EA line was already dissolved on Saturday afternoon. One of the last people allowed to queue was 98-year-old Ernest Brooks. Nobody wanted to expect the war veteran to have to wait outside for many hours and maybe even overnight to take a quick look at the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II.
Ibrahim Sumra, on the other hand, was late for the specially designed accessible queue: the Southampton man, who has just gotten back on his feet after cancer surgery, had to join thousands of others at the back on Sunday morning with the prospect of waiting at least 14 hours to have to.
kilometer-long queue
The actual queue, just called “The Queue” for short, was still several kilometers long on the last day before the big funeral. How many people have taken the opportunity to say goodbye to Her Majesty in Westminster Hall since Wednesday will probably only be announced in the next few days.
According to initial estimates, there must have been at least 350,000, with an average of a good 2,000 people arriving every hour, who lined up at each end – mostly near Tower Bridge. Among them were celebrities such as former soccer player David Beckham, who had to wait 12 hours on Friday, and long-distance runner and two-time Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes, who had to wait 16 hours on Saturday.
Members of the Royal Family also made regular visits to Westminster Hall over the weekend to pay tribute to those who died while also thanking the mourners outside Houses of Parliament and along the River Thames. Even King Charles III. and his son, heir to the throne William, in addition to all their official obligations and meetings with state guests who had already arrived, for example from the Commonwealth, took the time early on Saturday afternoon to surprise those waiting in line with a short visit.
After Elizabeth’s children Charles, Anne, Andrew and Edward held a vigil of about fifteen minutes at the coffin of the dead on Friday evening, the Queen’s eight grandchildren followed their example on Saturday evening. At the request of the king, Prince Andrew and Prince Harry were also allowed to wear uniforms, which, according to the protocol, is actually only reserved for members of the family who are still on duty for the royal family.
Meanwhile, preparations for “the funeral of the century” continue unabated. 300 government employees alone take care of the arriving state guests around the clock. Among the first were Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with his wife Sophie and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who met their new head of state, King Charles III, at Buckingham Palace on Saturday. American President Joe Biden landed in London with his wife Jill on Sunday night. The couple, along with a number of other guests, had the opportunity to say goodbye in person at Elizabeth II’s coffin in Westminster Hall on Sunday.
Special security precautions are taken for Biden and, for example, Israel’s President Izchak Herzog. Biden and his wife were out and about in their armored limousine on Sunday. Other dignitaries, on the other hand, will have to travel together in buses to the state funeral this Monday, which Jacinda Ardern described as “not unusual” given the more than 500 heads of state from around the world.
The doors to the church will open at 8 a.m. this Monday. More than 2000 invited guests are expected. The Queen’s coffin is lifted from the catafalque in Westminster Hall at exactly 10.44 a.m. and carried the short way to Westminster Abbey on a carriage, which is pulled and accompanied by 142 sailors from the Royal Navy. The royal family, including King Charles III, will follow the coffin. and his two sons William and Harry. A service will then be held at the Abbey, which will be led by the Dean of Westminster, David Hoyle. The sermon will be given by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and British Prime Minister Liz Truss will give a reading from the Bible.
The service ends with a minute’s silence across the country. Afterwards, at around 12.15 p.m., the coffin is once again transferred in a ceremonial procession and on foot via Horse Guards Parade and the Mall to Buckingham Palace and on to the triumphal arch of Wellington Arch. There he is to leave at 1 p.m. in a hearse on his final journey to Windsor Castle.
There, too, he will be taken another five kilometers on foot along the so-called Long Walk to the castle, past hundreds of soldiers who will be lining the path. The actual funeral is then planned for 7:30 p.m. in a small circle. The Queen will be laid to rest next to her husband Prince Philip in St George’s Chapel, beneath a marble slab that reads “ELIZABETH II 1926-2022”.