There has been plenty of exceptional broadcasting after the death of the Queen, a much-planned-for event that, somehow, still feels bigger than anyone could have anticipated. The presenters have been heroes – solemnly narrating a shot of a gate for hours on end is quite a skill – and being able to watch King Charles III’s proclamation ceremony, televised for the first time, was goosebump-worthy. But there’s always a moment when it all starts to get a bit silly, and that moment has now arrived with the surreal livestream of the Queen’s lying-in-state. Her coffin is in Westminster Hall before her funeral on Monday, so that the public can pay respects; for five days, it will be filmed 24 hours a day. Anyone can tune in as people file past – some in rucksacks and raincoats, some in their best black hats – watery-eyed, bowing their heads before moving on. As I write, nearly 15,000 people are watching it on the BBC’s website.
Joining the queue to see the Queen lying at rest is a major, physically gruelling commitment; the waiting time was 14 hours until it was closed on Friday for reaching capacity. In a practical sense, then, the livestream is there not just for the curious but those who can’t manage the long wait. Some have said how much they’re enjoying it, finding it calming and peaceful. And there have been major technological advances since Britain last had a new monarch, so why not? That urge to get it all on film is understandable – we’re all a bit awed by the sheer history-ness of it all. But the livestream feels a bit like taking pictures on your phone that you’ll never look at again, when you should have just been savouring what was happening right in front of you.
