Tens of thousands wait all night to see the Queen as hearse route through London revealed

sky news africa

London

Tens of thousands of people have queued to pay their respects to the Queen in Edinburgh ahead of the arrival of her coffin in England on Tuesday night.

It comes as the new King, and Queen Consort Camilla, head to Northern Ireland on Tuesday for the first time as heads of state.

The Queen’s coffin will arrive at RAF Northolt in west London about 7pm on Tuesday before being transported to Buckingham Palace on a state hearse – ahead of a London procession on Wednesday.

Mourners have already started camping out ahead of the Lying-in-State procession which will take place on Wednesday afternoon in Westminster.

The procession will start at Buckingham Palace at 2:22pm and will proceed along The Mall, Horse Guards Road, across Horse Guards Parade and onto Whitehall to Parliament Square and into the Palace of Westminster.

Simon Armitage explains poem dedicated to Queen

10:04 , Will Mata

Poet Laureate Simon Armitage has said he used the Queen’s name in his tribute piece to her because it was a name the late monarch probably rarely got to hear as it would often have been prefaced with “ceremonial nominals”.

His poem, Floral Tribute, to mark the death of the Queen, employs the form of a double acrostic, meaning the first letter of each line spells out Elizabeth when taken together.

It is composed of two stanzas of nine lines each, describing the coming of a September evening and the appearance of a lily as “a token of thanks”, with lily of the valley having been one of the Queen’s favourite flowers, even appearing in her coronation bouquet.

Since then the flower has held special associations and grows in the garden of Buckingham Palace.

Armitage told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I was sort of staring at a blank page really, I’d had a few ideas a couple of years ago and lost them.

“And I just remembered that it might be worthwhile and interesting to try and write through the metaphor of the lily of the valley, which was said to be the Queen’s favourite flower.”

‘I spent seven hours in the queue for five seconds in front of the Queen’s coffin – and it was worth it’

By Jess Sharp, news reporter in Edinburgh

At around 5:30pm yesterday, Chauncey Hildestead and his partner Ryo Koyhyku were officially the last people in the queue – even if it was for just a couple of minutes.

The couple have been among tens of thousands of people to have paid their respects to the Queen while her coffin has lied in state in Edinburgh. 

Sky News spoke to them yesterday, where Mr Hildestead described the Royal Family as a “staple of life”.

We caught up with the 40-year-old ballet teacher after he managed to enter St Giles’ Cathedral at around 11:30pm last night.

“Honestly, for anything else, I’d have probably given up halfway through…. But for some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to miss this,” he said.

“There were no signs or announcements saying ‘quiet please’, or ‘no photography’, or anything like that, yet from the moment we entered the cathedral, it was utter palpable silence.”

Originally from the United States, Mr Hildestead explained how people “from all over the world” came to see the Queen.

“I really felt like it really showed me just how important she was to the lives of everyone in the world,” he added.

“I have never witnessed the degree of respect for a person that I felt in the presence of her coffin.”

Asked if it was worth the wait, he replied: “I spent about seven hours in the queue for perhaps five seconds in front of her coffin, and perhaps a minute in the cathedral. It was absolutely worth it.”

Former PM Theresa May reflects on her memories of the Queen

Theresa May has reflected on her memories of the Queen, saying she used to sit and play cards by herself at functions.

Speaking to Lorraine Kelly on ITV, Mrs May said Her Majesty did not like to be centre of attention at gatherings, and instead wanted to be “a good hostess” who “wanted her guests to really feel at home, to enjoy the surroundings as much as she did and be able to relax”.

Mrs May said: “There would be occasions when, perhaps, everybody – guests – were milling around, perhaps chatting to each other, and the Queen was quite happy to sit in the room playing patience.

“She didn’t feel the need for everybody to be paying attention to her all the time.”

Hopes William and Harry can now ‘put the past behind them’

Lord Archer, the former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, has said he hopes the Prince and Princess of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex can now “put the past behind them”.

“The strength of the Royal Family is as a family,” he told Sky News.

Tensions between brothers William and Harry have been well-documented in newspaper reports over recent years. 

Last year, Prince Harry began to address the rumours himself and in an interview with Oprah Winfrey confirmed the siblings were having some “space”. 

“As I’ve said before, I love William to bits. He’s my brother. We’ve been to hell together. But we’re on different paths,” he said. 

“The relationship is ‘space’ at the moment. And time heals all things, hopefully.”

William confirmed days later he had not yet spoken to his brother since the interview. 

The two couples appeared together after the Queen’s death, stepping out of a car to greet royal fans. 

Lord Archer said: “It’s good to see the four of them there, and I hope this will give them an opportunity to put the past behind them and move on and support their father.

“[King Charles] will need support at every level, not just from Camilla but also from these four. He doesn’t want to go to bed at night knowing that’s a problem. He’s got enough on his plate at the moment.”

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