12 September 2022

Places to visit to pay tribute to the late Queen

12 September 2022

The death of the late Queen has people grieving all over the UK, and many are looking to pay tribute to the monarch.

From Wednesday at 5pm until before her funeral next Monday, members of the public will be able to view her coffin in Westminster Hall – however, with millions of people expected, officials say queues could last for 12 hours.

If you’re looking to pay tribute to the late Queen elsewhere, you are able to sign books of condolences in towns across the UK as well as online.

While the royal residences are closed during the period of mourning, there are still designated places special to the royal family where you can leave floral tributes and remember the Queen…

Windsor Castle

The Prince and Princess of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex arriving to view the messages and floral tributes left by members of the public at Windsor Castle (Chris Jackson/PA) (PA Wire)

Windsor Castle in Berkshire has been a royal residence and fortress for over 900 years, and was often where the late Queen would spend weekends.

Every Easter, the Queen took up residence here for a month, and from March 2020 it became her permanent home. The castle has hosted various royal events – such as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s wedding in 2018. The Queen will be buried at the King George VI memorial chapel at Windsor – where her mother and father were buried, along with the ashes of her sister, Princess Margaret.

Flowers have been piling up outside the castle since her death, and members of the public have come together to share memories and celebrate her life – visited by the new Prince and Princess of Wales and Harry and Meghan over the weekend. Visitors are advised to leave tributes at the Cambridge Gate at the top of the Long Walk.

Balmoral Castle

The Royal Banner of Scotland above Balmoral Castle is being flown at half mast (Owen Humphreys/PA) (PA Wire)

The Queen died at Balmoral Castle, the royal family’s Scottish residence. Based in rural Aberdeenshire, it was Her Majesty’s summer home – and where the final public photographs of her were taken, when she met the new Prime Minister Liz Truss on September 6.

Floral tributes can be left by the Main Gate at Balmoral.

Royal Hillsborough Castle

Hillsborough Castle and gardens are the royal residence in Northern Ireland. (Alamy/PA)

Members of the royal family would stay at Hillsborough Castle when visiting Northern Ireland – Elizabeth first stayed there when she was still a princess, making her first solo visit to the country in 1946.

More recently, it has been home to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and was where negotiations for the Good Friday Agreement took place in 1998.

Mourners can leave flowers at the Castle Forecourt, in front of the main gates.

Palace of Holyroodhouse

The Queen will lay in rest at the palace before being taken to St Giles’ Cathedral (Lisa Ferguson/PA) (PA Wire)

The official residence of the monarchy in Scotland, the Palace of Holyroodhouse was originally a monastery at the foot of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile. The Queen visited annually for Holyrood Week, where she attended celebrations of Scottish culture and achievements.

It was where her body rested ahead of the procession to St Giles’ Cathedral on Monday afternoon.

People are encouraged to lay flowers for the Queen in the Physic Garden, next to the Abbey Strand gate.

St Giles’ Cathedral

People gathering outside St Giles’ Cathedral, in Edinburgh, ahead of the procession (Peter Byrne/PA) (PA Wire)

The Queen will lay in rest at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh before being flown to London. The public will be able to pay their respects to the Queen by filing past the coffin from 5.30pm on Monday until 3pm on Tuesday, but there will likely be long waits and security checks.

The King and other members of the royal family will attend a service of thanksgiving for her life at the cathedral on Monday, and are expected to hold a vigil in her honour.

Sandringham Estate

A Platinum Jubilee beacon was lit on the Queen’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk, on day one of the Platinum Jubilee celebrations (Joe Giddens/PA) (PA Wire)

Norfolk-based country house Sandringham has been a royal residence since 1862.

It is traditionally where the late Queen spent Christmas and new year, and she first opened the property to the public for her Silver Jubilee in 1977.

The Estate asks for flowers to be placed at the Norwich gates, where a one-way system is in place.

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