Mourners muck in for the Queen: Incredible scenes of community spirit in Green Park as well-wishers tear off plastic wrapping on thousands of flowers to spare royal gardeners mammoth job of clearing it up

• Tens of thousands of people have continued to flock to royal residence in central London on Sunday morning 
• Bouquets, written tributes, cuddly toys, candles and cards have been laid in honour of late Queen Elizabeth
• Royal gardeners have had the mammoth task of removing plastic wrap from the thousands of flowers laid
• Members of the public have now mucked in to help the Royal Parks staff out by taking off wrapping of flowers
• Huge queues have formed outside of Green Park well-wishers try to make their way in to see the tributes
• Flowers will later be turned into compost, which were used at Kensington Palace gardens after Diana’s death
• A similar picture of floral tributes and well-wishers is seen at the Balmoral, Sandringham and Windsor estates 
• Today the Queen’s coffin will set off on a 175mile, six-hour journey by hearse to the Palace of Holyroodhouse
• ***Read more on our Live Blog HERE***
• Full coverage: Click here to see all our coverage of the Queen’s passing

Mourners flocking to central London to lay flowers at Green Park have been mucking in to tear off the plastic wrapping on thousands of bouquets laid down for the Queen to help royal gardeners in their mammoth job to clear it all up.

Incredible scenes of community spirit can be seen at the park by Buckingham Palace as it shows the endless lines of flowers, tributes, cuddly toys, candles and cards covering the green grass and walkways, with Royal Park staff seen heading to and from their trucks to continue laying down bouquets.

Now members of the public who have gone down to Green Park to both soak up the atmosphere and pay their respects for the late Queen Elizabeth II have started helping out the gardeners by removing the plastic wrap of bunches of flowers so the later job of turning them into compost is made much easier.

Huge queues have formed as people make their way from Buckingham Place towards

After her doctor’s health concerns were shared to the public on 8 September, members of the public have headed towards the royal palace to send their well-wishes – and the numbers have only skyrocketed since the Queen’s death was announced at 6.30pm on Thursday.

Tens of thousands of flowers have been left for Her Majesty in the days since her passing, with many people seen in tears at the sight of what’s before them.

Palace gardeners have been removing bunches of flowers off the gates and moved them to Green Park to help make space for the public to continue to get as close as they can to the King’s new home as the nation comes to terms with the Queen’s death at age 96. 

Members if the public have been pictured helping arrange and prepare flowers for display in Green Park due to the large volumes being laid for the Queen following her death 

Lots of young families have made their way to Buckingham Palace this weekend, with parents taking the opportunity to show such a huge moment in history to their children. 

A line of floral tributes continues to build up outside the gates, with a similar picture seen at the Queen’s other royal residences in Balmoral Estate, where she passed, Sandringham Estate and Windsor Castle.

Members if the public help arrange and prepare flowers for display in Green Park due to the large volumes being laid for the Queen following her death

A child waves the Union Flag in front of Buckingham Palace as they pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth II on Sunday morning

A pearly king and queen walk past Buckingham Palace on Sunday morning following the Queen’s death on Thursday evening

Mourners have once again gathered outside Buckingham Palace from the break of day this morning to lay flowers and pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II

After her doctor’s health concerns were shared to the public on 8 September, members of the public have headed towards the royal palace to send their well-wishes – and the numbers have only skyrocketed since the Queen’s death was announced at 6.30pm on Thursday

Tens of thousands of flowers, written tributes, balloons, cuddly toys, candles and cards have been left for Her Majesty in the days since her passing, with many people seen in tears at the sight of what’s before them

Lots of young families have made their way to Buckingham Palace this weekend, with parents taking the opportunity to show such a huge moment in history to their children – and their dogs, who some have dressed up

Mourners around the world gather outside Buckingham Palace following the death of Queen Elizabeth II – with one young boy holding a Paddington Bear toy to lay at the royal residence

Lots of young families have made their way to Buckingham Palace this morning, pictured, to pay their respects to the Queen

Palace gardeners have removed bunches of flowers off the gates and moved them to Green Park (pictured) to help make space for the public to continue to get as close as they can to the King and Queen’s new home as the nation comes to terms with the Queen’s death at age 96

Flowers and tributes, left in Green Park. The flowers are due to be be turned in to compost after being displayed in Green Park Queen Elizabeth II died in Balmoral, Scotland aged 96 on Thursday

Yesterday King Charles attended St James’s Palace at 10am for a historic ceremony where he met with the Accession Council. Privy Counsellors gathered without Charles and proclaim him King before he takes an oath. 

Trumpeters played at 11am as the public proclamation of a new sovereign was read from Friar Court balcony by the Garter King of Arms. Union flags went back up to full mast at 1pm and remain there until 1pm this afternoon. 

The new King later held audiences with new Prime Minister Liz Truss and her Cabinet

Today, which marks the second official day of mourning for Queen Elizabeth II, the late monarch’s coffin – which is lying in the ballroom at Balmoral Castle – will be taken by road to the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, on a six-hour journey by hearse, covering 175 miles. 

Wellwishers are expected to gather along the route and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon alongside other party leaders in Scotland are expected to watch the coffin as it goes past the Scottish Parliament.

Devoted daughter Princess Anne will accompany the late monarch’s body to London ahead of the funeral, Buckingham Palace confirmed.

On Monday the coffin will be taken to St Giles’ Cathedral where it will lie in rest until Tuesday.

After lying in state for 24 hours, the coffin will be flown to RAF Northolt on Tuesday and taken by road to Buckingham Palace.

It will be taken to Westminster Hall on Wednesday for lying-in-state until the morning of the funeral on September 19. Members of the public will be able to see the coffin as it lies in state.

Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral will be held on Monday, September 19 at Westminster Abbey at 11am – which King Charles today declared would be a bank holiday.

The service at Westminster Abbey will be the culmination of ten days of official mourning, details of which were revealed for the first time by the Earl Marshal, the Duke of Norfolk, who is charged with organising the huge event.

Royal Park workers deliver flowers to Green Park that have been collected from other locations near the Palace

The flowers laid by well-wishers for the Queen are due to be be turned in to compost after being displayed in Green Park

A worker for Royal Parks continues to add flowers to the lines laid down in Green Park where well-wishers go to look at the tributes

Volunteers help to remove packaging and arrange flowers in Green Park, central London, after the bouquets were put down at Buckingham Palace for The Queen

A woman looks at tributes left in Green Park early on Sunday morning where tens of thousands of flowers have been left

Endless lines of floral tributes, balloons and toys have been left for the late monarch who died on Thursday afternoon

Women take pictures of the scenes in Green Park, central London, where tens of thousands of flowers have been left for the Queen after her passing on Thursday 

Two women embrace as they become emotional at the sights in Green Park where tributes have been laid for the Queen

The Queen will lie in state for ‘four clear days’ in Westminster Hall from Wednesday September 14 before the funeral, a senior palace official said.

Buckingham Palace said devoted daughter Princess Anne will accompany the late monarch’s body to London ahead of the funeral, the only one from the Royal Family to do so.

On the day of the funeral at 10.44am the coffin will be taken in procession from the Palace of Westminster to Westminster Abbey where the state funeral service will take place.

Following the funeral, the coffin will be taken again in procession from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch, and from there to Windsor by road, where the Queen will be laid to rest in St George’s Chapel, alongside her late husband the Duke of Edinburgh.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the ‘poignant’ journey would give the public a chance to come together to ‘mark our country’s shared loss’.

King Charles will lead the nation in mourning on Monday as he walks at the head of a procession of the Queen’s coffin through the streets of Edinburgh. 

He will be at the front of the royal party heading from the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh and up the Royal Mile to St Giles’ Cathedral, it has been announced.

The King and Queen Consort will fly to Edinburgh with Prince William and other members of the Royal Family to lead the procession. Some members of the family will follow in cars, with others walking.

She will then lie in state for 24 hours before being transported by plane to RAF Northolt and from there will be taken by road to Buckingham Palace.

Members of the public will be able to see the monarch lying in state at St Giles and later in London at Westminster Hall. 

A pearly king and queen walk past Buckingham Palace on Sunday morning following the Queen’s death on Thursday evening

A little girl holds a bunch of flowers on the gates at Buckingham Palace this morning to pay tribute to the Queen

Some flowers had pictures of the Queen and written messages, including one which read ‘Thank you for your service’ and ‘Rest in Peace Your Majesty’

People left written letters and tributes to the Queen, as well as drawings depicting the late monarch with her husband Prince Philip, who died in 2021

More people pictured at Buckingham Palace this morning to lay flowers for the Queen after her death on Thursday afternoon

A woman leaves flowers outside Buckingham Palace this morning after the death of Her Majesty The Queen on Thursday

The flowers laid for the late Queen are due to be be turned in to compost after being displayed in Green Park (pictured)

A little girl puts some flowers down in Green Park for Her Majesty The Queen on the day her coffin will be brought to Holyrood

A young girl is comforted after looking at the tributes laid for Her Majesty The Queen in Green Park, central London

Thousands have flocked to central London once again as the nation heads into its second official day of mourning for the Queen after her death on Thursday

A young family lays down flowers on a bed of bouquets in Green Park, where tributes are being kept for the Queen

Thousands of people will be able to file past to see the late monarch’s coffin – and further details of how the public can attend will be announced in the coming days.

A spokesman for the King said the monarch’s main focus will be leading the royal family and nation in mourning over the coming days.

‘Whilst, in the next few days, the King will carry out all the necessary state duties, his main focus will be leading the Royal Family, the nation, the Realms and the Commonwealth in mourning Her Majesty The Queen. This will include meeting members of the public, to share in their grief,’ the spokesman said.

The man in charge of the huge funeral operation, the Earl Marshall the Duke of Norfolk has confirmed for the first time that the funeral will take place on Monday September 19 at 11am in Westminster Abbey.

And during the period of national mourning, members of the public have continued to add bunches of flowers and soak up the sombre atmospheres near places of royal importance.

A young girl called Olivia told Sky News yeserday that she remembers seeing Buckingham Palace when she went to London on a family holiday: ‘I think she was there but we didn’t get inside.

‘I remember when I was in school and it was the Jubilee, learning loads about the Queen, colouring in, doing ‘I spy’ worksheets to find the corgis. We learnt that she’s been on the throne for 70 years.’

Rebecca Young-Herries with her daughter Cassandra (5 moths old) looks at floral tributes in at Palace of Holyrood House, Edinburgh ahead of the arrival of the coffin of HRH The Queen, which will be taken to Holyrood

People continue to lay flowers and tributes following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, at the war memorial in Bournemouth, Dorset

People have laid flowers and tributes at various landmarks and war memorials (like pictured in Bournemouth, Dorset) across the UK for the Queen

With the flowers being removed at night, it doesn’t take long for them to start mounting up outside Windsor Castle on the long walk this morning at 8am

A little girl looks at the floral and written tributes outside Windsor Castle at 8am this morning where plenty of well-wishers went to pay their respects today

Members of the public continued to arrive at Windsor Castle this morning following the death of the Queen on Thursday

The Windsor Castle estate erected a sign for well-wishers leaving flowers which read: ‘Your flowers are greatly appreciated. It may be necessary to move your flowers, if so, they will be placed in a secure area outside St George’s Chapel or along Cambridge Drive. All messages and cards will be kept safely for the Royal Family to read’

Thousands of bouquets and tributes were laid at the top of the long walk by Windsor Castle, pictured at 8am this morning

The flowers on Long Walk by Windsor Castle were removed last night – but by 8am this morning plenty more had been placed out of respect for Her Majesty

Her father Graham added: ‘I thought it was a good opportunity to come and say thank you, pay our respects. The Queen has always been there every day since I’ve been alive like most of the nation so it’s a fitting time to say thank you.

‘We’re quite local as well so it’s something good for the kids to remember as well, thinking back in another 70 years.

‘I think she [The Queen] was very proud of mentioning Scotland, having Balmoral here and the likes of King Charles as well. Very proud to have them so close on our doorstep.’ 

One drawing shows the Queen with a colourful dress on, love hearts surrounding her and the words ‘best Queen Elizabeth II’, ‘you are the best Queen ever!’ and the Her Majesty’s date of birth to date of death. It was signed by Mila, age seven.

Another, again signed by seven-year-old Mila, Margot, age five, and Theo, eight months, shows the Queen with a golden crown and a rainbow surrounding her with the title ‘Our beautiful Queen’.

At Windsor Castle this morning, a sign directed at well-wishers visiting to pay their respects can be seen, reading ‘Your flowers are greatly appreciated.

‘It may be necessary to move your flowers, if so, they will be placed in a secure area outside St George’s Chapel or along Cambridge Drive. All messages and cards will be kept safely for the Royal Family to read.’ 

A photo of Queen Elizabeth II left among the flowers laid by members of the public at Balmoral in Scotland, pictured on Sunday morning

Police officers arrive at the gates of Balmoral in Scotland where flowers and tributes have been laid by members of the public

A man sits on a bench while waiting for the funeral cortage carrying Britain’s Queen Elizabeth in the village of Ballater, following the queen’s passing in Balmoral

Members of the public line the streets in Ballater, Scotland, as the hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, will pass through the area as it continues its journey to Edinburgh from Balmoral

Members of the public line the streets in Ballater, as the hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, will pass through Ballater, as it continues its journey to Edinburgh from Balmoral

People line the streets as they wait to view the cortege carrying the coffin of the late Queen Elizabeth II on Sunday morning

Source: Read Full Article