September 21, 2024

The most British reactions to the miles-long queue to see the Queen – ‘The motherlode of all queues’

the queue #thequeue

People stand in line along Southbank as tens of thousands join queues to see the Queen lying in state at Westminster Hall. (Rob Pinney/Getty)

Mourners have been queuing overnight in London for the Queen’s lying in state.

Members of the public can pay their respects to the late monarch’s coffin for 24 hours a day at Westminster Hall, with queues along Lambeth Bridge and Albert Embankment continuing to flow all night.

At 8am on Thursday, the queue was around 2.6 miles long.

Members of the public file past, as soldiers of The Grenadier Guards and Yeomen of the Guard, stand guard around the coffin of the Queen inside Westminster Hall. (PA)

Some people have waited for nine hours, unable to sleep or leave the constantly-flowing line.

And it has now taken on a life of its own, with #TheQueue becoming the number one trending topic on Twitter as mourners detailed their experiences of the long wait.

Watch: Mourners queue through the night to say farewell to the Queen

A sandwich board displaying the years of the Queen’s life is seen on Southbank as tens of thousands join queues to see her lying in state. (Rob Pinney/Getty)

Some were poignant while others reflected on just how ‘British’ the huge line is.

One person tweeted: “If you’re British, this is the queue you have been waiting for all your life. The final boss of queues.”

Another person described it as “the queue to end all queues”, while another joked that the producers of The Crown will be “freaking out at the amount of CGI they will need” when filming episodes centred around the Queen’s death.

One person who spent nine hours waiting quipped that they were suffering from “long Queue-vid”, while another said they watched live feeds overnight during a bout of insomnia.

Metropolitan Police officers, volunteers and stewards are managing the queue while toilets and water fountains are provided at various points along the route.

People waiting in line are being given a coloured and numbered wristband to manage the queue.

The Queen’s coffin continues to be guarded at all hours by units from the Sovereign’s Bodyguard, the Household Division or Yeoman Warders of the Tower of London.

One of the guards suddenly collapsed overnight, with nearby officials quickly rushing to his aid after he appeared to faint.

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