By Kylie Stevens For Daily Mail Australia and Rory Tingle Home Affairs Correspondent For Mailonline
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A heckler wearing a Melbourne City FC jersey has been arrested after screaming at Prince Andrew as the disgraced royal walked behind Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin.
Thousands of mourners lined the streets of Edinburgh on Monday as the Queen’s coffin travelled through the city to St Giles’ Cathedral, where the late monarch’s body is now lying-in-state.
Her four children, King Charles III, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, are in the Scottish capital taking part in a series of ceremonies marking the Queen’s journey from Balmoral, where she died last Thursday aged 96, back to London.
They were walking behind their mother’s hearse during the procession down the Royal Mile when a young man in the front row was filmed cupping his hand around his mouth shouting ‘Andrew, you’re a sick old man’ as the disgraced Duke of York, 62, walked past.
The protester, seen donning a jersey from A-League club Melbourne City, was swiftly tackled to the ground by angry royal mourners and a policeman.
A young man (circled right) was filmed shouting ‘Andrew, you’re a sick old man’ as the disgraced Duke of York passed behind his mother’s hearse before the protester was bundled onto the floor by angry royal mourners and a policeman
The man was heard shouting ‘disgusting’ and ‘I’ve done nothing wrong’ as he was dragged away by officers.
‘Get your hands off him,’ one woman was heard yelling.
A man watching on from an open first floor window of a flat overlooking the famous street shouted ‘God save the King’, prompting other members of the crowd to join in to drown out the heckler’s protests, Scottish political website Holyrood reported.
Police Scotland later confirmed a 22-year old man was arrested ‘in connection with a breach of the peace’ on the Royal Mile around 2.50pm on Monday.
It’s understood the man later identified himself to Scottish media as ‘Rory’.
The prince and his siblings reportedly didn’t react to the protester.
BBC radio star Jeremy Vine took to Twitter after the incident to describe the man as ‘rude’ and ‘out of order’.
‘But does that give permission to bystanders to shove him to the ground like this?’ he asked.
Prince Andrew, a Falklands War veteran who was exiled from public life amid the fallout from his friendship with disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, was not allowed to wear military dress for Monday’s occasion and instead wore a morning suit.
The prince will have to appear in civilian clothes at all the other public events to mourn his mother, although an exception will reportedly be made as a special mark of respect for the Queen at the final vigil in Westminster Hall.
The heckler in Melbourne FC jersey (pictured) was tackled to the ground by onlookers and a police officer
The Queen’s casket was draped with the Royal Standard in Scotland and dressed with a wreath of flowers consisting of white spray roses, white freesias, white button chrysanthemums, dried white heather from Balmoral, spray eryngium, foliage, rosemary, hebe, and pittosporum.
As the national anthem played the coffin was gently lowered into the hearse.
Bagpipes played the National Anthem from Holyrood Palace as the Queen’s coffin cortege began the walk up the Royal Mile.
The hearse was flanked by a Bearer Party found by the Royal Regiment of Scotland and the King’s Body Guard for Scotland. Mounted police in ceremonial dress rode ahead of the parade.
King Charles walked solemnly in step with his brothers and sister behind his beloved mother. The rest of the assembled well-wishers fell silent as the hearse appeared.
The crowd then broke out in spontaneous applause as the cortège approached and many shouted God Save the King and God Save the Queen.
A short scuffle ensued, before the officer led him away as he shouted ‘disgusting’ and ‘I’ve done nothing wrong’ while in the background people shouted ‘God save the King’
Around 30 minutes later the Queen arrived at St Giles’ Cathedral where the Crown of Scotland was placed upon the coffin.
After the service, members of the public will be allowed to file past to pay their respects for 24 hours before Her Majesty is moved to London by plane.
Earlier the King met with well-wishers who lined the streets of Edinburgh to see him today in an unplanned walkabout as Scotland’s capital welcomed the new monarch and mourned the Queen – with so many people turning up that police were forced to turn many away.
The Queen’s casket was draped with the Royal Standard in Scotland and dressed with a wreath of flowers consisting of white Spray Roses, white Freesias, white button chrysanthemums, dried white heather from Balmoral, spray eryngium, foliage, rosemary, hebe, and pittosporum.
As the national anthem played the coffin was gently lowered into the hearse. Bagpipes played the National Anthem from Holyrood Palace as the Queen’s coffin cortege began the walk up the Royal Mile.
The hearse was flanked by a Bearer Party found by The Royal Regiment of Scotland and The King’s Body Guard for Scotland. Mounted police in ceremonial dress rode ahead of the parade.
Led by a lone piper playing a lament, Her Majesty was carried from the Palace of Holyroodhouse where she was lying in rest since a six-hour journey from her Aberdeenshire castle yesterday. Andrew is seen towards the rear of the procession
King Charles walked solemnly in step with his brothers and sister behind his beloved mother. The assembled well-wishers fell silent as the hearse appeared.
The crowd then broke out in spontaneous applause as the cortège approached and many shouted God Save the King and God Save the Queen.
Earlier the King met with well-wishers who lined the streets of Edinburgh to see him today in an unplanned walkabout as Scotland’s capital welcomed the new monarch and mourned the Queen – with so many people turning up that police were forced to turn many away.
At the beginning of the service, Reverend Calum MacLeod welcomed the royal family, ‘representatives of our nation’s life’ and ‘people whose lives were touched by the Queen in so many unforgettable ways’.
Andrew wore a morning suit for today’s occasion. He is pictured alongside King Charles III, the Princess Royal and the Earl of Wessex
He said: ‘And so we gather to bid Scotland’s farewell to our late monarch, whose life of service to the nation and the world we celebrate. And whose love for Scotland was legendary.’
Senior church officials stood patiently at the entrance to the church as the procession made its way up the Royal Mile from the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
Crowds packed in 10 deep along the narrow pavements of the historic old town while others took up positions in windows along the route during the solemn procession.
Military personnel saluted as two police officers on horseback signalled the arrival of the Queen’s body.
The Queen’s body will travel to London ahead of her state funeral next Monday.
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Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd
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