BRITAIN MOURNS THE QUEEN

The Queen's four children (pictured centre) gathered around her coffin today in a poignant evening vigil inside St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh. After a short procession, King Charles III (pictured top left), Anne (pictured top right), the Princess Royal, Prince Andrew (pictured bottom right) and Prince Edward (pictured bottom left) each stood on one of the four corners of the oak coffin with their heads bowed in a ceremony known as the Vigil of the Princes. The Duke of York kept his eyes closed for a period of time during the 20-minute vigil, while the Princess Royal and Earl of Wessex had their eyes fixed towards the floor. The King - his eyes moistening - kept his hands joined and also looked towards the floor as members of the public filed past. They stood alongside four suited members of the Royal Company of Archers, who were standing guard dressed in long-feathered hats and armed with arrows and quivers. The King and his family began their vigil at the coffin at 7.46pm and finished it at 7.56pm. The Queen Consort and Countess of Wessex sat on seats opposite the coffin while the vigil took place. Members of the public - who have been filing past the coffin in their thousands throughout the afternoon - were briefly held back to allow the royals to take their place. However, they continued to file past once the vigil began, offering them an extraordinary perspective on the historic moment.