LONDON/BELFAST (Reuters) - King Charles and members of the royal family received the coffin of the late Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday, after tens of thousands lined the streets in heavy rain for her arrival in the British capital. .

On a dark night, a well-lit procession was traveling slowly through London from a nearby airport. were digging or running to catch a glimpse from the nearby streets. of cartage.

As it entered the grounds of London Palace, the police escorts who had given way stopped with their heads bowed.

Charles, who became king automatically on his mother's death last week, was joined by his three siblings, two sons William and Harry and other senior members of the royal family to receive the coffin, a palace spokesman said.

Elizabeth died peacefully at her holiday home at Balmoral Castle in the Scottish Highlands on Thursday at the age of 96, plunging the nation into 10 days of national mourning.

The death of Britain's longest-reigning monarch has drawn millions of people to pay their respects at royal palaces across the country.

Princess Anne, the Queen's only daughter, accompanied the coffin first from the remote castle of Balmoral to Edinburgh, where it was greeted by tens of thousands of mourners, and then as it was brought to London.

"It has been an honor and a privilege to accompany him on his final journey," Ann said in a statement.  "It has been humbling and inspiring to witness the love and respect shown by so many on these journeys. "

In Edinburgh, a party of Royal Air Force bearers carried the coffin onto a transporter plane. A kilted honor guard of the Royal Regiment of Scotland stood with fixed bayonets as the plane taxied while a regimental band played the national anthem. With that, Scotland bids farewell to the Queen.

On Wednesday, the coffin will be carried on a gun carriage as part of a grand military procession to Westminster Hall, where it will begin a period of lying in state until the funeral on Monday.

Members of the public will be allowed to pass by the casket for 24 hours until the morning of the funeral, which will be attended by dozens of world leaders, including US President Joe Biden.


    Reconciliation

    As part of the highly choreographed days of mourning, King Charles is also traveling to four parts of the UK.

    He was greeted by thousands of well-wishers in Northern Ireland on Tuesday, with handshakes, smiles and warm words as he walked alongside crowds of people on the streets outside Hillsborough Castle, the king's official residence in the province.

    The visit was fraught with political significance given Britain's historic record in Ireland and recent years of violence in Northern Ireland.

    At a ceremony at Hillsborough Castle, Acting Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly, Alex Muskie, paid tribute to the Queen.

    "Queen Elizabeth has not been a distant observer of the changes and developments in relations in and between these islands," said Muskie, a member of Sinn Féin, which wants Irish reunification.

    "He personally demonstrated how individual acts of positive leadership can help break down barriers and encourage reconciliation," he said.

    Muskie, who was detained by authorities in the 1970s as an Irish Republican Army suspect, said Charles had already shown he understood the importance of reconciliation and was committed to it.

    In 2011, Elizabeth became the first British monarch to visit the Irish Republic since independence from London nearly a century ago.

    Although a strong symbol of the Union, he made powerful gestures of reconciliation for Britain's bloody past in Ireland during a state visit, culminating in a speech in which he lamented centuries of conflict.

    A year after her visit to Ireland, the Queen, whose cousin Lord Louis Mountbatten was assassinated by the IRA in 1979, shook hands with former IRA commander and then Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness in Belfast. mixed

    It was a milestone in the peace process, which was largely pro-British, largely Protestant, factional and nationalist, mostly Catholic, trying to reunify Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ended three decades of violence.

    Speaking to senior politicians in Castle, Charles said he was committed to the welfare of all the people of Northern Ireland. He also paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth.

    "My mother saw Northern Ireland go through significant and historic changes. Through  all these years, she never stopped praying for better times for the place and its people, whose stories she knew, "Whose grief was felt by our family, and for whom he had great love and respect," he said.

    Support for Charles Up

    Meanwhile, a new poll shows support for Charles has grown since he became king.

    The YouGov poll found that 63% now think he would make a good king, an increase of 24 percentage points since March, while 15% think he would do a bad job, up from six months ago. Compared to 31%, the YouGov poll found.

    Charles had carved out a character for himself by speaking out on issues ranging from climate change to architecture, sometimes at odds with his mother, who kept her personal opinions private during her reign.