The Queen is at rest in the heart of Scotland’s capital with the crown of Scotland placed on her coffin.
She received the Honours of Scotland here at St Giles Cathedral in 1953.
And today as Scotland said its own farewell, the nation’s senior peer, The Duke of Hamilton, reunited her with the Scottish crown.
There was a sense of history being made in this most magnificent of settings.
Below the Gothic colonnades which have borne witness to momentous times in Scotland’s story a new chapter was being written.
And a selection of the Scottish nation was gathering to say farewell to their Queen.
Service of thanksgiving
The congregation was seated for nearly two hours before the royal party arrived to hushed silence apart from the sound of a muted military order.
As the party of eight carried the coffin to its resting place only the faint shuffle of military boots could be heard.
You got a sense of how heavy the solid oak coffin is from the dull thud it made against the wooden table as it came to rest.
After today’s service of thanksgiving the late monarch will rest in St Giles until her coffin is flown to London tomorrow to begin lying in state in Westminster Hall.
Today King Charles, the Queen Consort, The Princess Royal and husband Tim Laurence, the Duke of York and the Earl and Countess of Forfar attended the service of thanksgiving.
Parliamentarians, friends of the royal family and representatives of organisations the Queen was close to were also invited.
The royal party arrived at St Giles having followed the Queen’s hearse up the Royal Mile from Holyrood Palace.
The journey was punctuated by the sound of artillery rounds being fired every minute.
Eight military pallbearers carefully placed the Queen’s coffin on a table in the Church before the Duke of Hamilton placed the crown on top of the Royal Standard of Scotland.
Minister Calum MacLeod set a particularly Scottish tone by reminding the congregation this was where reformer John Knox confronted Mary, Queen of Scots and where the Stone of Destiny was taken after its return to Scotland in 1996.
‘I shall not die but live’
He described the service as Scotland’s farewell to its monarch.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who had arrived with husband Peter Murrell, read the first lessons from Ecclesiastes.
A particularly beautiful segment of the service was when Karen Matheson sang the Gaelic song, Chan fhaigh mi bas, I shall not die but live.
She was accompanied by Dundee musician Catriona McKay on clarsach.
Catriona is a former pupil of Rockwell primary and Harris Academy and is now an acclaimed professional musician.
She has been playing clarsach for 12 years and also plays harp and piano.
She possessed a sharp intelligence, a kindly heart and a gentle sense of humour.”
Right Rev Dr Iain Greenshields
Right Rev Dr Iain Greenshields, moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, gave the homily.
“We express our thanks to God for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s extraordinary life,” he said.
He said throughout her reign she had demonstrated wisdom, commitment and faith and he pledged support for the new King.
“She possessed a sharp intelligence, a kindly heart and a gentle sense of humour.”
Some of Scotland’s most senior figures mingled easily together.
Former first ministers Jack McConnell and Alex Salmond sat next to each other and chatted.
Former presiding officers George Reid and Lord Steel sat together, as did Deputy First Minister John Swinney and former Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Scottish Liberal Democrats leader Alex Cole Hamilton arrived with Labour leader Anas Sarwar and Green co leader Lorna Slater was in attendance.
As the congregation filed out, preparations were being made to allow the public to queue to enter St Giles to pay their final respects as the Queen rests.
