Over 5 million people viewed Queen Elizabeth’s final flight on Tuesday, as the journey carrying the late monarch’s body from Edinburgh to London became the most tracked flight in history.
Queen’s Journey: Most tracked flight in history
Flight tracking website Flightradar24 said a total of 4.79 million people watched the flight live online, while a further quarter of million people watched the journey on its YouTube channel. The Queen’s journey was historic, breaking the previous record set by Nancy Pelosi during her controversial flight. About 2.2 million tracked the US house speaker’s flight to Taiwan in August.
Queen Elizabeth II, the longest reigning monarch died on September 8 in Balmoral, Scotland. In the royal coffin, she departed from RAF Norhold in Eidenburg aboard the Boeing C17A Globemaster to London. She will be taken to London’s Buckingham Palace to lie rest in the Bow Room. Her funeral is scheduled for September 19.
More on the last trip
Additionally, the platform noted an unprecedented six million people were trying to follow the flight within the first minute of the C17A Globemaster turning on its platform, affecting the website’s stability. “Seventy years after her first flight as Queen aboard the BOAC Argonaut ‘Atalanta,’ Queen Elizabeth II’s final flight is the most tracked flight in Flightradar24 history,” stated the platform’s Director of Communications.
The coffin arrived at Buckingham Palace at 19:00 GMT. Thousands gathered outside waiting as the hearse entered the official residence. King Charles and other top-ranking royals were also waiting to greet the casket. As per an official count, over 26,000 people had gathered outside to pay their respects at Eiindurg’s St. Giles Cathedral before the Queen’s final journey. It will be taken to 900-year-old Westminister Hall in the UK parliament complex where the Queen will lie until the funeral on Monday.