After the public outpouring of grief, the ten days of national mourning and the knowledge that a glorious and golden Elizabethan era was over, plans were put in motion for a Coronation. It’s now twenty four hours before the ‘Big Day’ and I decide to head into central London, to try and capture some of the atmosphere with my camera. I decide to wander around aimlessly, and begin in Covent Garden…
We’re tired, for sure, and our feet are aching but as we pass Westminster, there’s a surge of enthusiasm from all eight of us - because we know that we can finally turn right at Lambeth Bridge, towards the Houses of Parliament! And then I stare at the next line of zigzags, which goes on as far as the eye can see. This is ‘soft security’ apparently and although I don’t realise it, it’s going to take us almost two hours to get through. ..
My fellow queuers have come from Ipswich, Cheltenham and Gloucester - they all awoke in the middle of the night and either drove or caught National Express buses to London. I am truly in awe of their dedication to this cause. But then, as we discuss, the Queen was dedicated to her job for seventy years and so what’s a day out of all of our lives, if it means showing some respect…
Fluorescent wristbands are being handed out in a range of colours (quite randomly). Mine is pink and a kindly volunteer attaches it for me. It will be the proof I need to remain in the queue, all the way to the Palace of Westminster - about 8kms. I may be asked to present it at various informal checkpoints along the way, although I can hardly imagine anyone would try do anything as un-British as trying to push in! After all, this is what we live for, isn’t it? Queuing. And, by any standards, this is the Queue to End All Queues.
by the evening, to my astonishment, Radio 4 is reporting that the queue to pay one’s respects is already 5 hours long, and stretching across Lambeth Bridge, back to the National Film Theatre on the South Bank, where wristbands to join it are being handed out. By 8am the following morning it has grown enormously and is now stretching back to Tower Bridge…
It’s hard to put into words how many flowers, drawings, cards, flags and letters I saw in London’s Green Park on the Monday following Queen Elizabeth’s death. Of course, sometimes a picture really does speak a thousand words. Here are some of the hundreds of tributes upon which I gazed, that sunny September afternoon…
As I walk into the grounds of Green Park, I am caught entirely off guard. I knew there would be floral tributes. But this? The park is awash, and I really do mean awash, with flowers.It is a veritable sea of gorgeous tributes…I walk from mound to mound, reading many of the childrens’ cards and staring at their drawings. I am incredibly touched at the words they have written.
In front of the gates, people are stopping, both to place flowers and also read some of the tributes that are there - cards and drawings - which will regularly be removed and taken next door to Green Park. There’s a copy of a newspaper stuck within the railings, a picture of the Queen on the front and a huge caption stating ‘Godspeed, Ma’am’. It seems very poignant and fitting.
There’s a sober mood on the streets of London. People are noticeably more quiet, more ‘withdrawn’ as I walk the streets of Whitechapel and Spitafields. Digital adverts at the London bus stops have been replaced with Elizabeth II’s image. There are notices in shop windows, edged in black, offering commiserations. Last night, at Piccadilly Circus, the famous electronic board that usually advertises big brands was illuminated with her image.
But this feels very different. This feels ‘personal’ and - in the days that follow - I will learn that millions of people around the country (and the world) feel as I do - that we really did like the Queen, admire the Queen, and have great respect for the Queen. The fact is that the most famous woman in the world (a brand bigger than Nike or Coca Cola), instantly recognisable with her smile and trademark handbag, diplomatic, discerning and also dazzling, is gone…
