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Original poster

Has anyone been to the Lying In State and wished they hadn't bothered?

330 replies

Reallybadidea · 17/09/2022 14:38

Just being nosey really. I'm not the most patient of people and can't imagine queuing for hours for anything. Has anyone been and found it a bit of a letdown once they got to the end (beginning?) of The Queue?

OP posts:
Kendodd · 17/09/2022 19:33

I'm old enough to remember January sales at Harrods. It was always reported on the news when the first person had joined the queue. People used to sleep out for days in mid winter just to get 50% off some shite in the shop.

colouringindoors · 17/09/2022 19:34

ThreeRingCircus · 17/09/2022 19:16

I wouldn't queue for 24 hours, but I admire those that are doing it.

Honestly the sneering and looking down on people choosing to do something that you personally wouldn't is awful. Nobody is going to stand for 24 hours in a constantly shuffling queue unless they're really dedicated to what they are doing. So what? They're not hurting anyone, they are there for their own personal and varied reasons. Good on them.

By all accounts it seems quite a jovial and good natured queue and people seem to be saying they got something from it. What are you doing other than sitting on the internet bitching?

Queue or don't queue. But belittling other people by calling them stupid or poor says a lot more about you than it does them.

👏👏👏

SavingsThreads · 17/09/2022 19:34

The demographic I would hazard a guess definitely leans towards those on a low income or benefits.

To be fair, natcen measure strong support for the monarchy as largely female, older, and poorer.

MarshaBradyo · 17/09/2022 19:38

SavingsThreads · 17/09/2022 19:34

The demographic I would hazard a guess definitely leans towards those on a low income or benefits.

To be fair, natcen measure strong support for the monarchy as largely female, older, and poorer.

That doesn’t really excuse the snobbery and superiority on so many threads though

I say good on them. They seem happy. Probably happier than many getting put out by others

Kendodd · 17/09/2022 19:38

This standing vigil stuff, is that a new thing? I've never heard of it as a thing before .

BMW6 · 17/09/2022 19:39

Purplefoxes · 17/09/2022 17:01

Ok be pedantic all you like, great there are toilets I was wrong, but seriously still WHY WHY WHY ON GODS EARTH?! HOW is this a good use of anyone's time and money???! If you really wanted to pay your respects why not do something useful and donate to any one of the queen's favourite charities and benefit the still living whilst also honouring her??! If everyone had donated the price of their train ticket imagine the power of good that could have been rather than this sniveling display of sycophantic coffin watchers!

Show quote history

Who the fuck do you think you are telling people how to sound their own money and time, and saying they need their brains tested for doing this?

You arrogant narrow minded bloody bigot.

And you are NOT trying to gain some insight - you made your views perfectly plain in previous posts. You just came on here to display what you think is your superiority, but have only shown what an ugly person you are.

Feck off for yourself and take a long hard look in the mirror.

bellac11 · 17/09/2022 19:41

The vigil started in 1936 I think, it was new then

What is new this time round is that its with the grandchildren as well as the children of the deceased

RaptureGal · 17/09/2022 19:41

IMO, the ability for some to choose to wait 16 hours and accomplish it without regret boils down to the strength of that person's character. In contrast, those who are commenting negatively strike me a joyless folks who probably don't have the capacity to enjoy the positive aspects of doing something uncomfortable & difficult simply because it was important to them.

LinMortisanass · 17/09/2022 19:41

RomainingCalm · 17/09/2022 15:56

I suspect that there are more people who have queued and are now feeling disappointed that they didn't make 'friends that they would keep in touch with for the rest of their lives' since according to the news everyone else apparently has.

Or that they were unlucky enough to be in the queue next to Janet and Roy who spent 8 hours sharing their entire life history, the 100 walks they completed in the Lake District, Roy's bowel problems and the achievements of all their family.

😂yes I wondered about this. I'd be too shy to speak to anyone then go home and worry I'd not made the most of the experience.
I've written a little paragraph in our local book of condolence and I will watch the funeral on tv. I only just realised today that we're going to have to wait an awful long time until the next female head of state, unless we get rid of the monarchy of course. Makes me wish I'd appreciated the Queen a bit more while she was alive, if you see what I mean.

BMW6 · 17/09/2022 19:43

Kendodd · 17/09/2022 19:38

This standing vigil stuff, is that a new thing? I've never heard of it as a thing before .

First State Lying In open to the public was for George V I believe, then done for George VI, Churchill and Queen Mother.

I may have missed one

Purplefoxes · 17/09/2022 19:43

Scautish · 17/09/2022 19:12

I went and have no regrets whatsoever. I was able to use the accessible queue which meant I queued for less than two hours, I would not have been able to queue in the main queue and admire those who have.

However I really cannot fathom why anyone is questioning (in a very sneering way) why people do want to do this. Every single person has their own reason for going and every single reason is valid.

so I think those who have contributed here with their condescending, snobbish and extremely ignorant comments should maybe have a moment of quiet reflection- perhaps to question why they are so judgemental?

@Scautish I agree. We shouldn't belittle people doing it and I've probably been guilty of it. Lack of understanding! For me, I'm just very very surprised of how much good feeling there is still towards the monarchy and how people feel the loss of the queen so personally. Perhaps the jubilee celebrations have a lot to do with that. I have respect for the queen because she did what she said she would and was no nonsense about it. But there is a lot of dubious history within the monarchy (commonwealth, slavery etc) and I have much less respect for Prince Charles and Prince Andrew the Queen's sons and their chequered pasts. That has coloured my opinion of the monarchy a bit for me. I don't think it should be abolished but I think it needs urgent reform in a way that it can better serve the people in today's society. Time will tell if Charles is the man to do that. But it seems a lot of people cannot get enough of it despite all the other goings on, seems they can do no wrong in the eyes of many of the public. That is what surprises me. However a lot of people's reasons seem to be a sense of duty or for the feeling of being part of something bigger and that I understand.

RaptureGal · 17/09/2022 19:43

Ok, this is my last post on this board. I did not strike out words on my last post but it was done for me. Same thing happened yesterday .

IcedOatLatte · 17/09/2022 19:43

Kendodd · 17/09/2022 19:38

This standing vigil stuff, is that a new thing? I've never heard of it as a thing before .

How many monarch deaths have you been alive for? 😂

SavingsThreads · 17/09/2022 19:57

RaptureGal · 17/09/2022 19:43

Ok, this is my last post on this board. I did not strike out words on my last post but it was done for me. Same thing happened yesterday .

@RaptureGal if you use a hyphen if puts a line through the text between two hyphens.

Kendodd · 17/09/2022 20:05

Its interesting the management of the queue. In that, they didn't have to have a queue, they could have done online times slots for people. Whoever decides these things wanted the performance of a queue. Maybe one reason for it was to give people something to do, maybe they thought without the queue people would just be wandering around royal sites and that would clogg up the city even worse?

MarshaBradyo · 17/09/2022 20:08

I’m glad they didn’t do online slots

Take it offline for a change. Let people interact and have the community aspect

It’s clearly been positive for many

BMW6 · 17/09/2022 20:15

Well if you had online booked slots they would only be a few minutes apart so you'd have thousands of people queueing up to get in at their time slot?

GoingOnce · 17/09/2022 20:16

To those asking why, I think the vast majority are there because of FOMO and to “see history” and to feel part of a collective experience. There’s no way they all feel a profound connection to the queen. Five Live had a bunch of men on who’d gone after work with some beers for a laugh and saw it as an endurance event to go the distance and say they were there. They want to be able to say “I was there”

This is quite a natural human response. But all this, she was such a lovely queen and I need to pay my respects is not the real motivator.

If the queue was an hour or so, I’d go out of curiosity and history. It would be interesting.

weatherwhirl · 17/09/2022 21:15

ShockedConfused1980 · 17/09/2022 16:24

But you know how long it would take?! Bizarre it’s all over the news.

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@Justtootired55 's post actually convinced me not to do it, as I was considering it - but that was when I thought the queue was "only" 6 hours. Now it's 12-plus hours, and having read justtootired's post, I've decided to give it a miss. Maximum respect to David Beckham though.

weatherwhirl · 17/09/2022 21:29

FetlocksBlowingInTheWind · 17/09/2022 17:06

I was all set to go after work, had my snacks and warm jumper 😂

But when I saw it was a 24 hour wait...sanity returned.

I went home to my warm house and comfy bed and slept like a log.

No regrets!

I was hoping it might have died down a bit and was going to go and join the queue today @FetlocksBlowingInTheWind , until I saw that it was still a 13-plus hours wait. So I didn't, but I'm a wee bit sad about that.

elizaregina · 17/09/2022 21:33

I feel so strangely drawn to the queue!

I almost want to join it to see if I can do it! ..an endurance test. .
I would find the constant shuffling hard. ..

moneybeingwasted · 17/09/2022 21:34

DropOfffArtiste · 17/09/2022 14:53

This is the weirdest snobbery. What is your point? Most people on a low income would have to be at work!

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I disagree….the few people I know who have queued are my friends who have had the time to go without work commitments! One of my friends is married to a professional sportsman and she just really wanted to go !

weatherwhirl · 17/09/2022 21:55

The wait is now 17 hours, according to the live tracker.

sunglassesonthetable · 17/09/2022 22:17

*The queue seems full of middle aged women in anoraks. And im mid 50s so i know what they look like. Its like a clash between north korea and asda.

@FayeGovan *

Everywhere you post you say sneery things.

I'm just thinking how all those people have queued and come out saying really positive things and you've just sat on here posting in a cloud of negativity.

Whoop you eh.

sunglassesonthetable · 17/09/2022 22:26

We shouldn't belittle people doing it and I've probably been guilty of it. Lack of understanding!

Probably???! 100%

Wow you've changed your tune @Purplefoxes .

When I left this thread you were shouting about people staring at a dead woman's coffin, it was all FOMO! UNFATHOMABLE! , Perverse!

And now there's reams of we should be more understanding and tolerant.

Cheers but don't mind if don't take you very seriously.

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