The Brits are famous for patiently queuing. Now they may have formed the longest line in their history. The line of mourners to bid the late Queen farewell reached its maximum extent yesterday morning. From Southwark Park it wound along the south bank of the Thames to Parliament, where the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II is publicly laid out in Westminster Hall. That’s a distance of five miles or eight kilometers. For the thousands who lined up, that means a wait of at least 14 hours. Some estimate 30 hours.
People come from all over the country, if not the world. The siblings Sanjay and Sardah have traveled from Mauritius. Why do you want to pay your respects to the monarch? “She was our grandmother,” says Sanjay. Retired judge Esme Martins doesn’t mind waiting in line for hours. “You make friends with the people around you,” he says. “We exchanged phone numbers.” The mood is “quiet and sad, but there is also a feeling that we are celebrating a great life”.
Mobile outhouse
Doctoral student Anoushka Alexander-Rose had no intention of being included. The 25-year-old had neither water nor a coat with her and had not fed her cat beforehand. She just wanted people-watching, as “a kind of study of group mentality or performative grieving.” But then she was, as it were, drawn into the snake. “After two or three hours I thought, I can stay now. Then delirium set in.” Folders take care of people. Mobile toilet stalls have been set up along the route, which are used for a quick pit stop as there is a need to get back in line quickly. Restaurants, galleries, theaters and concert halls also offer their services. For some, the hardships became too much. On the first day of queuing, the London Ambulance Service had to tend to nearly 300 people who collapsed. There were 17 hospital admissions.
This snake has been hailed as a “triumph of British character,” as “the finest example of British performance art,” and it is indeed something quite extraordinary that is happening. No one in their right mind would line up like that, but so many want to. “They represent,” the Times stated, “the spirit of a nation that has suffered a loss.” It is estimated that 750,000 people will want to queue, but Westminster Hall’s capacity is only half that. It is estimated that by 6.30am Monday, when the coffin is brought into Westminster Abbey for the funeral service, a maximum of 350,000 patient queue-standers will have passed the catafalque.
Those who were lucky with their timing and arrived at Westminster Hall at half past seven on Friday evening could see the king: Charles III. and his three siblings performed the “Prince’s Guard” and stood around the coffin for 20 minutes.
The line will end on Monday morning, and the final act in the national tragedy will begin. A short procession takes the coffin to Westminster Abbey, where a service is held in front of more than 2,000 invited guests.
Japan’s emperor drives a bus
The state funeral is likely to be the largest rendezvous in the history of monarchs and heads of state. The kingdom has full diplomatic relations with around 160 countries around the world, and their heads of state plus partners received a handwritten invitation. However, some countries are non grata. Russia and Belarus, for example, are not involved. Other countries, such as North Korea, only received an invitation at ambassadorial level. There will also be an emperor among the aristocratic guests: Tenno Naruhito and his wife Masako come from Japan. Of course, like other crowned heads or heads of state, he will not be allowed to drive up to Westminster Abbey in a limousine. Because even an emperor has to drive a bus: the Foreign Ministry had decided that the VIPs should gather in West London, where they would then be taken by bus to the funeral service. The only exception is US President Joe Biden, who, because he is particularly at risk, is allowed to drive up in his armored Cadillac, called “Beast”.
Last rest next to Prince Philip
There will be another procession after the ceremony in Westminster Abbey. The coffin, resting on a carriage, is pulled by 98 sailors to Wellington Arch, where it is then taken to Windsor in a hearse. There, at the ancestral seat of the royal family, the Queen’s funeral will take place. She is laid to rest in the Saint George Chapel alongside her husband Prince Philip, who died last year.
Source: Nachrichten
