People across the borough could see the plane, which carried the Queen 23,000ft (4.3 miles, 7km) above Royton, Chadderton and Hollinwood at around 6.15pm on its trip south.

The Boeing C-17A Globemaster III took off from Edinburgh airport at just after 5.40pm, landing at RAF Northolt around an hour later, at just after 6.50pm.

More than 5m people tracked Her Majesty’s final flight, according to flight tracking website Flightradar24 – making it the most tracked flight on the website.

The plane travelled over Oldham (Image: Flightradar24/Google Maps)

Aviation enthusiast Steve Auty, who lives in Thornham, tracked the flight on the website.

Speaking to The Oldham Times, Steve, 64, said: “I was watching it from when it took off in Edinburgh, and then it flew west to Glasgow and turned south.

“I could see it was heading towards the Manchester area, and I wondered if it would come anywhere near us.

A bearer party from Queen's Colour Squadron of the Royal Air Force (RAF) carries the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II aboard an RAF C17 aircraft (Image: Paul Ellis, PA WIRE)

“The sky was clear, so I rushed upstairs and got my camera ready – I was getting quite excited really and sure enough you could see it – it was only at 23,000ft which is quite a lot lower than flights usually are over here.

“I couldn’t believe it, it was directly over the house.”

Having never met the Queen when she was alive, Steve felt some emotion in the moment.

The plane was photographed flying above Royton (Steve Auty) (Image: Steve Auty)

Steve said: “It was a little bit emotional, really.

“That’s the closest I’ve ever been to the Queen – I’ve never been anywhere near where she’s been.

“It was quite a touching moment, really.”

After touching down at RAF Northolt, Her Majesty was transported towards Buckingham Palace in a State Hearse, which was designed in consultation with Her Majesty to allow the public a clear view of her coffin.

The Queen arrived at Buckingham Palace just after 8pm.

The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II carried in a State Hearse leaving RAF Northolt, west London, from where it was taken to Buckingham Palace, London, to lie at rest overnight in the Bow Room (Image: Kirsty Wigglesworth, PA WIRE)

Some in the crowd could be seen wiping away tears and putting down their umbrellas as a sign of respect, despite the rain.

The Queen will now go on to lie in state in London ahead of her funeral on Monday, September 19.

The late monarch’s coffin will be on display 24 hours a day from 5pm on Wednesday, September 14 until 6.30am on the day of the funeral.

Queues of more than four miles are expected, with thousands waiting to file past the coffin in Westminster Hall, located in the Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament.