The Queen's body is expected to be flown from Scotland to London instead of being transported on a Royal Train via Northumberland, Newcastle and County Durham as previously thought.
As the Queen died in Balmoral, Aberdeenshire, her body must be taken to London for her funeral. The plans for the possibility of the Queen dying in Scotland, known as Operation Unicorn, were leaked in 2019.
They suggested the Queen's body would be taken by road from Balmoral in Aberdeenshire to Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, where her body would rest before being carried onto the Royal Mile and placed on a special Royal Train at Waverley, which would then depart south for London on the East Coast Mainline.
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That would have meant the Royal Train would pass through stations in the North East of England, including Berwick, Alnmouth, Newcastle, Durham and Darlington. But it is understood by the Press Association that the Queen's coffin will be taken to Edinburgh on Sunday, but then her body will be flown to London to get to Buckingham Palace, instead of taking the train, although details have not yet been publicly confirmed.
After a ceremonial procession in London, the Queen is expected to lie in state in Westminster Hall ahead of her funeral. Details for the funeral and other events will be announced 'in due course'.
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