Paying her respects. Princess Anne dipped down in a curtsy as she greeted Queen Elizabeth II‘s coffin on Sunday, September 11.
The Princess Royal, 72, was at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh Scotland. The official royal residence in Scotland will house her mother’s remains until a procession brings the late monarch to St Giles Cathedral for a service on Monday, September 12.
As the windowed hearse arrived at Holyrood from Balmoral, Anne stood at attention with her husband, Sir Timothy Laurence, brothers Prince Andrew and Prince Edward as well as Sophie, Countess of Wessex, Edward’s wife.
Officials in kilts carried the casket, which was draped with the royal standard of Scotland and topped with flowers, into the historic castle. As the coffin passed by, Anne curtsied.
The formal greeting, customary for royals seeing the sovereign for the first time on a given day, is considered a sign of respect and reverence. Sophie, 57, also participated, giving the coffin a small curtsy.
Anne has been traveling with her mother’s remains and will continue to do so until her Monday, September 19, funeral.
The queen died on Thursday, September 8, at Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. While King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla returned to England amid his ascension, her other three children have remained by her side.
Anne and her brothers were photographed outside the Scottish residence on Saturday, September 10, looking at the flowers and handmade tributes that had been left in Elizabeth’s memory. The siblings were joined by the queen’s granddaughters — Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Zara Tindell and Lady Louise Windsor — as well as grandson Peter Phillips. They also greeted the packed crowd of well-wishers during their Saturday outing.
The regent’s coffin and the Princess Royal made the six-hour trip south from Balmoral to Holyrood. The remains will again move on Monday, September 12, to St Giles Cathedral for a service followed by an opportunity for the public to pay their respects.
Princess Anne will accompany the coffin from Edinburgh to London on Tuesday, September 13. The coffin will be at Buckingham Palace for a night before a procession to Westminster Hall on Wednesday, September 14, where she will lie in state for several days until September 19.
The main portion of the state funeral will happen in Westminster Abbey, but the queen will be laid to rest alongside Prince Philip, who died in April 2021. Their tomb is at the King George VI Memorial Chapel (which was named for the queen’s father) at Windsor Castle, which is where the final committal ceremony will be held.
See photos of Princess Anne’s emotional goodbye below: