Queue for the Queen: A tiring, emotional, mentally and physically exhausting 14 hour journey for a moment I will never forget

That moment was when I stopped in Westminster Hall, turned to my left to face the Queen’s coffin on the catafalque and bowed my head. It was my final goodbye to someone who had been present my whole life, had led us through glorious and difficult times - and someone who had been a staple of my Christmas Day itinerary from since I can remember.

I have never been a staunch Royalist but I felt queueing to see Queen Elizabeth II lying in state was something I should do.

My wife Amanda wanted to go and so did my son Noah - so Friday night we decided to go. Earlier that afternoon, entry to the queue was paused as it reached capacity. That did not put us off.

As we set off on the 10.21pm train from Horley to London Bridge, we knew the queue time was dropping and when we arrived it was estimated at 19.5 hours. A daunting prospect. And after a brisk 25 minute walk to Southwark Park - where people queued to get into the ‘queue proper’ - we were enthused by a sign on entry that said it would be 14 hours from this point.

At that stage we were given a free blanket as well - that made us less enthused about the cold night ahead for us. In Southwark Park there was a great atmosphere of expectation as we entered Zone 3 where everyone gathered before being held in a big group. At this point there was no order and people were jostling for position.

Then in Zone 2, it became more of an orderly queue. And this was a few rows of ‘up and downs’ that lead to Zone 3, which was row upon row of ‘up and down’ and watching the rows ahead of you moving with hundreds of heads going one way and hundreds more going the other, it was quite discombobulating but a sight to behold.

We chatted to two lovely ladies - one who had met her husband in Gossops Green and had since moved to Inverness to run a tearoom and gift shop in the village of Drumnadrochit, which sits next to Loch Ness.

It was great to have that companionship as you queued and it made the two and a half hours we were in Southwark Park seem quicker than it was.

As we left the park and entered Cathay Street, we were given our wristbands and that felt like a big moment. And as we hit The Angel pub on the bank of the River Thames we turned our heads and had that Jurassic Park moment. Just like when Sam Neill looked in disbelief at the Brachiosaurus for the first time, seeing the Tower Bridge adorned in purple lighting was a real moment and lifted us ready for the next part of the journey.

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We snaked our way with hundreds others around the streets of Bermondsey, through the scenic Butler’s Wharf before reaching the aforementioned Tower Bridge. It was as majestic as it seemed from the distance earlier.

We had to go through a few more ‘up and downs’ at this stage before we suddenly came to halt just as we hit HMS Belfast. Now I must say the organization, the stewards and security throughout the route were all first class, but the only thing that lacked was communication. And it was at this point we could have done with that. For two hours from 3.20am we did not progress and no one was telling us why. It turns out it was due to a rehearsal happening. It would have been nice to know because at this point Noah was struggling and it would have been good if he could have had a nap, but we did not dare just in case the queue started moving again.

Eventually at 5.10am we started moving and made our way past Hay’s Galleria and under London Bridge to Southwark Cathedral. Again there was an unexplained stoppage here for around 45 minutes - but this went a bit quicker thanks to a rather strange outburst from a passerby who shouted at everyone in the queue about Brexit and economics.

There was also a queue jumper who started to enrage people - but this was the only time there was any negativity in the queue. The next couple of hours saw us pass the Globe, the Southbank Centre, the National Theatre, the BFI and the London Eye. We were told at this point that it would be between two and three hours more which actually was a positive message as we thought we had longer to go. We went around the London Aquarium before seeing Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. We went down the stairs to left of Westminster Bridge to go towards Lambeth Bridge and this where the The National Covid Memorial Wall is, which is covered in hearts and messages. It reminded me of when the Queen gave her famous speech during the pandemic which ended in ‘We will meet again’.

It was here we saw a lot of press set up - which I thought was strange as I thought they were all going to be in the final stage at Westminster. Turns out 60 minutes after we left this area King Charles III and the Prince of Wales made an ‘impromptu’ visit to mourners in that area, which was a lovely touch from the new monarch and his first in line.

After this we were quickly across Lambeth Bridge, into the grounds of Westminster - the final stage of our epic journey - and into the next set of ‘ups and downs’ where a sign told us it was two or three hours from this point. And it was here when the sun really started to beat down. It did not seem appropriate to moan but we were all struggling physically and all we wanted to do was lay down. But the queue did move continuously and as we passed 12 hours in the queue the layers soon came off and we prepared ourselves for THAT moment.

We had to rid ourselves of any food, liquids etc before going through airport-style security. Then suddenly we were there - at the entrance to the building. We walked up a few steps and turned left to see the hall. Again, it felt like a Jurassic Park moment - a scene that is now etched in my mind forever. I knew Amanda would be tearful but I wasn’t expecting to be hit by the wave of emotion that overcame me. It was hard to hold back the tears as we went down the stairs. Just witnessing the coffin, the catafalque, the crown, the Beefeaters - it was all very overwhelming. But the singular moment of when I turned to bow, I felt I was the only person in the room and it went completely silent for those few precious moments.

As we came out of the building and gates to be welcomed by huge crowds, the special meaning of what we had just done really sunk in. A unique experience, the likes of which we will never do again in our lifetime. Yes it was 14 hours, yes I am still limping from the pain in my legs, yes I am still exhausted from the experience, yes there were many ‘ups and downs’ - literally and physically. But would I do it all again for that one singular moment? Yes I would.

Thank you Your Majesty.