siblings were flanked by the King's Body Guard for Scotland and ceremonial military unit, the Royal Company of Archers, as the procession made its short journey from the Palace of Holyroodhouse – the monarch's official residence in Scotland – to the cathedral, where the royal family and a congregation drawn from all areas of Scottish society attended a Service of Thanksgiving for her life.

At the beginning of the service, Reverend Calum MacLeod welcomed the royal family, "representatives of our nation's life" and "people whose lives were touched by the Queen in so many unforgettable ways".

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"And so we gather to bid Scotland's farewell to our late monarch, whose life of service to the nation and the world we celebrate. And whose love for Scotland was legendary," he said.

All of the Queen's children, except Prince Andrew, wore their military uniform. The Duke of York is not permitted to wear a uniform at ceremonial events during the period of mourning, except for the final vigil, following controversy over a now-settled legal case involving allegations of sexual impropriety, which ended in him no longer being a working member of the royal family.

The coffin of the late monarch, who passed away peacefully at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on Thursday, was draped with the Royal Standard of Scotland and dressed with a wreath of white flowers.

Thousands lined the route and could be seen periodically clapping and using their mobile phone to capture the historic procession. Many of them will be queuing to view the coffin in state at the cathedral and pay their respects before it undertakes the next stage of its ceremonial journey to London on Tuesday.

Earlier, King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla arrived in Edinburgh and observed the floral tributes outside the Palace of Holyroodhouse before speaking to members of the military. A gun salute was fired from Edinburgh Castle moments after they arrived in the Scottish capital.

It followed a condolence service in the Houses of Parliament in London earlier in the day, during which Charles renewed his pledge to follow the example set by his “late darling mother”.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)