Pensioners slept on benches, others caught up on rest in camping chairs or even sat on pavements or chose to go without sleep at all to be among those to enter St Giles Cathedral.
Respectful well-wishers have been overcome with emotion, after queueing for hours through the streets of the Scottish capital. A poignant vigil was held inside St Giles Cathedral this evening.
His Majesty will touch down in Belfast for his 40th visit to the province - but it is his first as King, and his saddest. This evening the Queen will leave her beloved Scotland for the last time.
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