Draped with the Royal Standard of Scotland and with a wreath of flowers on top, it has remained at rest in the Balmoral ballroom so the late monarch’s loyal Balmoral estate workers can say their last goodbyes.

The oak coffin will be lifted into a hearse on Sunday at 10am by six of the estate’s gamekeepers, who have been tasked with the symbolic gesture, ready for a six-hour journey to Edinburgh.

10am: The cortege is expected to leave Balmoral Castle – where the Queen died on Thursday.

The Duke of York, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice (right) view the messages and floral tributes left by members of the public Balmoral in Scotland following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday.

Well-wishers are expected to gather along the route the cortege will take as it travels from Balmoral to the Scottish capital.

10.12am: It will first head to the nearby town on Ballater in Aberdeenshire, passing along the A93.

Members of the public began gathering in the village, which lies about eight miles east of Balmoral, early to pay their respects to the late Queen.

Families have been seen setting up picnic chairs and attaching union flags to barriers outside the village’s Glenmuick Church from about 7am.

The Countess of Wessex views the messages and floral tributes left by members of the public at Balmoral.

The Queen’s coffin will be driven past the church at a walking pace to allow people to pay respects.

Tributes will be led by the Lord-Lieutenants of Aberdeenshire, as well as senior officers and councillors. The cortege will then travel along the A93, through Aboyne, Banchory and Drumoak.

11.20am: It is then expected to arrive in Aberdeen about an hour later, where the Lord Provost of Aberdeen, in his role as Lord-Lieutenant, will lead a tribute at Duthie Park.

2pm: The cortege will arrive in Dundee at about 2pm, after travelling south along the A90.

Members of the public are being invited to pay their respects in safe standing areas along the A90 Forfar Road and Kingsway.

4pm: The cortege will then head to Edinburgh, where First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and other party leaders in Scotland are expected to observe the coffin as it goes past the Scottish parliament.

All the pavements along the route from the north of the city to the Scottish parliament will be lined with barriers to allow the public to view from there

From there, the coffin will be taken into the Palace of Holyroodhouse, where it will remain for the night.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the “poignant” journey, which will see the Queen’s coffin transported to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, would give the public a chance to come together to “mark our country’s shared loss”.

Full route as Queen's coffin journeys six hours from Balmoral to Edinburgh