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In the following sentence what is the function of "from across"?

Professionals from across the country are coming to London.

I think it functions as a preposition but I'm not sure.

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"from across the country" means " from every part of the country. The preposition across normally describes movement from one side to the other: The children ran across the street without looking. But it can describe slightly different movements. A totally different use can be found in: A TV series known across five continents. Here across means "in every part of" all five continents.

Occasionally you find "doubled" prepositions, often with "from": from under, from behind

  • The cat came out from under the bed.
  • The Wolf was looking out from behind the tree.

One can explain such double prepositions by inserting an omitted word or word group:

  • The cat came out from its place/a place under the bed.
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Surprisingly, across the country is the phrase serving whole as an adverb! Said that, across goes with the country and not with from. Of course, to answer you... from is a preposition.

across the country (adverb) - Extending throughout an entire nation

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    Exactly. It would be just the same if we replaced across with, say, around, throughout, etc. The preceding from is irrelevant, since one can say things like "Social inequalities exist across the land".
    – FumbleFingers
    Apr 9, 2014 at 18:05

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