Queen Elizabeth II’s queue in 14 hours

Queen Elizabeth II – Pleasure was evident among the many hundreds of people that joined the queue to see Queen Elizabeth II lying-in-state Friday morning.

The road was greater than six miles lengthy, with an estimated wait time of over 10 hours.

Little did everybody know; it could be a number of hours greater than that.

Members of the general public queue exterior St Giles’ Cathedral, in Edinburgh, on September 12, 2022, to pay their respects earlier than the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II mendacity at relaxation.
(ODD ANDERSEN/AFP through Getty Photographs)

8:50 a.m.

After arriving from the U.S. simply 24-hours prior, I joined the queue at 8:50 a.m. native time at Southwark Park with my mum, Rosa De-Kelly. My Aunt, Annie Bazan, additionally joined us, having arrived from Birmingham at 6:45 a.m.

LINE TO SEE QUEEN ELIZABETH’S COFFIN PAUSED AS WAIT REACHES 14 HOURS

10:05 a.m.

We turned fast associates with the roughly 10 individuals round us within the queue and obtained our first spherical of reports: the queue had been briefly paused for the following six hours. If our group had been only one hour behind, we wouldn’t have been to get in line. Fortunately, we had been already dedicated.

Surprisingly, the primary two or three hours flew by in a short time. Spirits had been excessive and we realized there have been individuals from all around the nation: Bathtub, Manchester, Bedfordshire. We additionally spoke with police and safety, noting that lots of them had traveled from exterior of London. Some police got here so far as 4 hours, from Cornwall and Devon.

12:50 p.m.

It wasn’t till round 1 p.m. that individuals turned hungry, looking for meals wherever they may. Lots of the individuals in our group struggled to seek out sandwiches or correct meals with sustenance. Everybody had ready with water and loads of snacks, however not plenty of meals??

4 hours into the expertise, as everybody started to seek out meals, most individuals had been sitting every time they obtained the chance. It wasn’t for an additional 2 hours that I lastly had lunch. My mum and aunt had left the queue to go forward and discover a place to take a seat and relaxation. Once we caught as much as them, they’d a margherita pizza ready for me from Pizza Specific.

2:42 p.m.

Earlier than I had the prospect to eat my pizza, we reached our subsequent large milestone. Lastly, we had reached Tower Bridge the place we had been capable of get our vibrant yellow wristbands to formally be allowed to see the Queen lying-in-state.

Daniel, who had introduced his two younger kids, captured the second with a easy phrase: “These wristbands are like a badge of honor.”

As we shuffled down the road, we began to make bets. What time did we expect we’d arrive on the finish? Some stated 5:30, 6:30 or 8. Solely considered one of us ended up with the fitting estimate: someday earlier than midnight.

5:14 p.m.

About 8 hours into our journey, we heard some stunning information that made us really feel very grateful. The queue has been re-opened now, and the estimated wait time was over 24 hours lengthy.

By this level, it was getting colder with robust gusts of winds forcing many people to placed on hats and coats. We had been grateful to be 8 hours into the road as a substitute of beginning on the finish of it.

We had been nearer to the Metropolis of London now and the tributes to the Queen had been turning into extra frequent and noticeable. There was extra dwell music particularly to maintain the devoted crowd entertained. There have been even members of a “Religion Workforce” who had been there to offer phrases of encouragement and steering.

One other piece of thrilling information: soccer star David Beckham had been within the queue with us. He had spoken to media after 12 hours within the line, sharing that he joined just some hours forward of our group at 2 a.m.

7:47 p.m.

The solar started to go down and the ambiance drastically modified. The climate was now darkish, chilly, and windy. Folks appeared to decelerate within the line and the vitality ranges can solely be described as dedicated however involved. By now, many had been involved about how for much longer we had left and had given up on our guessing sport.

As we turned associates with safety employees to go the time, we started to nervously ask them how for much longer they thought it could be till the top. The solutions had been regarding: 2-3 hours. Regardless of the daunting estimates, the mentality had shifted to dedication, with one girl saying, “we’ve made it this far, now we have to see it via.”

9:03 p.m.

Once we lastly crossed Lambeth Bridge and entered Westminster, we had been 12 hours into our wait. One man with safety employees advised us we had 2.5 miles left. Many in our group couldn’t work out the mathematics and determined to simply hold going with out fascinated about it anymore. Now that we had been within the closing stretch, individuals had been transferring with dedication and motivation to finish what had turn into a mission. Whereas the road was now transferring at a sooner tempo, I began to really feel jet lag. Nevertheless, I too was now decided to complete and selected to disregard the nausea and take deep breaths as a substitute.

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10:26 p.m.

We knew we should be shut. Safety employees and police started shouting over the chatter of the group about what was on the prohibited listing for going inside Westminster Corridor. Among the many apparent gadgets had been sharp objects, bigger backpacks, lighters, and extra. However one of many surprising gadgets that had lots of people upset was hand sanitizer. When requested, a safety man stated it wasn’t allowed as a result of it was “flammable.”

10:43 p.m.

Whereas we anticipated going via airport-style safety would take the longest, it was truly one of many quickest elements of the queue, taking lower than 5 minutes. Only a few hundred ft from the place we exited on the opposite facet of safety, we had been on the doorways of Westminster Corridor.

We stepped inside and the temper modified immediately. It was now silent, somber, sorrowful.

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As we entered, we had been one of many fortunate teams. As a substitute of the fixed strolling ahead, we had been at a standstill watching forward whereas there was a guard change, with our eyes transferring forwards and backwards from the guards to the Queen’s coffin so superbly positioned within the middle with the Imperial State Crown on prime.

Lastly, individuals began passing by the coffin once more. Our group had been cut up into 4 traces transferring previous the Queen. Most bowed their heads, some bowed with a curtsy, some made the signal of the cross, others merely walked by in silence. I selected to curtsy, bow my head, and make the signal of the cross as tears got here down my cheeks.

10:53 p.m.

With one final have a look at the Queen, we left Westminster Corridor and it was over.

After 14 hours on our ft and outside, we had paid our respects to the Queen and we had been all in settlement: it was definitely worth the wait.

Claudia Kelly-Bazan is an Atlanta-based discipline producer. You may comply with her on Twitter @ClaudiaKellyB or Instagram @News_And_Shoes