King Charles unveils new memorial to Queen Elizabeth II
<p>King Charles and Queen Camilla have honoured the memory of Queen Elizabeth II during Royal Week in Scotland, unveiling a memorial stone in the same cathedral where the late monarch briefly lay in rest before her final journey to London.</p>
<p>On Wednesday, the royal couple attended a solemn ceremony inside Edinburgh’s historic St Giles’ Cathedral, pausing in quiet reflection before the black slate memorial, engraved with the ER cypher, the Scottish crown, and the dates Her Majesty's coffin rested on the cathedral's Holy Table.</p>
<p>St Giles’ Cathedral holds deep significance for the Royal Family and the public alike. After Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle on September 8, 2022, her body was taken to the cathedral, where more than 33,000 people filed past to pay their respects.</p>
<p>It was also the setting for poignant public moments of mourning, including the "Vigil of the Princes", when the late Queen’s four children – King Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward – stood guard around her coffin. Later, all eight of her grandchildren repeated the symbolic vigil in Westminster Hall.</p>
<p>On Wednesday, Their Majesties were flanked by members of the Royal Company of Archers, the monarch’s ceremonial bodyguards in Scotland, and joined by clergy including Reverend Dr Scott Rennie, minister of St Giles’, who led a short dedication.</p>
<p>“It has been a great honour and privilege to welcome Their Majesties… for such a special event,” Dr Rennie said. “Our sincere desire is that this memorial stone will offer… encouragement to live a life of commitment and service to others… as Her Late Majesty did.”</p>
<p>Queen Camilla wore a soft powder blue coatdress, while King Charles was dressed in grey as they stood together at the simple yet poignant stone. At one moment during the ceremony, the couple bowed their heads solemnly in remembrance.</p>
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<p>Plans are also underway in London to honour Queen Elizabeth II – Britain’s longest-serving monarch – with permanent memorials in St James’s Park, just outside Buckingham Palace. Around 250,000 mourners were estimated to have viewed her coffin during the lying in state at Westminster Hall, following her reign of 70 years.</p>
<p>The newly unveiled Edinburgh memorial now stands as a quiet, enduring tribute to a monarch who served with dedication — and whose passing marked the end of a historic era.</p>
<p><em>Images: Instagram / The Royal Family</em></p>