I predict a massive backlash to all this mourning once the funeral is over

[FayeGovan]

So far the media is all about how we are grieving as a nation and no other voices are tolerated.

Its a pretence that will come back with a vengeance.

The country hasn't been in such a bad way for a long long time and millions have been spent on mourning someone many of us had no interest in.

Its wearing thin and we aren't at Monday yet....

Not anymore.. according to you gov poll

I doubt it’ll revert

Yeah I really do. Most people I know don't give 2 monkeys about the queen or the royal family other than thinking it's beyond bizarre they still exist and are a huge waste of public money.

Doesn't mean they're not up for a day out. For those of us that live and work in central London we can't avoid it, we might as well join it.

In the same way I don't care either way about tennis, or the football but being in pubs when they're on the atmosphere is fab.

Sparse crowds in Wales to meet the new King. London gets the cover of thousands of tourists that fill up the crowds. Indeed when we were at the Palace up against the railings to see Charles and Camilla enter for the first time - more than half were foreigners and I was doing an update as my brother WhatsApp from Italy to me the arrival of the royal car. On that day maybe 3-4k folk tops but in the papers all the pics were cropped and the words thousands to make it look busier.

“Supermarkets shut all day on Monday, not on “.
It’s one day, stock up before, like we did when the shops closed on Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Yes, you read it right. Closed for two days. Shops also closed on Sundays too. We coped.

Back in 1978 I worked in a department store, it was closed for those two days as was every other shop in town. The Winter sale was to start on the 27th Dec. The store needed to strip the Xmas stock off the shelves to put the sale stock out so the staff were asked to work on Boxing Day to achieve this. The buses were on Sunday service do the stores delivery vans did a shuttle service picking us all up to get to the store. And took us home afterwards.
We did it. Quite enjoyed it to be honest.

I think the RF are mindful of the optics. Massive backlash agains the abuse Harry and Meghan receive in the last few days has made the PR folk realise they need to be seen to embrace them - cue headlines (spun by the palace machinery) that Charles has gone back on decision to not let Harry wear military uniform. I think Sophie will take Meghan under her wing and gently guide her, Kate was always going to be massively jealous of a more independent, more beautiful sister in law, it could have been predicted that she would have gone all 'mean girl' about the whole thing. Sophie will be gentler, I could see those two getting on really well if they do manage to spend more time over here.

You sound like a mean girl yourself.

@NC12345665 I don't think I am. I just work in the 'optics' business! It is all a show, don't ever forget that.

Also someone comparing today to the 70's and how they coped then is really not the gotcha you think it is.

Who is Sophie? I feel like this is a soap opera where I’ve lost track of the characters

Also I disagree about the jealousy thing. I’m pretty sure Kate is finding life ok

I think I’m getting a bit fed up with the ‘compulsory’ grief. Everyone I meet seems to assume that I’m as into the collective mourning as they are.

Yes, it’s sad - for her family - but her death makes absolutely no difference to virtually any of our lives. We’re supposed to be going into the worst economic winter for decades with people struggling to pay their bills and yet, an absolute fortune is being spent by the public on flowers for a dead multimillionaire! How about either buying some flowers for a lonely elderly person who can appreciate it or donate the money to a charity?

The sheer and pointless waste to me is far sadder than the death of a very elderly woman who had a full and privileged life.

@MarshaBradyo It is a soap opera isn't it.. a real life one. Sophie is Edward's wife. She had a life and her own business before she married Edward and there was a lot of negotiation about giving up the company she had built up. Like or loathe Meghan, she was a successful and independent woman pre marriage and I think Sophie could be a really good guide to her - they have been put to sit / stand together through lots of the events and I think that might be helpful. She seems a calm and kind person.
Kate has never really done anything with her life beyond university apart from slowly train for this role, she had so much less to give up, I don't think she could ever really have understood how Meghan would feel to be giving up everything she had built up and not have a voice anymore. Kate was still a teen when she got together with William. Also Kate has the most supportive family in the wings who will have helped prepare her for the shock of her new life. You can tell she is a tough cookie beneath the smiles, she would have had to be to put up with her 20's being scrutinised, analysed and gossiped about and to put up with William's naughtiness.

The Queue is now full up so apparently, there is a queue that is forming in the hope of joining The Queue when and if it re-opens. We are off to see this queue and The Queue hopefully it won't need riot police! When is a queue not a queue then that is the queusestion ? James O' Brien is saying that the park may well be closed to stop the crowd coming to watch the queue for The Queue so we may well be outside in some sort of curious genteel mob.

But you don’t just ‘not care’ about the monarchy. You actively want it abolished.

If I actively wanted to abolish football, I would also be out actively supporting it. Spending money in pubs with it on, travelling to bolster numbers at football events etc

I agree about football I don’t care but will get involved in national events. But not caring and actively describing yourself as an abolitionist, while actively supporting an event seems a bit odd to me.

Yeah fair enough, I see your point. I guess I just think it's totally unavoidable at this point, I both live and work there. It's bloody everywhere at this stage.

Doesn't mean if we ever had a vote on the monarchy I would vote for it to remain. I think it's outdated and a waste of money.

I was really just making the point to an earlier poster that just because loads of people are there, that's not a direct correlation to everyone loving the monarchy, paying their respects etc.

Most people I know are going to watch the circus that surrounds it.

I really don’t get this. If you don’t agree with the royals, why have you joined in with it all. As I said earlier, anyone who has joined in with the collective morning, either laying flowers/tat or queueing to view the coffin has added to the final cost of the funeral. If the anti royals are turning out and causing the costs to go up, they surely can not moan about how much the royals cost when they have added to that bill.

As I said in my post, I both live and work in central London. It's pretty impossible to avoid at this stage.

It's not really about turning out. I'm literally just going about my day as usual, with the added bonus of watching this total circus.

It goes without saying I won't be laying flowers, queueing or any of the other ridiculous things going on.

I really don’t get this. If you don’t agree with the royals, why have you joined in with it all

I agree. I find it bizarre that someone who wants a republic should join in with something they are opposed to.
I’m opposed to Tony Blair. There’s absolutely no way I would join a queue to see him lying in state or have anything to do with it.

We are not joining in we are going to look and walk around to get some fresh air because we live near London and we can and are retired. Are we banned now from doing that? It was a free country last time I looked.

Well quite Vera, apparently I have to sit inside my house now in case I am accidentally seen to be supporting this utter shit show.

It’s fine to just go and enjoy it, if that’s what it is enjoyment. No point if it’s going to make you angry

I was a 7 year old child at time of Silver Jubilee and agree recall shops closing and there being more reverence paid.

The people I spoke to with my friends yesterday whilst queuing were there because they wanted to be, one woman with MS and partially sighted with her husband, a group of people all down from Wigan, Anglo Indian couple with their 5 year old daughter next to us in Pizza Express. All wanted to pay their respects/combined with a day out. In fact, once passing the coffin, it was touching how many people were silent, bowed their heads etc and were reverent.

As @Dillydaffy says, yes I do think the RF are mindful of the optics, getting people to embrace them etc. They don't want the British public to think we see them as a media circus, falling in and out with each other, because this means basically that if this carries on, the RF will have to scale back and behave much as most European RF's do, where they can walk in the street etc.

The pomp and circumstance behind it all was amazing but as I stated earlier it wasn't signposted well. Yes her death was 'sudden' but it can't have been unexpected. I'd have thought they'd have signs ready for the streets. Lots of people including a woman bus driver using toilets at Pizza Express wondered why buses couldn't go down the main street leading to House of Parliament/Westminster Hall. So yes, I do think this has been badly planned.

I used to work in Victoria area and lots of shops including beauty salons/hair salons/newsagents were closed, maybe early, maybe not, but maybe to avoid trouble. I was with friends but we were sort of stumped for what to do in the area besides eat/drink/watch a film at Curzon Victoria Street. No idea if HOF still there or opened on Thursday night. And that is one big question, if you get there like I did, after work, meet friends, have dinner and then watch a film, if you still have an hour or so to kill before your viewing slot, what do you do?! I'm lucky that I stayed with a friend who has a flat in Bayswater last night but was tempted to get a tube/bus/taxi home, and after they'd stopped running. Doesn't surprise me but a bit shocking that 2 policeman were stabbed yesterday.

@vera99 - the queues today have been said to be massive, worse than yesterday. I predicted Friday would be busy so went after work, arrived about 6/6.30pm.

The one thing I would say, all the shops/restaurants/cafes locally were very busy (not packed) yesterday but by 11.10pm lots of people had presumably got fed up/tired and gone home. Which is why we were able to see the Lying in State 1-2 hours than our specified slot.

The Olympics were much better with free music at national pavilions all over the place. I watched the opening at the Swiss one on the river near Southwark cathedral with a show from some of the best Swiss bands leading up to the ceremony on the big screen. A high water point for the UK I think - that was some national party utterly brilliant and never felt more proud to British then. Then the slide to Brexit and here we are sadly. End of an era.

HofF has now closed down sadly but The Albert across the road is doing great business.