A mother and daughter who joined the line at the very last minute before it closed to see the Queen’s casket claimed they could only have “dreamed” of their good fortune, while other individuals grumbled that they had barely missed out.
Around 10.40 p.m. yesterday night, Christine Rogers, 62, and her daughter Sarah, 29, received the last two wristbands to see Queen Elizabeth II lying-in-state.
The two may anticipate passing the casket shortly before it leaves Westminster Hall at 6.30 am, ahead of the state funeral, after an almost eight-hour wait.
Christine, who travelled over 100 miles from Ipswich to London, told The Sun that receiving the last wristband to enter Westminster Hall was something she “wouldn’t have dreamed” of.
It means a lot to go past the line and pay our respects, her daughter Sarah continued.
We felt that we had to come and say our goodbyes since she had been a constant in both my life and my mother’s life.
However, the two almost missed the once-in-a-lifetime chance to say their last farewell to the Queen since they took the incorrect path before they finally spotted the line.
One disgruntled mourner who had been waiting for two hours told Sky News that if they hadn’t gotten lost, they may also have joined the line. We travelled the wrong route, but if we hadn’t, we probably would have been there on time, the woman said. I’m really devastated.
We didn’t have the opportunity [to arrive sooner] due to job and other obligations, which is annoying. We just showed up at the last minute with the hopes of succeeding.
Another individual complained to the steward about how the queue was cut off just as she was about to join. She explained to him how they had waited till the line thinned off since their friend was a Scout with “learning challenges” and the accessible line had been shut down.
People who nearly missed the opportunity to pay their respects were visibly distraught, but the audience cheered when Christine and Sarah were led to the front of the line.
Since yesterday morning, people had been warned not to join the line since it would be blocked at an unknown time once it reached its “final capacity.”
And yesterday night at 10:41 p.m., representatives from the Department of Culture, Media, and Sport informed the public that joining was no longer an option.
A long, slow procession through central London to enter the solemn hall in subzero temperatures was embraced by citizens from every sphere of British society, including celebrities like David Beckham, who waited 14 hours from 2 a.m. to join it, and a war veteran of 96 who saw the Queen’s grandfather lying in state in 1936.
The Queen had elevated the country through its most recent crisis, Covid, and its early years when Britain had to struggle with a country rebuilding from a global war, according to practically everyone who managed to get into the official line, where you were handed a bracelet to retain your position.
It will also go down in history as a remembrance of the Queen’s great-grandfather, King George V, who lay in state for five days in 1936, King George VI for five days in 1952, and Winston Churchill for three days in 1965.
The line, which has given rise to the notion that British people like waiting in lines, also included a man rushing to the Queen’s coffin at the conclusion and other individuals needing medical attention after passing out due to the prolonged wait.
The Prince of Wales said yesterday that the number of people waiting hours in line to see his grandmother’s casket in Westminster Hall would astonish her.
Speaking to mourners in line, the heir to the throne said, “This is fantastic. She would never take this seriously.
I hope you’re all talking among yourselves because even in death she unifies everyone and brings everyone together.