Thousands wait for hours to catch glimpse of Queen’s coffin

Thousands of people stood for hours or made makeshift camps in order to catch a glimpse of the Queen’s funeral procession.

Enduring chilly temperatures and some rain showers, well-wishers came together to say a final goodbye to their late monarch.

Many carried camping chairs or set out blankets while others draped themselves in the Union flag.

The crowd was at least 30 deep in parts of central London and large numbers gathered in Hyde Park, where the funeral service was shown on big screens.

In Windsor, thousands more gathered on the Long Walk – the route the coffin will go on its way to Windsor Castle.

The state hearse will slowly make its way past them before it enters the grounds for a committal service and private burial.

One woman, Marion King, celebrated her 59th birthday on Monday after camping on Horse Guards Road in London for two days.

She and sister Carol Argent, both from Ashford in Kent, set up camp on Saturday night.

Ms King said: “We’ve been here since Saturday evening at 9pm to find the spot and for the atmosphere.

“We’ve been doing this since the age of 10. I used to be a girl guide. We brought a gas stove, tea, coffee and three bottles of wine which have already run out.

“But there’s a Tesco over the road so we’ll go there soon.

“We’ve met loads of nice people: Kiwis, South Africans and Canadians.

“We have all made a WhatsApp group and will meet again for the coronation.

“First our group was just from the UK, now we have the whole Commonwealth around us.”

Elsewhere, a pearly king and queen expressed their heartbreak at potentially missing the funeral after public viewing areas in central London became full on Monday morning.

Jimmy Jukes, 67, pearly king of the London boroughs of Camberwell and Bermondsey, said he would be “devastated” if he could not see the procession.

Mr Jukes, who was given an MBE for charity work by the Queen in 2015, added: “We just wanted to pay our final respects to her.”

Michelle Thorpe, 55, pearly queen of Southwark, added: “Considering the Queen loved the pearlies, it’s especially tough.”

One Metropolitan Police officer came straight from his shift to be with his family for the funeral procession.

Darren O’Brien, 53, who is part of the Met’s parliamentary diplomatic and protection group, said it was “surreal” to be on shift at Westminster Hall between 1.30am and 2am on Monday for the Queen’s lying in state.

“You’re overcome by what you see,” he said, adding that people “pass you and the next minute they are crying”.

Mr O’Brien, from Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, who served in the Army for over five years and participated in 18 Trooping the Colour events, said being at the hall gave him a “much closer attachment” to the funeral.

Speaking at Constitution Hill, he added that it was “the right thing to come down and pay my respects”.

He said he wanted his daughters Sophie, 11, and Hollie, nine, to be at the Queen’s funeral and learn from her as a “good role model”.

Meanwhile, near Westminster Abbey, Hermione Lovel, from Newcastle upon Tyne, waited patiently with her husband.

Mrs Lovel said coming here was about “respect for the Queen and to say goodbye”.

She added: “She’s been on the throne since I was five. I was very excited at the time of the coronation, I didn’t come to London, I was watching on a very small television, I remember it very clearly.

“She’s been a great constant support, I think, to the whole nation and indeed to the Commonwealth and the world.”

For some well-wishers, their journeys began at 2am as they travelled to London to watch the funeral.

Christine Birch, 61, her husband Stephen Birch, 58, and friend Margaret Frost, 68, left Bakewell, Derbyshire, in the early hours of Monday to pay their respects to the late monarch from Constitution Hill.

An emotional Mrs Birch said: “It’s strange to come down to London for something so sad, because normally we come to all the celebrations.

“It’s going to be very emotional for everyone.

“I think it’s very important that the whole country has come together for this.

“The least we could all do is to make an effort to pay our respects.

“She’s given her entire life for all of us.”

As the funeral procession moved past the Cabinet War Rooms, the Cenotaph and Downing Street, there was a hush from the crowd in Whitehall.

Some emerged from balconies and windows, clad in black, while those on the street craned their necks and clutched cameras as they awaited the chance to say goodbye to the monarch.

Elsewhere in the UK, around 200 people watched the service in silence on a big screen outside Sheffield Cathedral – many bringing camping chairs.

About the same number watched the ceremony inside the cathedral itself, sheltering from the intermittent drizzle.

Some of those attending laid flowers against the walls of the church and signed the book of condolence.

Those inside filed in past a Paddington Bear and a cup of tea on a table next to a picture of the Queen, with a sign saying “thank you ma’am for everything”.

In Manchester, despite the rain, some people gathered in Cathedral Gardens to watch the ceremony on a big screen.

Rebecah Watson, 38, from Manchester, was joined by her mother Penny Stanworth, 69.

Ms Watson said: “We just wanted to experience it with other people and not be sat at home on our own.

“We’re going to have to deal with the rain, if people have been in a queue for 14 hours I think we can cope with this.”

Paul Harrison-Rooke, 62, from Hyde, Greater Manchester, was also watching the funeral with wife Jane Harrison-Rooke, 59, at Manchester Cathedral.

He said he had previously been to one of the Queen’s garden parties.

He said: “You couldn’t meet a nicer person who did a lot of work for everybody of all denominations, disabilities, everything.

“She was definitely an exceptional person.”

In Holyrood Park in Edinburgh, thousands of mourners gathered to pay their respects.

Among those watching the funeral on the big screen was Austrian student Emilia Wolfbauer, who said she had “goosebumps” when she saw how many people had gathered to watch.

“It was really touching and very sad,” she added.

Several hundred people also gathered outside Belfast City Hall, some on blankets or folding chairs.

Some people wept quietly as the service drew to a close and God Save The King was played.