Procession of Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin underway in London

LONDON (AP) — Queen Elizabeth II left Buckingham Palace for the last time Wednesday, her coffin borne by a horse-drawn gun carriage and trailed by grieving family members during a journey to the Houses of Parliament, where it will lie in state until the funeral early next week.

With the Royal Standard and crown of state resting on top of the coffin and artillery firing salutes at one-minute intervals, the solemn procession was designed to underscore the queen’s 70 years as head of state as the national mourning process shifts to the grand boulevards and historic landmarks of the U.K. capital.

King Charles III, his sons Princes William and Harry and other members of the royal family walked behind the gun carriage.

Thousands of people who had waited for hours along The Mall outside the palace and other locations to line the route held up phones and cameras, and some wiped away tears, as the solemn procession passed. Applause broke out as it went through Horse Guards Parade.

The coffin was draped in the Royal Standard and topped with the Imperial State Crown – adorned with almost 3,000 diamonds — and a bouquet of flowers and plants including pine from the Balmoral Estate, where Elizabeth died last week.

An escort of two officers and 32 troops from the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards in red uniforms and bearskin hats walked on on either side of the gun carriage.

Big Ben tolled, a gun salute boomed from Hyde Park and the martial strains of a military band accompanied the procession.

The 38-minute procession will end at the historic Westminster Hall at Parliament.

Thousands more were standing or sitting in line along the banks of the River Thames waiting their turn to file past the coffin when it lies in state for four days before the queen’s state funeral on Monday.

The crowds are the latest manifestation of a nationwide outpouring of grief and respect for the only monarch most Britons have ever known, who died at her beloved Balmoral summer retreat on Thursday at age 96, ending a 70-year reign.

Joan Bucklehurst, a 50-year-old retail worker from Cheshire in northwestern England, said the queen “meant so much for everybody.”

“She was amazing, yeah,” she added, choking up with emotion. “So, we had to be here. We’ve been here a few times when there have been special occasions, but this one, I couldn’t miss this.”

Maj. Gen. Christopher Ghika, of the Household division, who organized the ceremonial aspects of the queen’s funeral said it was a sad day, “but it’s our last opportunity to do our duty for the queen and it’s our first opportunity to do it for the king, and that makes us all very proud.”

London’s Heathrow Airport halted flights to prevent overhead planes disturbing the procession.

The airport said in a statement that the changes would “ensure silence over central London as the ceremonial procession moves from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall.”

Troops involved in the procession have been preparing since the queen died. So have the horses of the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery.

Sgt. Tom Jenks, from the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery, said that the horses have undergone special training, including…