Funeral director branding on hearse carrying Queen’s body to Edinburgh disappears during journey
The logo of the funeral director, William Purves, was spotted by eagle-eyed Royal watchers
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Your support makes all the difference.The branding of a funeral director carrying the Queen’s coffin from Balmoral to Edinburgh on Sunday mysteriously disappeared during the six hour journey.
A prominent sticker with the name of the company, William Purves, was spotted by eagle-eyed Royal watchers as the hearse left Balmoral just after 10am.
However, by the time the hearse arrived after its more than 100-mile journey the advertisement for the company had vanished.
It is not clear when the sticker was removed, but it is understood the vehicle had to stop once for refueling.
The website of the company - which was founded in 1888 in the reign of Queen Victoria - crashed after the advertisement was seen on the hearse.
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The funeral director told MailOnline the logo was removed at the “earliest opportunity” but did not specify when on the journey it had been taken off the hearse.
A spokesperson told the online publication: “It was a heavily rehearsed and meticulously planned event with all parties including the hearse and funeral directors under lord chamberlains authority.
“We received a high volume of attention as soon as the hearse left Balmoral and we took the first opportunity we could to redirect the attention to Her Majesty - it’s not about us, it’s about her Majesty.”
On Monday, thousands of people are expected to pay their respects to the Queen in Edinburgh, with a large queue expected to form at St Giles’ Cathedral.
The Queen’s coffin will be taken from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to St Giles’ Cathedral later today, followed by a procession of royal family members led by King Charles III.
Edinburgh City Council leader Cammy Day told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme the city was expecting large crowds.
He said: “We’re expecting tens of thousands of people to be up and down the High Street as Her Majesty comes up to St Giles’ and then onwards from there tomorrow.
“Our advice to people is to get to the city centre as quickly and early as you can - use public transport because the city has diversions or road closures.
“We are looking forward to welcoming tens of thousands of people to give Her Majesty the send-off that the city will give her.”
It comes as Prince Harry has paid an emotional tribute to his late grandmother as he thanked her for her “sound advice” and “infectious smile”.
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