Queen Mother's coffin arrives at St James's Palace

To the sombre lament of a lone piper, the Queen Mother's coffin was carried from the small stone chapel at Windsor Castle to be driven to London to rest at the Queen's Chapel in St James's Palace.

Clad in black with heads bowed, her staff lined the castle's gravel driveway as the coffin was carried out of the Royal Chapel of All Saints, where it had laid for the past two days.

Her personal piper Jim Motherwell played the lament "The Dark Island" in tribute to her Scottish roots, as the coffin, draped in the Queen Mother's personal standard, was placed inside a black hearse.

Small groups of people gathered in villages along the route from Windsor as the hearse, flanked by police motorcycle outriders, drove the 25 miles to London.

Hundreds of people lined The Mall and gathered quietly outside the gates of Buckingham Palace to watch the procession pass and pay tribute to the popular former queen, who died on Saturday aged 101.

At St James's Palace the coffin was carried into the Queen's Chapel – mirroring scenes seven weeks ago when the body of her daughter, Princess Margaret, was moved to London. It will remain at the palace until Friday, when it will be moved to Westminster Hall at the Houses of Parliament to lie in state. The public will be able to pay their respects before a funeral service at Westminster Abbey on 9 April.

The Ministry of Defence announced that 1,700 members of the army, navy and air force would take part in the funeral procession. The coffin will be carried on a gun carriage of the King's Troop of the Royal Horse Artillery.

The BBC today hit back at criticism of its coverage of the Queen Mother's death and dismissed as "complete nonsense" reports that presenters were banned from wearing black ties.

The BBC also brushed aside reports it had been snubbed by Prince Charles, who invited ITV News to film his tribute to his grandmother.

"It is complete nonsense to imply that there has been a ban on presenters wearing black ties" as a sign of mourning during coverage of the death, the BBC said in a statement.

"The guidance to presenters was that they should wear sombre clothes for the announcement of the Queen Mother's death and black ties for the funeral."

Criticism has centered on BBC1's breaking news coverage on Saturday night, during which presenter Peter Sissons wore a burgundy tie.

Newspapers reported that unnamed members of the royal family were unhappy with the scale of the BBC's coverage and thought not enough airtime had been devoted to the death.

Royals were "also incensed" that Sissons "intrusively questioned" the Queen Mother's niece, Margaret Rhodes, about the final few minutes of the her life.

Buckingham Palace would not comment on the reports.