By Chris Hillman
If anyone had told me beforehand that I would queue for just over eight hours to spend a couple of minutes to see the Queen lying in state I would have said, ‘I’d never do that’.
However, last week, that’s just what happened and do I regret it? Not at all.
My wife, Sarah, and I made a ‘spur of the moment’ decision to go on the Wednesday evening just after finishing our evening meal, even though we hadn’t considered it previously.
Westminster Hall had opened for viewing hours earlier and we thought we might regret it if we didn’t go.
I actually hadn’t expected that the passing of Her Majesty would affect me but, having grown up not far from Windsor, I realised what a constant she had been in my life.
I had seen her in person on a couple of occasions but nothing significant, and I had never met her, but, like many, I felt a sense of loss and gratitude for all that she had done in her life.
We left home at 8.30pm, drove to Westfield, parked there, hopped on the tube to St Paul’s, walked across Millennium Bridge and joined the end of the queue which, at that point, was outside The Globe.
It was 10.27pm.
A steward reckoned we’d be queuing for about three or four hours. Quite a long time we thought but we should be home for a short nap before breakfast so here we go.
The queue moved steadily and was very stop-start, so no one had chairs as there wasn’t really time to set one up before moving.
It was a very friendly and good-natured queue and we chatted with some lovely people that helped the time go quickly.
We soon realised that it was certainly going to be longer than the steward had suggested.
As we were among the first to queue, no one really knew how long it would take.
All the stewards, police and everyone involved in the organisation were absolutely brilliant, so friendly and supportive.
Although the queue kept moving most of the time, at one point it did stop completely for about half an hour and we were advised that it was because the hall had been closed briefly as they were doing a ‘dress rehearsal’.
Just what you wanted to hear at 2am, but it explained why we could hear bagpipes in the distance.
At that point we were on the other side of the river to the Houses of Parliament so the view was good and as anyone who knows the area will be aware there were lots of good views all along the route which also helped the time pass.
That changed with the last bit of the queue when entering the Westminster Hall grounds where there was a zig zagging barrier section, the snake, that went on for more than two hours.
The whole eight hours – more than double what we expected – actually went quite quickly, despite the aching back and legs and, once we were closer to the end of the queue and we realised that we were about to go through security and into the hall, I was surprised to find that I suddenly felt a little nervous.
I’m not sure why.
I think it was the thought of ‘We are actually here now, we are going to do this, how is it going to be?’
So at just after 6.30am we walked slowly into the hall and as soon as we saw the scene before us there was a strange mixture of awe, sadness and wonder.
The stillness and silence hit you and the colours in the Royal Standard and the uniforms of the guards keeping vigil seemed so much more vivid than on the TV.
It really did feel special and it felt right to be there and to be able to have the chance to pay our respects to someone who has touched so many people’s lives, including ours, in such a positive way.
I had so many feelings and thoughts that were unexpected and, like those we spoke to afterwards, we were so glad that we did it.
We were lucky compared to those that queued in the days following as I know friends that had to wait for up to 17 hours. Even with that everyone said that they thought it was worth it.
After we left Westminster Hall we walked to Buckingham Palace which was very quiet so early in the morning and then on to Green Park where the ever growing floral tributes were wonderful to see.
We then made our way home quite stunned by an incredible night that we will never forget.
I’m sure that I won’t be queueing for that long for anything ever again, but I don’t think there will be a moment in history like that ever again either.
