Good Morning Britain shared the moving moment Susanna Reid accompanied her mum to see the Queen lie in state. As of Friday morning (September 16), it was reported that the queues to Westminster Hall reached 14 hours overnight. Today also marks the second full day of Queen Elizabeth lying in state before her funeral on Monday (September 19).
As the clock struck midnight, well-wishers continued to pace slowly past the Queen’s coffin, their footsteps muffled by a carpet laid throughout the ancient hall. Some bowed as they approached the late Queen, others made the sign of the cross, others still simply paused.
Sky News has since reported that at 8.15am today the queue had reached 4.9 miles (7.9km) long, with Southwark Park listed as the nearest landmark.
On Friday's Good Morning Britain, Ben Shephard and Kate Garraway returned to host and as they joined reporters out on location at Westminster Hall and throughout the lengthening queue, they spoke about their co-star's own visit to share a final moment with the Queen.
They told how Susanna and her mother Sue had joined fellow mourners yesterday evening as the late monarch's first full day lying in state came to an end. Queen Elizabeth II died last Thursday, September 8, 'peacefully' at Balmoral, aged 96.
The news was announced at around 6.30pm with a brief statement from Buckingham Palace. The country has since seen King Charles III ascend to the throne as well as shared the royal family's very public grief as they all greeted well-wishers and viewed tributes in various locations - including Balmoral, Windsor, and here in Manchester.
GMB host Susanna, 51, also took to Twitter to speak about her and her mother's experience as they paid their respects to the late monarch as she lay in state. She described the 'historic' moment as 'majestic and peaceful' as she revealed she had joined mourners in the massive queues.
She wrote: "Evening - along with my lovely mum and her very good friend, I have just experienced a moment in history - witnessing the Queen lying in state in Westminster Hall. At once majestic and peaceful.'
Susanna said she had waited for more than seven hours to see Her Majesty's coffin as she offered advice to others wanting to pay their respects. She continued: "If you are planning to queue here are our tips. We joined at 1.23pm near Butlers Wharf and entered Westminster Hall at 8.43pm - 7 hours 20 mins.
"Wear the comfiest shoes you own. Go with someone if you can, although everyone in the queue was friendly. Don't carry too much in a bag - water is freely available and there are lots of cafes along the route. Also plenty of toilets. I put my phone on low battery mode and it lasted the entire time."
Susanna went on: "The first part of the queue is for wristbands. Ours were given out at Tower Bridge about an hour after we began queuing. There is no queue jumping – people waited patiently for wristbands and once you have one you can leave the queue for snacks/loo stops & slip back in."
But some of Susanna's followers were concerned for her after she was subjected to 'nasty' comments. @cairnsie169 said: "I’m sure your comments and info will be very helpful to other people. I’m sorry you’ve had to put up with rude & nasty comments," to which Susanna replied: "I just ignore them," with a winking face emoji.
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