Millions of people took to the streets of London today to pay their final respects to the Queen.
In the city where she was born and lived most of her life, her people came to say goodbye and thank you.
Vast crowds were in place before dawn. All viewing areas for the procession were full by 9am.
Outside the official viewing areas people struggled to catch a glimpse of the hearse carrying the Queen’s coffin to Windsor.
Despite requests from security guards, people cut holes in netting.
They clambered up railings and pressed themselves deep into holly bushes along the edge of Hyde Park as the funeral cortege passed by.
Many dressed in black but others wore colourful Union Jack inspired outfits. As people listened to the service they joined in with the hymns and the national anthem.
Thousands in Hyde Park spontaneously applauded after the two-minute silence.
The procession music played over speakers as Big Ben tolled at the start of the route and booming guns shook the air at the end.
People craned with smartphones to take pictures of royals as they walked behind the coffin.
Faye Goddard, 54, placed photos of her late grandparents to a barrier next to Buckingham Palace.
She said: “I needed them to come and say goodbye with me.”
The finance worker from Bromley, south London, said: “She was amazing, she was the matriarch for the country and my link to my grandparents. I’ve been in tears regularly.
“It feels like everything is falling apart, and we’ve lost the one thing that felt constant. But I think the outpouring we’ve seen shows we can all come together.”
Sarah Rowlands, 45, and her six-year-old son Reuben from Bristol, went straight to Whitehall from seeing the Queen lie in state at 5.30am.
Tears filled her eyes as she described looking back at the Queen’s coffin, saying: “You’re saying goodbye one last time.”
Their friend Bobby Sanghara, 46, from Wiltshire, said: “The atmosphere is magic. There’s always a buzz in London but there’s just something in the air.”
John Bratton, a real estate firm owner from Washington DC, spent $3,500 flying in for five days and queued 12 hours to see the Queen lie in state.
He was among tens of thousands unable to get to the procession route.
The 58-year-old stood in five-deep crowds on Hyde Park’s mile-long South Carriage Drive as the hearse swept past to cheers and applause.
The former logistics officer with the US Army said: “I have an appreciation for people who have done remarkable things. There are very few people I would have done something like this for - maybe Nelson Mandela.”
Emma Smith, a 37-year-old hairdresser from Kent, arrived on Whitehall at 5.30am to show her two children a “bit of history” and described the atmosphere as “wonderful”.
Francesca, a 35-year-old American who lives in Bloomsbury, London arrived on Whitehall at 5.15am and was wrapped in a borrowed blanket. “People have been sharing food with each other, and helping each other,” she said.
Veronique De Foy, 44, flew in from Quebec, Canada, to watch the hearse pass with her boyfriend and daughter Serena, six.
She served 17 years in the Royal Canadian Navy and lost her husband while he was serving in the forces.
She said: “Since I was 24 I gave my devotion to the Queen for my military service. In my heart and in my family, she had a great, great place.”
Claudet Glasgow, 70, from East London, was born in Guyana months after the Queen acceded to the throne in 1952. Walking with a stick and carrying a Bible, Union flag and laminated postcards of the Queen, she said: “She is special. I missed my wake-up call so now I’ll have to watch on a screen.”
Kovu Hodges, 17, from Harrogate, North Yorkshire, got up at 4.30am and persuaded his Dad Mike, 57, to take him in his Explorers uniform. He said: “It’s been very strange at school. It’s the only thing everyone talks about.”
Jess Nevill, 32, a teacher from Melbourne, joined the crowds after a 35-hour journey for a pre-planned holiday.
She said: “In Australia there’s a lot of talk about becoming a Republic. As soon as the Queen passed I felt a sense like we were part of something. It’s made me respect the royal family a bit more and what she’s done.”
Christopher Davies, 65, a purchasing manager from Halesowen, West Midlands, got up at 3am with his wife Carol to get the first train - but still didn’t make it to the procession route.
He said: “We came on Thursday but couldn’t do the queue before we had to get the train home. It felt like a loss when I got home. This was the last chance to say goodbye.”
Former naval doctors Emma, 49, and Jon Carty, 48, travelled from Devon with children Emily, 14, and Beth, 12, and spent 14 hours queuing for the lying-in-state.
Emily met Prince William in Victoria Tower Gardens, posing for a picture. She said: “It was amazing. He was really friendly.” Jon added: “I don’t think anyone will ever see anything like this again.”
1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery veteran Jamie Paige, 41, from Horsham, West Sussex, left shortly after 5am to be on Whitehall. He said: “I’ve got a lump in my throat right now. I took her shilling and I swore her an oath. I had to come today.”
Lukas Kaiser, 21, wore a Union Jack knotted round his neck after flying from Germany last week for the mourning period. “I wouldn’t want to have missed this moment in all my lifetime. It’s living history,” he said.
- By reporting team: Andy Lines, Dan Bloom, Lizzy Buchan, Matthew Young, Matt Roper, Lydia Veljanovski, David Burke, Ashley Cowburn and Aletha Adu
