In a ceremonial procession rich in pomp and circumstance, the coffin of Britain's Queen Mother wended its way through London today with three generations of royals paying tribute to a national icon.
Thousands lined the route in hazy spring sunshine for the greatest military spectacle Britain has seen since the funeral of wartime leader Winston Churchill in 1965.
In a well-oiled display of national mourning beamed to up to 200 million television viewers around the world, the horse-drawn gun carriage rolled to Westminster Hall, where "the nation's favourite grandmother" lies in state until Tuesday's funeral.
All eyes were on the teenage princes William and Harry, reliving painful memories of the autumn day in September 1997 when they marched behind the coffin of their mother, Princess Diana, after her death in a Paris car crash.
"My mother lived to 101 which is a great age - she had a wonderful life," Queen Elizabeth said of her mother, an enduring figurehead for the World War Two generation.
Atop the flag-draped coffin was the diamond-encrusted crown worn by the "Queen Mum" at the 1937 coronation of her husband, King George VI..
The 28-minute procession from the Queen's Chapel at St James's Palace ended at about midday.
PA