Edinburgh is preparing to welcome Queen Elizabeth II’s body from her Balmoral estate this afternoon following her sad passing on Thursday September 8.
Several barriers have been placed along the Royal Mile for well wishers to gather behind in order to say their final farewells to the much loved monarch.
A host of pictures that show the Royal Mile completely transformed were shared by Italian journalist Antonello Guererra who works for publisher Repubblica.
READ MORE: Edinburgh mourners will be able to visit Queen's coffin as full plan confirmed
In the images a long row of metal barriers can be seen stretching all the way from Edinburgh Castle to past St Giles Cathedral where the Queen’s coffin will pass on its way to the Palace of Holyroodhouse on Sunday 11.
The cortege is expected to arrive at the Palace at around 4:00pm after travelling from Balmoral in Aberdeenshire and entering the capital from the west.
The Queen is then expected to be borne in procession from the Palace to the Cathedral on Monday September 12 where a service will take place.
The procession that will travel from the Palace of Holyroodhouse will be flanked by the King’s Bodyguard for Scotland (Royal Company of Archers) and the Guard of Honour.
As well as this, minute guns will be fired with the last shot ringing out as the Queen’s hearse arrives at the Cathedral.
Rehearsals for the event took place at 06:00am on Sunday morning and images of this were shared by a BBC reporter on Twitter.
Two Police Scotland officers can be seen observing the military performance in the pictures.
Hundreds if not thousands of mourners and well wishers are expected to line the streets of the Royal Mile for the event with several road closures in place throughout the city centre.
As a result of this, several security tents will be put in place to manage the long queues that are expected to form for the event.
It is not known whether the large white tents erected in the Meadows are related to Monday’s Cathedral service but images of their construction were shared on social media on Saturday 9 evening.
You are able to read more about how the road closures will impact the city centre by clicking here.
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