As we walked up a flight of stairs and entered the hall, everyone's shoulders seemed to drop forwards. It was impossible to miss the coffin, grand, regal and raised on a platform.
It was 3.30pm when Leigh, Thony and James arrived at the back of the queue at Millennium Bridge to see the Queen lie in state.We'd never met but would spend the next six hours getting to know each other very well.
"My nan and grandad served in the army and so I'm coming for them today. I’m not a massive royalist but have an appreciation for what the queen has done," he told me. As we began moving slowly, Leigh called on another man in the queue who had been sitting down, Thony Llaavye. Thony didn't have much interest in the Royal Family, but admired the Queen and wanted to see her one last time.It was almost 5pm and the queue had stopped, we were in Waterloo. Everyone was looking at Thony's phone as he played the live stream from inside Westminster Hall.A pause in the queue is perhaps one of the only points when you can go to the toilet or get something to eat, but there’s no formal system, you count on your neighbour to save your space.
Down past Big Ben and up towards St Thomas' Hospital we realised that it would be unlikely that we'd be waiting for more than a few hours.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Win a copy of Phoenotopia: Awakening on Xbox - click here to enter!Click here for a chance to win a free copy of Phoenotopia: Awakening. Check back tomorrow for a chance to win a different game!
Read more »
Win a copy of Home Sweet Home on Xbox - click here to enter!Click here for a chance to win a free copy of Home Sweet Home. Check back tomorrow for a chance to win a different game!
Read more »
Alpine won’t rush F1 2023 driver decision as new names enter the runningPierre Gasly? Nyck de Vries? Jack Doohan? Alpine have plenty of options to place in their vacant 2023 F1 seat but are in no rush to make a final decision, according to CEO Laurent Rossi
Read more »
This weird comedy horror game from March went mostly unnoticedAs we enter spooky season, The Upturned deserves another look.
Read more »
Pawtrait Pets 2022 - Little starsENTER NOW Enter your pets picture for a chance to win a share of £1000 ENTER NOW Shropshire Star Pet Photo Competition 2022 Get your paws on a share of £1000 cash Have you got the perfect pawtrait of your pet that you think could win the overall title of Shropshire Star Pawtrait Pet 2022? […]
Read more »