By George Bowden at Buckingham Palace & Doug FaulknerBBC News
The Queen's children and grandchildren are to receive her coffin on its arrival at Buckingham Palace shortly.
The King will gather with royals including his wife Camilla, the Queen Consort, Princes William and Harry and their wives, Catherine and Meghan.
The coffin, accompanied by the Queen's daughter Princess Anne, is travelling by road after a flight from Edinburgh.
Crowds have gathered despite the rain to pay their respects ahead of the cortege's arrival.
It will mark one of the final stages of a solemn journey which began on Sunday at the Queen's Balmoral estate where she died aged 96 on Thursday.
In a statement released on Tuesday evening, the Princess Royal, Princess Anne, said it had been an "honour and a privilege" to accompany the Queen on her final journeys, having travelled with her mother's coffin from Balmoral to London.
"Witnessing the love and respect shown by so many on these journeys has been both humbling and uplifting," she said.
"We will all share unique memories. I offer my thanks to each and every one who share our sense of loss.
"We may have been reminded how much of her presence and contribution to our national identity we took for granted."
Thousands paid their respects as the Queen lay at rest in St Giles' Cathedral, in Edinburgh overnight, before her coffin was flown to RAF Northolt, in north-west London this evening.
The national anthem was played as the RAF plane, which has previously been used to evacuate people from Afghanistan and deliver weapons to Ukraine, prepared to take off.
About 300 police officers have been stationed on the roads surrounding the RAF base, with large crowds expected to watch the flight come in before a hearse takes the coffin to Buckingham Palace.
The number of people outside the palace began to swell this afternoon - although it thinned slightly as the rain became heavier, with most of those gathered wearing raincoats and carrying umbrellas - creating a subdued atmosphere.
But there were still several thousand waiting along the barriers outside Buckingham Palace.
Among them was Rosemary Lawson who felt compelled to walk to the palace after being in central London for an appointment.
"There has been an incredible atmosphere," she said. "Observing the floral tributes has been wonderful."
After the Queen's coffin arrives at Buckingham Palace, it will rest in the Bow Room overnight before it is borne in procession on a gun carriage departing the palace for Westminster at exactly 14:22 BST on Wednesday.
In the past, the Queen has hosted foreign royalty and dignitaries in the room, including King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, former US president George Bush, and Premier League footballers.
It is in the palace's west wing, was formerly known as the Bow Library and was named after the window that runs along one side.
On Wednesday, the Queen's coffin will be taken via The Mall, Horse Guards Parade, Whitehall and Parliament Square to Westminster Hall.
Flights from Heathrow could face disruption to ensure silence over central London as the Queen's coffin is moved, the airport said.
The coffin will lie in state in the hall until the morning of the funeral next Monday. More than 400,000 people are expected to be able to file past it there.
From 17:00 BST on Wednesday, people will be able to pay their respects, although mourners have been warned to expect long queues.
There will be some assistance for those unable to stand for a long time, Downing Street said, with the Prime Minister's official spokesman adding that "everything possible" would be done to facilitate those who could not wait for extended periods.
Barriers for the queue were being placed as far out as Southwark Park, in south-east London, about three miles from Westminster.
The Queen's final public appearance at Buckingham Palace was on the east front balcony on 5 June, where she stood alongside family members during Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Earlier, after standing vigil by his mother's coffin in Edinburgh on Monday, King Charles travelled to Northern Ireland alongside Camilla, the Queen Consort, where he met politicians and officials.
He said the Queen had "never ceased to pray for the best of times for this place and its people" and said she had felt deeply "the significance of the role she herself played in bringing together those whom history had separated".
The King pledged to "seek the welfare of all the inhabitants of Northern Ireland".
He received a message of condolence from the speaker of the assembly Alex Maskey, a member of Sinn Féin, who said the Queen recognised how a "small but significant gesture can make a huge difference in changing attitudes".
More than 26,000 mourners filed past the Queen's coffin at St Giles', where she lay at rest before being taken to Edinburgh airport and flown to RAF Northolt, in West London.
People queued for hours with the final wristbands to granting access being given out at 13:00 BST, leaving some of those turned away in tears.
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