there it is, realms and territories. there it is, it is always a bit of a model, it is quite difficult to navigate your way through all the, not contradictions, but the complexities, shall we say, of the british constitution. find of the british constitution. and nick, all of _ of the british constitution. and nick, all of these _ of the british constitution. and nick, all of these ceremonial today and over the next few days, long planned, of course, how much of charles's stamp would you say there is on all of this?— is on all of this? well, i think a significant _ is on all of this? well, i think a significant amount. _ is on all of this? well, i think a significant amount. but - is on all of this? well, i think a significant amount. but of - is on all of this? well, i think a l significant amount. but of course much of it is rooted in protocol, and procedure and constitutional necessity, which is not susceptible to the whims of any particular individual. we have heard an awful lot about how at his coronation he might be declared as defender of faith, ratherthan might be declared as defender of faith, rather than as defender of the faith, well, i think that is probably not true, it does not need to be spelt out as specifically as that, we know his considerable and genuine interest in other faiths.

this document, this london bridge document, huge, with about 30 sections, is there to ensure that all the administrative requirements are known to all the people who need to know about them, and these formalities, as i say, are not down to the whim of anyone individual, he can stamp his character to an extent on the manner in which he conducts himself as monarch, but within the necessary framework. there he is coming now off the aircraft. to be greeted i think by the lord provost of edinburgh, the queen consort following on behind, and he has got of course his senior officials with him, and they will very shortly begin the journey into him, and they will very shortly begin thejourney into edinburgh, to the palace of holyroodhouse. find begin the journey into edinburgh, to the palace of holyroodhouse. and we know there are _ the palace of holyroodhouse. and we know there are many, _ the palace of holyroodhouse. and we

know there are many, many - the palace of holyroodhouse. and we know there are many, many people l the palace of holyroodhouse. and we. know there are many, many people on the streets in edinburgh who will be hoping to catch a glimpse and may be hoping to catch a glimpse and may be hoping for some kind of walkabout from the king?— hoping for some kind of walkabout from the kini? ~ ~ ., from the king? well, you never know. yes, and i from the king? well, you never know. yes, and i think— from the king? well, you never know. yes, and i think as _ from the king? well, you never know. yes, and i think as we _ from the king? well, you never know. yes, and i think as we saw _ from the king? well, you never know. yes, and i think as we saw at - from the king? well, you never know. yes, and i think as we saw at his - yes, and i think as we saw at his arrival at buckingham palace on friday, again, ithink arrival at buckingham palace on friday, again, i think it is very important, and he has a natural warmth, and i think a natural inclination to meet the people, and there is not perhaps the same reserve that there was in the personality of his mother, and that is something that i think you can use to his advantage. he is an emotional man, i think we saw a hint of emotion, actually, at the address to thejoint houses of emotion, actually, at the address to the joint houses of parliament in westminster hall this morning, particularly when all the parliamentarians saying god save the king. and we saw him standing there, of course, not singing it, as he has done tens of thousands of times

during his time as prince of wales, always singing god save the queen. well, now, all the parliamentarians were singing god save looking for him, and i think there was a moisture in the eyes there, and it would be i think entirely understandable if there was. so, for him, notwithstanding the amount of time, the number of years, that he has had to think about this, now it is reality, now there are moments which will catch him and engage his emotions, and i'm sure that that was one of them, and there will be many more over the next week up to and including the state funeral and indeedin including the state funeral and indeed in the days after that. 50. indeed in the days after that. so, there is the _ indeed in the days after that. so, there is the king's vehicle driving him away from edinburgh airport to the palace of holyroodhouse. and he will, nick, then be following his mother coffin in that procession

along the royal mile of edinburgh. yes, and i think it was the royal standard of scotland again, we got a sight of it as the vehicle went past, and that is what you would expect. but indeed, they will go to the palace of holyroodhouse and then a little later, as you say, the procession from the palace of holyroodhouse, up the royal mile to st giles' cathedral, with the king and other male members of the family and other male members of the family and the household walking behind the coffin, with the queen consort and others, and there, the royal mile, and many people there already for the procession, not as many as yesterday, but perhaps the numbers will increase. and it is quite a

haul up the royal mile, as i recall, if you year's probably since i have been there, and it is always a bit of a problem if you have the cavalry there, because the horses' hooves tend to slip on the cobblestones, and they have to put sand down if there are carriages involved, but on this occasion, there won't be. hand this occasion, there won't be. and we saw nicola _ this occasion, there won't be. and we saw nicola sturgeon, the first minister of scotland, amongst the welcoming party there, and you were saying at the beginning about the political significance. nicola sturgeon is a supporter of the position of the monarchy in scotland and her ambition is for there to be an independent scotland but it would be an independent scotland that would retain the monarchy and the view of the snp is that they would wish the nation to be an independent nation under a monarch who would be the king of scots but there are voices within

the snp who do not share that view and who would wish scotland to become not only an independent nation but a republic with a president, and that is quite a challenge, notjust for the politics of the union, of the united kingdom, but also the position of the monarchy within the union. it is something that the queen privately did feel strongly about. she was greatly distressed at the thought of the union dividing, at the thought of scotland leaving the union, but she kept those thoughts very much privately to herself, although we did get a hint during the time of the referendum when with a bit of stage management, she said to a bystander, just before the referendum, i hope people understand what they are thinking about here and think carefully about it, she

said. that was as far as she felt able to go as a constitutional monarch and that was right. during the silverjubilee she had been more explicit in the speech that she made to the joint houses of parliament, what was quite a controversial speech, and the most political speech, and the most political speech that she made during her entire reign and that was a speech which was written at buckingham palace and she sought to remind people of the advantages of being part of the union. that did lead to a degree of controversy at the time and i know there are people in scotland who believe that was a speech written by the then prime ministerjames callaghan, but it wasn't. it came from buckingham palace and it was a reflection of the queen's views. she has not expressed explicitly anything matching that you at any point subsequently because maybe she

realised she had maybe gone a bit too far on that occasion under the auspices of a constitutional monarch who is expected to stay right out of politics but it is undoubtedly the case that the whole question of the monarchy in scotland is something about which a lot of thought is given in buckingham palace. charles himself has clearly _ given in buckingham palace. charles himself has clearly thought - given in buckingham palace. charles himself has clearly thought a - given in buckingham palace. charles himself has clearly thought a lot - himself has clearly thought a lot about it. ~ ., ., , himself has clearly thought a lot about it. ., ., , , ~ ., about it. without doubt. the duke of rothesay as — about it. without doubt. the duke of rothesay as he _ about it. without doubt. the duke of rothesay as he has _ about it. without doubt. the duke of rothesay as he has been _ about it. without doubt. the duke of rothesay as he has been known - about it. without doubt. the duke of rothesay as he has been known in i rothesay as he has been known in scotland until now, until his accession to the throne, that is another title which has now passed to william as the prince of wales and the duke of rothesay, but the family and william, as well, it feels strongly about the importance of the union, the advantages that the nation as a whole has from being united. without straying into

politics ourselves, clearly those are thoughts that no member of the royal family can express openly and thatis royal family can express openly and that is a matter for politicians and for political debate and as we are hearing repeatedly, the king is fully subscribed to the principles of the constitutional democracy and he was talking about that again this morning, so that is a signal from the king that he will stay right out of intervening in any of these issues. ., ., ,, , ., issues. the moment, thank you. -- for the moment. _ that's all from the bbc news at one, so it's goodbye from me and on bbc one we nowjoin the bbc�*s news teams where you are.

he will return the keys of the city in the afternoon, king charles and other members taking part in that procession where they will walk behind the queen's often behind the royal mile of edinburgh to st giles' cathedral, and then there is a service day of thanksgiving for the life of her majesty the queen. there will be an audience with nicola sturgeon and a visit to the scottish parliament. and charles iii will be taking part at st giles' cathedral in a ritual, the vigil at the princess, with other family members at the coffin. —— visual of the

princes. 0ur royal correspondent nick mitchell is with me now, quite a number of people already there trying to get eclipse of the new trgieg te get eclipse ef the eeiel e... "777777777777 tcgipg te get eclipse ef tile peel s... "777777777777 tcgipg tp get eclipse cf the peel ”a, "777777777777 king. yes, the crowds gathering, we will have to — king. yes, the crowds gathering, we will have to see _ king. yes, the crowds gathering, we will have to see the _ king. yes, the crowds gathering, we will have to see the scale _ king. yes, the crowds gathering, we will have to see the scale of- king. yes, the crowds gathering, we will have to see the scale of the - will have to see the scale of the crowds in edinburgh but although it is a mile long, there is not an awful lot of room on either side, the pavements are quite narrow, but people gathering. the pavements are quite narrow, but peeple gathering-— people gathering. reasonably nice weather, actually. _ people gathering. reasonably nice weather, actually. the _ people gathering. reasonably nice weather, actually. the rain - people gathering. reasonably nice weather, actually. the rain has. people gathering. reasonably nice | weather, actually. the rain has held off, as it did over the weekend. yes, the crowds are certainly very deep there, aren't they? they are talking about ten, 15 or even deeper in terms of the numbers of people there. there are a lot of police, as you would expect, given that members of the royal family are excited to

walk behind the coffin. and there is the vehicle flying the royal standard of scotland are still on its way from edinburgh airport into the centre of edinburgh, and they do seem magically to have got that same, i don't know if it is a rolls—royce or whatever vehicle it is, up to for to but there vehicle, not bentley ehicle, not bentley that e, not bentley that we |ot bentley that we so often bentley that we so in:en saw . ,. ,, , bentleythatwesoinand aw... ,, , eeésntley that�*that» in and pass: ,. ,, , eeésntley that�*that followed serif ,. ,, , from to edinburgh. is rather 7 is rather older 7 is rather older version. is rather olderversion. i this is a rather older version. i think charles rather likes that older one, he seems to be seen in it rather a lot. but, older one, he seems to be seen in it rathera lot. but, once older one, he seems to be seen in it rather a lot. but, once again, the reds have been briefly cleared to ease the journey, reds have been briefly cleared to ease thejourney, making it

reds have been briefly cleared to ease the journey, making it as speedy as possible into edinburgh. nobody lining the pavements there, i don't expect you would expect them to because the timings would not have been widely known and anyone who wishes to view proceedings will have headed into the centre of edinburgh for the more widely publicised procession from the palace of holyroodhouse up to st giles. �* . , palace of holyroodhouse up to st giles. �* ., , , _ palace of holyroodhouse up to st giles. ., __ giles. and a very busy few days in the run-up _ giles. and a very busy few days in the run-up to _ giles. and a very busy few days in the run-up to the _ giles. and a very busy few days in the run-up to the funeral - giles. and a very busy few days in the run-up to the funeral next - giles. and a very busy few days in i the run-up to the funeral next week, the run—up to the funeral next week, a tour of the nation, and date funeralfor a tour of the nation, and date funeral for the a tour of the nation, and date funeralfor the queen a tour of the nation, and date funeral for the queen that promises to be quite an extraordinary event, just the numbers of people to be in london for the funeral and also as she lies in state at westminster hall. the management and the coordination of this whole operation

for all the thought, for all the years that they have been planning is immensely complex and they will be a huge task awaiting in london the metropolitan police, the state funeral also taking place with the president of the united states coming, with so many other heads of states attending and at the metropolitan police will be calling on specialists from other forces, protection officers and so on and so forth because it is going to be just something we are fond of using the word unprecedented but in this occasion it is probably correct. how many times have we said this is the biggest security operation seen in london, i can't remember something bigger than a state funeral of the queen. and they are coming because of the respect they felt for her.

president biden doesn't attend that many funerals, generally the vice president or perhaps the president's wife or other senior figure from the us administration would be deputising for him but this is an occasion when we understand president biden said, no, i want to be there to represent the united states, such is the importance of the relationship between the united states and united kingdom but such was the degree of respect and affection that we as a nation and me as a president had for this lady that i am going to be there. i can't imagine there will be many other heads of states, suddenly ran europe, we don't have a full guest list, but it will be an immense operation from that point of view and once again, a measure of the respect that so many world leaders had for this head of state who was, as it were, the senior head of state in the world, who had been in that position for so long, for 70 years,

and so often they came to london and one of the most important and favourite things they wanted to do was meet the queen, but that is all to come. before then, as you say, the visits to the other capitals from edinburgh is at the moment making his way to belfast and hillsborough and they will be similar other services of remembrance and prayer and reflection and st annes cathedral in belfast and then later in the week as well. just reflecting on the funeral and the number of people who might be wanting to pay their last respects at the queen put that coffin, nobody can predict exactly how many people of course will be there, there is talk of people possibly needing to queue for 20 hours? yes.

talk of people possibly needing to queue for 20 hours?— talk of people possibly needing to queue for 20 hours? yes, which is really rather _ queue for 20 hours? yes, which is really rather daunting, _ queue for 20 hours? yes, which is really rather daunting, isn't - queue for 20 hours? yes, which is really rather daunting, isn't it? . queue for 20 hours? yes, which is really rather daunting, isn't it? i. really rather daunting, isn't it? i think there were 200,000 people attended the lining state of elizabeth the queen mother back in 2002, she died a few months before the goldenjubilee in february of 2002, and i rememberthen the goldenjubilee in february of 2002, and i remember then the numbers of people surpassed, i think, expectations, 200,000, as i say, is the estimate of the number of people who queue to that. i think i have seen the figure, well, who knows how many people will attend and feel that they wish to be part of this? but i think we are seeing the first signs that many thousands of people do want to make their own personal expressions, their own tributes, they just personal expressions, their own tributes, theyjust want personal expressions, their own tributes, they just want to feel part of this, it is part of the therapy, the consoling component in all of this is to be with other people, to have an opportunity to share your own memories and make

your own expression of thanks, principally, of course, through all the flowers that are being left. but it will be challenging, yes, the idea of queueing overnight and then to find yourself only being allowed to find yourself only being allowed to take a small bag into westminster hall going through the security which, of course, is necessary, but how do people come equipped for a long wait if they are not permitted to bring the sort of, you know, picnic baskets and warm clothing and waterproof clothing with them? so, i mean, that, iam waterproof clothing with them? so, i mean, that, i am sure they must have thought about this, and we willjust have to see how it all unfolds but it is going to be my thing, quite challenging. thank you very much indeed, nick witchell. we continue to watch from the air the pictures of the royal convoy making its way towards the

centre of edinburgh. and king charles iii and his wife camilla, now queen consort, on their way to the palace of holyroodhouse. you have been watching bbc news.