anyone queuing to see the coffin in London atm?

[DickDarstedly]

I am wondering how long the queue is and how the organisation is working out. Are there enough toilets? Is it true that the wristband allows you to leave and come back?

EDITED BY MNHQ Please find the link to the new thread www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/4635946-anyone-queuing-to-see-the-coffin-in-london-atm-pt-2

Ha! One of my twitter mates is already suggesting that we analyse the difference in the styles of clothes being worn at 'lying in states through the ages' (formal / 'Sunday best' vs casual, I suppose).

I'd add to that, ages of people in The Queue, given what's been said here. I definitely saw a 2 - 3 year old walk through shortly after 2am holding his mum's hand!

Last night I did see a man take a little tumble. Only down 1-2 stairs but someone came to his aid very quickly. He didn't cause much of a commotion.

3.1 miles now. That's nearly 50% longer than at 6am.

Bedminster I traveled from SW, waited for about 6:7 hours. Spent that time chatting with other people in the queue. Once we got it was quite emotional.

Like the pp who was taken Winston Churchill’s state funeral, it’s something I will always remember. Can’t quite explain the feeling of being there. Completely different to family funeral’s I’ve attended.

The city has an air of calm, quiet respect. StepDS was in an are nowhere near Westminster and surrounding areas. He said it was the same there.

Sorry, haven’t read the thread as you lost me at ‘the coffin’…

it’s not the London Dungeon ffs 😤

I think 30 hours is newspaper exaggeration of the worst case scenario. Friends in London were reporting a fairly consistent average of 5-6 hours.

I think some people queued up in advance to at the front of the queue (like the memorable gentlemen in the top hats and the lady in the big fur hat), so maybe '30' hours applies to them?

(I notice hats. Easier than faces and clothes tbh.)

If I had one last chance to pay my respects to her, and there happened to be 30 hours worth of people who also wanted to do so (which she would absolutely deserve, she'd amazing) then yes, I would wait 30 hours in the rain, wind or snow.

Hope you got in OP & are now snoozing at home!
I know someone who went at 1030 last night and got there at 630 this morning and found it a very moving experience.

I think because the queue is currently shorter / quicker than originally predicted, more people will go now and it will end up being over 24hrs!

I clicked on this thread because I was interested to hear from actual people there what the queue was like .I wanted to compare their experience with media reports .
I was also interested in discussion about reasons for going to see the coffin .
Is it not permissible to express wonder at those reasons and actions and do so by posting on this thread ?
Aren't we allowed to say we don't understand the motivations ? (As it happens I have my own ideas about why people go .)

Posters complaining about derailment seem a bit precious to me .Understanding could be a two way process -maybe show some understanding towards those of us who are bemused by the thinking of those who want to view a coffin .

husband started queuing at 6am and has just passed through now, so 5 hours in total

I'm no mad Royal fan, at all, but this post is rubbish, we all know the Queen worked very hard, all her life.

No matter your view on Monarchy as an institution, her personal sense of duty and work ethic was indisputable, even to the most ardent Republican.

Well, motivation(s): I don't think that everyone in the queue would necessarily be against the idea of a republic in time. I suspect that a lot of them are bowing out the end of an era, for their own reasons and with their own thoughts about the past and the future.

Others are saying farewell to the only monarch they've ever known and the only Queen they'll ever have. Others will want to be part of a historic occasion. Or a mash-up of reasons.

What I'm not seeing on the live-feed is evidence a notable presence of 'ardent monarchists', which is interesting.

I know somebody already said this upthread, but isn't it refreshing to see see a crowd of people without camera phones.

"I know somebody already said this upthread, but isn't it refreshing to see see a crowd of people without camera phones."

It is. It's also depressing to know that if they were allowed to take pictures, they would

peridito
People have said on here why they wanted to go. Why would they want to discuss it with those who don't want to?
It sounds like to want to debate (in other words, argue) the rights and wrongs of it, but what would be the point?

It really does sound to me like you want to change their minds. I imagine you are Republican.

I know somebody already said this upthread, but isn't it refreshing to see see a crowd of people without camera phones.

yes. just taking it in

3.5 miles now.
So if it was ~8hrs at 2.2, that would perhaps make it 12hrs now I guess.

They're not allowed to get their phones out in Westminster Hall - guards are telling people before they go in

I think the lack of understanding is more about people not able to grasp the concept of symbolism.
Perhaps it's not something that can be taught or explained. You either get it or you don't.

Had they been allowed phones though I would reckon a goodly majority would be snapping away.

The 'no phones, no cameras' rule is being enforced so well.

Funerals, and all associated activities, are not really for the dead but the living.

This is a thread that is a collective of people who do want to do this. Therefore it is a perfect place for posters to ask as to their reasoning.

Why are you being so rude to me for asking a question? Why are you being so defensive about it? It isn’t a derailment, we’re asking about the exact subject of the thread.

Do we know why there are so many 'VIPS' (people with black visitor badges bypassing the queue). Who are they all?