HM Queen Elizabeth II

[mikeprice]

We were discussing going down to view the coffin - in spite of the long wait

 

Decided that neither of us are well enough to stand in a queue for that long - I would normally be OK and could have gone on my own but have had a few bad weeks so it just isn't a good idea

 

We are going to suggest that the 9 year old grand-daughter comes round on Monday for the funeral because she is quite interested and has a lot of questions

 

and her younger brothers "SEN 5 year old and a nearly-2-year old) will demand proper Peppa Pig on telly

 

still having trouble talking about it all

Mrs mikeprice is even worse

[elsiegee40]

Queue is now nearly 5 miles long and being routed round Southwark Park

 

 

[Brax]

Queue is now nearly 5 miles long and being routed round Southwark Park

 

 

[ATTACH]66409[/ATTACH]

As of now, queue is at capacity!

[elsiegee40]

As of now, queue is at capacity!

 

Looking at the map, it must have reached the 5 mile mark. It was just short of that yesterday and a little less far into the park.

[6Foot2]

Link:

[Cabinet Office Tweet]

 

A National Moment of Reflection to mourn the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and reflect on her life and legacy will be held on Sunday 18 September at 8pm.

 

[6Foot2]

Link: Supermarket petrol stations to close for Queen's funeral - BBC News

 

Petrol stations at the UK's major supermarkets will be closed for most of the day of the Queen's funeral, before some reopen in the evening.

 

Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons will close forecourts on Monday before some reopen at 17:00 BST.

 

It is understood only a small number of Tesco self service fuel stations will reopen in the evening and customers have been advised to check local pumps.

 

Supermarkets operate about one-in-five of forecourts, but dominate fuel sales.

 

Independent traders operate about two-in-three of the country's filling stations, but only sell just over a third of all fuel, and the remainder is accounted for by sites owned by oil companies, according to the RAC motoring group.

 

"With many supermarket forecourts closed until the evening on Monday, our advice to drivers needing to refuel is to seek out a good value independent filling station that's choosing to stay open, or top up over the weekend instead," RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said.

 

The Petrol Retailers Association, which represents independent fuel retailers, has been contacted for comment.

 

Morrisons said that while all of its supermarkets will be closed on Monday as a "mark of respect and so colleagues can pay tribute to Her Majesty", its petrol stations would reopen at 17:00.

 

However, the majority of its fuel stations have different opening times so drivers have been urged to check if local ones are open on the company's website.

 

Sainsbury's said its filling stations will be open from 17:00 to 22:00 on Monday to allow customers to "pick up essential items".

 

"We thank our customers for their understanding," the supermarket said in a statement.

 

Major shops and businesses across the UK have announced they will shut their doors as a mark of respect for Queen Elizabeth II on the day of her funeral.

 

King Charles III approved a bank holiday on Monday for the state funeral at Westminster Abbey, but it is up to employers to decide whether to give staff the day off to observe the national day of mourning.

 

Shell said it would close its company-owned petrol stations between 10:30 and 13:00.

 

The oil giant has a total of 1,123 sites in the UK and owns and operates 526 of them. The remaining 597 are owned by independent dealers, which trade under the brand.

 

The company said its intention was the shut during the funeral service to "allow staff and customers to pay their respects".

 

It said the opening hours of its independent stations were at the "discretion of individual business", but added that the company had "invited them to also consider closing to enable their staff and customers to pay their respects".

[6Foot2]

As of now, queue is at capacity!

 

Link: Queen dies: A queue for the queue - mourners waiting to see coffin now placed in holding pen | UK News | Sky News

 

Mourners are continuing to arrive at the closed queue to see the Queen lying in state - and have been placed in a holding pen.

 

The official queue to Westminster Hall was closed after hitting capacity at 9.50am, with officials saying it would not be reopened for at least six hours.

 

Despite this, mourners continued to show up at Southwark Park, where they were placed in a holding pen. The entrance to Southwark Park has also now been closed

 

Before being closed, the queue had reached 4.9 miles long and the wait time was estimated at 14 hours.

 

Margaret Wallwork, 76, from Newcastle, arrived in London this morning and was placed in the holding pen.

 

She says she will wait as long as it takes to pay her respects to the Queen.

 

"She's been the Queen for as long as I can remember. She's been my Queen and she has served this country very well and she's a lovely lady," she says.

 

"I just want to come down and pay my respects - she's our matriarch.

 

"She's someone that I really admire."

 

Despite an estimated waiting time of 14 hours, Ms Wallwork said: "We're hoping it isn't because we're booked on a train for 8.30pm today back to Newcastle.

 

"Failing that we'll get on the train later tonight if we have to.

 

"I'm this far down it would be a shame to go back. I'm going to wait."

 

Paul Banks, 72, from London, said he will waiting in the holding pen for as long as it takes as "this will only happen once in my lifetime."

 

"It's very well organised in that there are plenty of stopping points and toilets so it's all organised," he said. "Should anyone feel faint there will be someone there to pick them up."

 

He added: "I only live about five miles away but most of the journey has been walking to join the queue.

 

"It's an extremely long queue at the moment."

 

Also in the holding pen was Annie Slater, 40, from Peterborough.

 

She said: "I came here today because I wanted to pay my respects to the Queen.

 

"Her strength is inspirational to me and having a woman to run our monarchy was incredible and I feel quite passionate about that.

 

"When I heard she had passed away it was like it was a family member.

 

"When someone in your family dies you go through grief on your own whereas the grief that we're going through now we are experiencing with the nation.

 

"It's a shared grief which I don't think we'll see again."

 

On the wait before her, she said: "The Queen did 96 years so I can do 14 hours." [sic]

[elsiegee40]

David Beckham is in the queue for the lying in state

https://news.sky.com/story/david-beckham-spotted-in-queue-to-view-queen-lying-in-state-12698889

[6Foot2]

Link: I'm from Spain and I have a job interview this Friday with a hiring manager from the UK. Should I offer my condolences for the Queen's death at the start? : CasualUK [Reddit]

 

[6Foot2]

Link: Queue to see Queen's coffin reopens but public warned of 24-hour wait - BBC News [Live news page and subject to change/update]

 

[6Foot2]

Find the carbs (slices of bread/toast) hidden amongst the corgis:

 

 

There are three to find.

 

Link 1: Full size image [2000 x 2000]

 

 

Link 2: Solution [2000 x 2000]

[mikeprice]

LAst I heard the queue was at 22 hours

down from 24 hours

 

 

Also the queue itself has become a tourist attraction - people are coming into London just to see and photograph the queue

 

could anything be more British than queuing for a whole day to pay respect to Her Majesty

I presume tea is available along the route

[bigstan48]

THE QUEUE

 

The greatest thing that ever happened is happening right now.

 

I don't particularly care either way about the Queen. But the queue? The Queue is a triumph of Britishness. It's incredible.

 

Just to be clear: I don't mean the purpose of the queue. I don't mean the outpouring of emotion or collective grief or the event at the end and around the queue or the people in the queue. I mean, literally, the queue. The queue itself. It's like something from Douglas Adams.

 

It is the motherlode of queues. It is art. It is poetry. It is the queue to end all queues. It opened earlier yesterday and in 5 hours was already 2.2 miles long. They will close it if it gets to FIVE MILES. it is FIVE MILES. It is closed.

 

That's a queue that would take TWO HOURS TO WALK at a brisk pace.

 

It is a queue that goes right through the entirety of London. It has toilets and water points and websites just for The Queue.

 

You cannot leave The Queue. You cannot get into The Queue further down. You cannot hold places in The Queue. There are wristbands for The Queue.

 

Once you join The Queue you can expect to be there for days. But you cannot have a chair and a sleeping bag. There is no sleeping in The Queue, for The Queue moves constantly and steadily, day and night. You will be shuffling along at 0.1 miles per hour for days.

 

There is a YouTube channel, Twitter feed and Instagram page, each giving frequent updates about The Queue. Because the back of The Queue, naturally, keeps moving. To join The Queue requires up to the minute knowledge of where The Queue is now.

 

The BBC has live coverage of The Queue on BBC One, and a Red Button service showing the front bit of The Queue.

 

NO ONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD JOIN THE QUEUE AND YET STILL THEY COME. "Oh, it'll only be until 6am on Thursday, we can take soup".

 

And the end of the queue is a box. You will walk past the box, slowly, but for no more than a minute. Then you will exit into the London drizzle and make your way home.

 

Tell me this isn't the greatest bit of British performance art that has ever happened? I'm giddy with joy. It's fantastic. We are a deeply, deeply mad people with an absolutely unshakeable need to join a queue. It's utterly glorious.

 

(author anonymous)

 

#praisethequeue

[hardtailstar]

THE QUEUE

 

The greatest thing that ever happened is happening right now.

 

I don't particularly care either way about the Queen. But the queue? The Queue is a triumph of Britishness. It's incredible.

 

Just to be clear: I don't mean the purpose of the queue. I don't mean the outpouring of emotion or collective grief or the event at the end and around the queue or the people in the queue. I mean, literally, the queue. The queue itself. It's like something from Douglas Adams.

 

It is the motherlode of queues. It is art. It is poetry. It is the queue to end all queues. It opened earlier yesterday and in 5 hours was already 2.2 miles long. They will close it if it gets to FIVE MILES. it is FIVE MILES. It is closed.

 

That's a queue that would take TWO HOURS TO WALK at a brisk pace.

 

It is a queue that goes right through the entirety of London. It has toilets and water points and websites just for The Queue.

 

You cannot leave The Queue. You cannot get into The Queue further down. You cannot hold places in The Queue. There are wristbands for The Queue.

 

Once you join The Queue you can expect to be there for days. But you cannot have a chair and a sleeping bag. There is no sleeping in The Queue, for The Queue moves constantly and steadily, day and night. You will be shuffling along at 0.1 miles per hour for days.

 

There is a YouTube channel, Twitter feed and Instagram page, each giving frequent updates about The Queue. Because the back of The Queue, naturally, keeps moving. To join The Queue requires up to the minute knowledge of where The Queue is now.

 

The BBC has live coverage of The Queue on BBC One, and a Red Button service showing the front bit of The Queue.

 

NO ONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD JOIN THE QUEUE AND YET STILL THEY COME. "Oh, it'll only be until 6am on Thursday, we can take soup".

 

And the end of the queue is a box. You will walk past the box, slowly, but for no more than a minute. Then you will exit into the London drizzle and make your way home.

 

Tell me this isn't the greatest bit of British performance art that has ever happened? I'm giddy with joy. It's fantastic. We are a deeply, deeply mad people with an absolutely unshakeable need to join a queue. It's utterly glorious.

 

(author anonymous)

 

#praisethequeue

It's the most British thing to queue and even more of a British thing to live track the queue.

 

It'll be one of those things that people talk about for years.

[mikeprice]

THE QUEUE

 

The greatest thing that ever happened is happening right now.

 

I don't particularly care either way about the Queen. But the queue? The Queue is a triumph of Britishness. It's incredible.

 

Just to be clear: I don't mean the purpose of the queue. I don't mean the outpouring of emotion or collective grief or the event at the end and around the queue or the people in the queue. I mean, literally, the queue. The queue itself. It's like something from Douglas Adams.

 

It is the motherlode of queues. It is art. It is poetry. It is the queue to end all queues. It opened earlier yesterday and in 5 hours was already 2.2 miles long. They will close it if it gets to FIVE MILES. it is FIVE MILES. It is closed.

 

That's a queue that would take TWO HOURS TO WALK at a brisk pace.

 

It is a queue that goes right through the entirety of London. It has toilets and water points and websites just for The Queue.

 

You cannot leave The Queue. You cannot get into The Queue further down. You cannot hold places in The Queue. There are wristbands for The Queue.

 

Once you join The Queue you can expect to be there for days. But you cannot have a chair and a sleeping bag. There is no sleeping in The Queue, for The Queue moves constantly and steadily, day and night. You will be shuffling along at 0.1 miles per hour for days.

 

There is a YouTube channel, Twitter feed and Instagram page, each giving frequent updates about The Queue. Because the back of The Queue, naturally, keeps moving. To join The Queue requires up to the minute knowledge of where The Queue is now.

 

The BBC has live coverage of The Queue on BBC One, and a Red Button service showing the front bit of The Queue.

 

NO ONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD JOIN THE QUEUE AND YET STILL THEY COME. "Oh, it'll only be until 6am on Thursday, we can take soup".

 

And the end of the queue is a box. You will walk past the box, slowly, but for no more than a minute. Then you will exit into the London drizzle and make your way home.

 

Tell me this isn't the greatest bit of British performance art that has ever happened? I'm giddy with joy. It's fantastic. We are a deeply, deeply mad people with an absolutely unshakeable need to join a queue. It's utterly glorious.

 

(author anonymous)

 

#praisethequeue

 

THE QUEUE is now itself a tourist attraction

 

people are travelling to London just to see THE QUEUE

 

as you say - it is a work of Art in itself

[nicholab]

It does not seem like Mat Reedmen or Tim Hughes are not taking part in today funeral. It does seem a shame there will be no modem style music as part of the service?

[elsiegee40]

It does not seem like Mat Reedmen or Tim Hughes are not taking part in today funeral. It does seem a shame there will be no modem style music as part of the service?

 

Often the deceased has had a say (before their death obviously) in what they would like at their funeral; my 85 year old mother has it written down. Prince Philip certainly did and I am pretty sure HM will have done too. I doubt HM had any particular fondness for modern music

Edited September 19, 2022 by elsiegee40

[LeMarchand]

Often the deceased has had a say (before their death obviously) in what they would like at their funeral; my 85 year old mother has it written down.

 

Mme LeMarchand and I have picked ours. Mine is "Bela Lugosi's Dead" by Bauhaus for people filing in (it's very long and will give the no doubt huge queues of mourners time to get to their seats ), an emotional one for when the coffin slides into the flames (this one changes from time to time, but is currently Mono Inc's "Trail of Thorns") and a comedy one for the end to lift spirits (not Monty Python, one that AFAIK isn't a common one and so not revealing it).

[FN-GM]

The Australian commentary wasn’t the best. They had no idea who Liz Truss was and referred to her as a junior member of the Royal family!

 

Did anyone notice that the young male members of the royal family wore dark navy blue suits. Prince George included. Does anyone know why please?

[elsiegee40]

Watched with my Mum who has the tv subtitles because she is deaf.

 

The inevitable bloopers kept is entertained

 

eg

 

The Archbishop of Canterbury mentioned a line from a Christmas carol “where meat souls will…”

 

And in the parade to Hyde Park Corner were “members of the tweens company”

[smurfomatic]

Mme LeMarchand and I have picked ours. Mine is "Bela Lugosi's Dead" by Bauhaus for people filing in (it's very long and will give the no doubt huge queues of mourners time to get to their seats ), an emotional one for when the coffin slides into the flames (this one changes from time to time, but is currently Mono Inc's "Trail of Thorns") and a comedy one for the end to lift spirits (not Monty Python, one that AFAIK isn't a common one and so not revealing it).

 

I'm "coming in" to Monty Python (cliche, I know) but leaving to Journey of the Sorceror by The Eagles - aka the Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy theme

[hardtailstar]

Often the deceased has had a say (before their death obviously) in what they would like at their funeral; my 85 year old mother has it written down. Prince Philip certainly did and I am pretty sure HM will have done too. I doubt HM had any particular fondness for modern music

 

The man responsibly for planning the funeral had been doing it for 20 years and had the full involvement from the Queen.

 

My parents have picked their music for their funerals

 

I've picked mine. Mainly on the fact that the accident I had with fire made me think about life a bit.

 

As everyone walking in: Stromae - AVF and Alors on dance (90s remix). Both played on repeat until every seated.

 

After a few anecdotes: Shakira - Whenever, Wherever and the IT Crowd theme.

 

As Im going in to be cremated: Rage against the machine - Sleep now in the fire

 

As people walk out: The Rash (local band to me) - On our way to hell

 

Bit of a mix but all have a meaning in my life apart from the Rage track... just thought it would be funny!

[jthompson]

THE QUEUE

 

...The Queue is a triumph...

 

...#praisethequeue

 

I found the live stream of the lying in state somewhat fascinating. I checked in on it at various points throughout (often in the middle of the night oweing to other factors), for a bit of people watching. I also caught the very end of it at 0630 on Monday and am of the opinion that the ending of The Queue is perhaps it's most underrated aspect: the know-how involved in pulling that off has to be world class, surely?

 

The last member of the public passed the Queen's coffin at, I think, 0631, with the various ushers and officials melting away with them to deliver the poignant image of Black Rod leaving the Queen and her guards alone in the hall. The decision to stop admitting people to the start of The Queue must have been taken many hours previously, and yet the last member of the public was ushered past within seconds of the 0630 end time. They avoided admitting too many people to The Queue (thereby overrunning or having to turn people away after they've already queued for hours) and yet managed to control the flow of people such that The Queue didn't empty too soon (bad look), and in fact ended at just the right moment. That's a hard problem. A bit like the fine control needed to bring an orbiting spacecraft safely back into the atmosphere and into the right patch of ocean for recovery.

 

America may be able to do space rockets (mostly), but Britain appears to have the best queue management expertise in the world.

 

Try it elsewhere and people will probably start getting angry, crushed, mugged or having to be teargassed.

Edited September 20, 2022 by jthompson

[elsiegee40]

Queen Elizabeth II: The Queue and the Cumbria expert who helped plan it

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cumbria-62930775

 

[Koldov]

The Australian commentary wasn’t the best. They had no idea who Liz Truss was and referred to her as a junior member of the Royal family!

 

Did anyone notice that the young male members of the royal family wore dark navy blue suits. Prince George included. Does anyone know why please?

 

I believe that any 'dark colour' is acceptable funeral attire, most choose black but wearing dark grey or deep blue is just as appropriate (some have said he wanted to reflect his father's uniform, but I doubt anyone will ever really know)...

 

Also I noticed the hearse (which the Queen had a hand in the design of - not the Scottish one from the Funeral Directors) was actually a dark red and not black. Apparently finished in 'Royal Claret', the same colour as the official royal and state vehicles kept in the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace and used by Members of the Royal Family on official duties.

Edited September 20, 2022 by Koldov