Death of Queen Elizabeth: Crowds flock to London to see coffin procession – National

Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin will leave Buckingham Palace for the last time on Wednesday as it is carried amid somber displays on a horse-drawn gun-carriage past crowds of mourners to the Houses of Parliament, where the late monarch spent four days in the state will lie.

Crowds gathered early on the flag-lined avenue in front of the Palace for the procession from the monarch’s official London residence to Parliament’s historic Westminster Hall. King Charles III and other members of the royal family will walk behind the coffin.

Thousands of people gather on The Mall in front of Buckingham Palace and on the banks of the River Thames hours before the coffin procession begins. People in the crowd cheered as Charles waved to them as he drove from his residence, Clarence House, to the palace.

Joan Bucklehurst, a 50-year-old retail worker from Cheshire, north-west England, said the Queen “meant so much to everyone”.

“She was amazing, yes,” she added, choking on emotion. “So we had to be here. We’ve stayed here a few times for special occasions but couldn’t miss this one.”

The crowd is the latest manifestation of a nationwide outpouring of grief and respect for the only monarch most Britons have ever known, who died on Thursday aged 96 at her beloved summer retreat in Balmoral, ending a 70-year reign.

“It is a very sad day but it is our last opportunity to do our duty for the Queen and it is our first opportunity to do that for the King and that makes us all very proud,” said Major General Christopher Ghika by the Household Department responsible for organizing the ceremonial aspects of the Queen’s funeral.

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Queen Elizabeth makes her last trip back to Buckingham Palace

London’s Heathrow Airport said it was adjusting timetables to prevent planes from disrupting the procession. British Airways canceled 16 flights as a result of the changes.

The airport said in a statement that the changes “would bring silence to central London as the ceremonial procession moves from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall”.

The troops involved in the procession have been preparing since the Queen’s death. So did the horses of the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery.

Sergeant Tom Jenks of the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery said the horses have undergone special training, including how to deal with crying mourners, as well as flowers and flags being thrown into the street as the procession passes.

People stood behind metal barriers or sat on folding chairs, umbrellas ready, take-away coffee in hand under gray skies hours before the coffin was due to leave the landmark palace at 2:22 p.m. local time.

Crowds have lined the path of the Queen’s coffin whenever it has been moved on its long journey from Scotland back to London.

Thousands braved a typical London drizzle on Tuesday night as the state hearse pulled in slowly from a military airfield into the heart of London, with courtesy lights illuminating the flag-bedecked coffin of the sovereign.

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Queen’s death unleashes a wave of complex emotions

Geoff Colgan, a cab driver who took the day off to witness the moment, stood stunned in the moments after the Queen’s coffin rolled by.

“It’s one of those things that you know is going to happen but when it happens you can’t believe it,” he said, holding his toddler.

Earlier in Edinburgh, some 33,000 people walked in silent respect at her coffin, which had been lying in St Giles’ Cathedral for 24 hours.

Hundreds of thousands are expected to do the same in London as the Queen rests for four days before her state funeral on Monday in the 900-year-old Westminster Hall, Parliament’s oldest building.

The Hall is where Guy Fawkes and Charles I were tried, where kings and queens hosted sumptuous medieval banquets and where Queen Elizabeth II was given ceremonial addresses during her Silver, Gold and Diamond Jubilees.

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Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin is about to be taken to London as crowds of mourners pay their respects

Chris Bond, from Truro in south-west England, was among those queuing on the banks of the River Thames. He also attended the Queen’s mother’s funeral in 2002.

“Obviously it’s quite difficult to queue all day, but when you walk through those doors into Westminster Hall, this wonderful historic building, there was a great sense of stillness and you were told to take your time take it as you like, and that’s just amazing too,” he said.

“We know the Queen lived to a good age and served the country for a long time, but we hoped that day would never come,” he added.

Chris Imafidon secured sixth place in line.

“I have 1,001 emotions when I see them,” he said. “I want to say, God, she was an angel because she touched a lot of good people and did so many good things.”