Honeymoon couple among thousands waiting to pay respects to Queen in Edinburgh

Thousands of mourners queued in the centre of Edinburgh on Tuesday, including a couple on their honeymoon, for one last glimpse of the Queen’s coffin ahead of its move to London.

Newlyweds Steven and Elizabeth McCrite, from Orlando in Florida, were among the crowds who lined up from early on Tuesday to pay their respects to the late monarch at St Giles’ Cathedral.

People were in good spirits thanks to the glorious weather as they waited patiently to enter the cathedral in the queue which stretched as far back as Melville Drive in Newington.

At around 1.15pm on Tuesday, mourners were told the queue would be closed.

Mr and Mrs McCrite arrived in the Scottish capital on Monday for their honeymoon.

“We had planned this for months,” Mr McCrite said.

“At first we were disappointed. It’s unfortunate what happened.”

Mrs McCrite said: “All the things we were going to do have been closed: Edinburgh Castle was closed, St Giles’ is closed.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing, we’re not going to be able to do it again.”

Mr McCrite said he thought the event would be on a par with a current president dying in the US.

Support worker Bethany Walker joined the queue after a 12-hour nightshift.

After finishing work at 8am on Tuesday, the 23-year-old made her way down for the “historic event”.

She said: “I managed to get some sleep. It was a sleepover shift.

“It’s a historic event and we just wanted to be there. It’s part of the history books.”

Her friend, Richard Carson, said he had felt as though he was going on holiday, and had woken up at 7.30am to make the journey to Edinburgh from East Kilbride.

French tourist Thierry, 54, and his daughter Jennifer, 31, were on holiday in Aberfeldy and made their way to Edinburgh when they heard they would be able to see the Queen’s coffin.

They had been waiting to get into St Giles’ Cathedral for around 45 minutes and said the queue seemed to be moving quickly.

“We are fascinated because we don’t have this in France. It’s really different,” he said.

“I think the Queen is really special. She means respect. She was a lady, she was strong.”

His daughter said they will feel “very emotional” when they see the coffin, but added that they had had chance to see the King and Queen Consort going past in their car.

“I cried. It was really special,” she said.

Also in the queue on Tuesday was Duncan Wilson Paisley, of Westerlea, who had come from Stirlingshire to pay his respects to the Queen. He wore full Highland dress, representing the wider Clan Paisley.

“We’ve come down to pay our respects and represent the wider family,” he said.

Mr Wilson Paisley served in the Royal Highlanders for 25 years and said he felt a particular “gratitude” to the Queen.

“She was a wonderful lady for whom everybody has the utmost respect,” he said.

“It’s obviously going to be very moving.”