Mile after mile, hour after hour, mourners are trekking across London to pay their respects to the Queen. Her lying in state continues today (September 15) at the Palace of Westminster following her death last Thursday, aged 96.
The Queen’s lying in state opened yesterday at 5pm, with a sea of mourners filing past her coffin at Westminster Hall ever since, and the queue is expected to continue until the occasion ends on Monday morning. At 11am today, the queue was taking around two-and-a-half hours to get from the back to Westminster Bridge, where mourners were told to expect a further three-hour wait.
But as the day went on, the line continued to tail back - beyond Southwark Cathedral, Tower Bridge and towards Bermondsey. “It’s just paying my respects, however long we wait,” Jacky Clare, 61, told the Manchester Evening News.
“She gave us 70 years - I can give her a few hours.” It was the stoic attitude that summed up mourners throughout the queue, all eager to pay their own tribute to the monarch who served the country longer than any other.
Jacky, from Higham in Kent, was stood in line with Liverpool-born Noreen Gemmell. The 74-year-old had been in the queue from 1.30pm, two hours before speaking to the M.E.N. and still yet to get her wristband.
She had been told to expect a queue of 10 to 12 hours by marshals. “It’s to show my respects to the queen,” said Noreen.
“I hadn’t realised it was 20 years since I came to see the Queen Mother lying in state. I had to come for the Queen.” Jacky added: “She’s always been part of my life, I’ve never known any other monarch.”
The fact that ambulances and portaloos line the route of the queue tells you all you need to know about the scale of the task to see the Queen. Volunteers from Samaritans and St John’s Ambulance join police and marshals along the route to check everyone is OK.
Even finding the back of the line is something of an adventure. By 3pm marshals were gleefully informing mourners that they had reached the start point on Mill Street. “Welcome to the queue,” they declared.
Mourners reacted with joy and relief. Some even cheered. And this was supposed to be the beginning. Dean and Natalea Mills, from Sudbury in Suffolk, had spent an hour trying to get to it.
“When we looked online it said Southwark, but that was when you had your [wristband], where you started to queue,” Natalea, 50, said. They were effectively in the queue for the queue proper at this point, before the well-organised area where wristbands are handed out. It didn’t deter the couple though - they were already prepared to wait.
“I like the monarchy, I’ve always admired the Queen and I always wanted to be part of history as well, just pay my respects,” added Natalea. “I know we’ve got to wait but we’re all in the same boat. We’re just going to queue with everyone else - we’ll be ok for 30 hours.”
As the M.E.N. walked alongside the queue it was clear the majority of voices were from the South East - something which could well change at the weekend, when people from all corners of the UK will have the opportunity to file past the Queen on their day off. Yet some had travelled from further afield.
Phil Saunders would usually be working in Didsbury, but he was in the queue with family near Westminster Bridge after 11am. The Liverpudlian had been in line since 8.45am at Southwark Cathedral.
Ann Saunders, who Phil described as ‘the boss’ of the family, told the M.E.N.: “As old as I am, she’s always been the Queen. She’s always been there - the only person who never had a chance to retire.” On the queue, she added: “I took my Voltarol this morning but we’re ok, it’s a nice crowd.”
Everyone in the queue had their own reasons to be there. For some, those reasons were deeply personal. Alex Coombs and Georgina Dooler, from Stoke, are both ex-military. “She’s our boss,” said Alex, 32, who served in the Royal Navy.
The pair left the Potteries at 6.20am and joined the queue at 9.45am. They had stood in line for just over two hours when they spoke to the M.E.N. Alex said: “I went to see the Queen Mother lie in state and waited eight to nine hours. I think hats off to whoever organised this, they hit the nail on the head.”
Georgina, 54, was in the Royal Army Medical Corp before serving in the Army Cadet Force. “For some of us this is probably going to be a once in a lifetime thing,” she said. “If Charles lives anywhere near as long I’ll be in my 70s, and I don’t think I’ll be fit for it. It’s an honour and privilege to do it.”
There was even a Windsor in the queue - Corrine, 57, from Coventry. No relation to Elizabeth Windsor, but she still had her own personal reasons to pay her respects. “I dreamt about the Queen a lot, so I felt like I met her,” she said.
Corrine said the dreams had been going on for ‘years’. “It’s just a silly, daft thing, but I feel it’s quite personal,” she added. “It’s just to show respect to the Queen, give her my thoughts and say a little prayer. It’s momentous so I thought I had to come down.”
For so many in the queue, it is the chance to be part of history, and they’re more than happy to wait. “It’s historic, we’ll always remember it,” said Hayley Greenaway, from Blackpool, who travelled down this morning with mum Diane Leadbetter.
While the queue was long, it was fast moving in many places. Those who spoke to the M.E.N. nearer to the front of the line commented on the swift pace, while one security guard said: “It’s the quickest queue I’ve ever seen.”
Maureen and David Spence, both 68, made a last minute decision to come down for the lying in state and were in no hurry to return to Wakefield, West Yorkshire. “We managed to get somebody to look after the dog,” said David.
The couple joined the queue at around 3pm, having spent 30 minutes looking for the back of it. “We’ll just go with the flow,” said Maureen. “We don’t know whether we will get home tonight or in the early hours of the morning.”
“We’re just prepared to wait,” Maureen added. They’re not the only ones.
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