Hm Queen Elizabeth.

[Bikertov]

 

 

I wrote earlier that HM The Queen visited my school, around 1979/1980, and I have I found a photo of when she walked up the school drive, greeted by a Guard of Honour provided by our CCF (Combined Cadet Force)

Those of military background will observe the Lee Enfield .303 rifles, WWII spec ...

 

[Bikertov]

 

 

 

On Friday night, I went to sleep at 23:00, having set my alarm for only 2 hours later, 01:00

I got up, got dressed and picked up a friend just after 01:30 to drive into central London.

We parked easily, just around the corner from Parliament, and went to find “The Queue”.

Whilst we were near the front end of the queue, we were told the end that we had to join was nowhere near, so being that it was nearly 03:00 at that point we took a taxi and told the driver to take us to the end of the queue – Southwark Park.

Arriving at the park, we took our place in the first zig-zag “snake” of the day and started what was to become a marathon walk.

Getting through this snake, we were handed our wristband as the queue made its’ way out of the park, and started along the banks of the Thames, weaving in and out of various housing developments, old and new, converted warehouses and such like.

The start of the queue went quickly, but then we came to a halt as we hit the back of the main bulk of it. After about three hours of stop start movement, we arrived at Tower Bridge opposite the Tower of London at around 06:00 where we encountered the second of the zig zag snakes, and we hardly moved for the next hour or so. We stood there watching the sun rise over Tower Bridge and eventually the queue started moving slowly again along the south bank.

Over the next many hours we passed various bridges and landmarks, such as HMS Belfast, the replica of the Golden Hind, the Globe Theatre, Tate Modern and the London Eye, with the City of London and St. Pauls Cathedral on the opposite bank of the Thames.

After 7 hours, by about 11:00, we first caught sight of the Houses of Parliament in the distance, on the next bend of the river. We got to Westminster Bridge, and down the side of the Albert Embankment.

At that point we came to a halt and the queue turned into a crowd blocking progress that wasn’t moving at all.

Why the crowd ? Getting close to the front of the crowd, near the barriers, it soon became apparent why it had ground to a halt – King Charles and Prince William were doing a walkabout right in front of us ! I missed the King, but did get a glimpse of the Prince. I also saw on the green opposite us a good friend of mine who is a press photographer for one of the tabloids. He had got his shots of the royals, so I called him over and he then took a great picture of me in the crowds.

Eventually, after about an hour, the police released the crowd and the reformed queue made its way over Lambeth Bridge, where we had first arrived over 10 hours before.

By now it was around 13:00, and we got to the final leg of the long walk, the big snake on the green to the side of the Houses of Parliament.

For 2 hours, we zig zagged back and forth until finally just after 15:00 we got to the front of the snake and into single file and started the security process.

Clearing our bags of food, drink and other prohibited items, we got to the security tent where strict airport-style security searched and x-rayed our bags, we went through a detector arch and to the entrance of the Palace of Westminster itself.

It was now 15:30 and we were now walking up the stairs to the entrance of Westminster Hall itself.

In the lobby, we were told to be respectfully silent, split into the left and right side, two lines on each side, and as we moved forward we were now standing at the top of the stairs leading down to the hall and looking down to where Her Majesty the Queen, lying in State.

At that moment, we heard the loud ‘bang bang’ as the officer signalled to change the guard, a process that happened every 20 minutes. So we all stopped and were further privileged to watch the change with an amazing view, giving us a few more minutes of reflection taking in the scene and the atmosphere.

With the guard changed, we quietly walked down the stairs to the ground level with the Queen’s coffin sitting atop the catafalque.

I took my turn and walked aside the coffin, paused and turned to face it. I bowed my head, took a few moments of reflection and personal thought, bowed my head again, turned and walked away and out of the hall.

It was long and tiring day, but very much worth it. We made friends along the way, and I feel proud to have been just a very small part of history.

We had been in The Queue for 12 ½ hours, walked 22,000 steps covering 9 miles, and our duty was now complete – we had paid our final respects to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away 8th September 2022, aged 96, after a record 70 years on the throne.

May you rest in peace Ma’am, having served us proud, an exemplary and dignified rein.

Long Live the King !

 

[FairTmiddlin]

Just watched the funeral

How moving a service. What pageantry. Only the UK can do that

R.I.P Ma'am

[ExSurveyor]

The Armed Forces did Her Majesty proud.

Rest in peace Ma'am.

[FlyingFortress]

26 minutes ago, FairTmiddlin said:

Just watched the funeral

How moving a service. What pageantry. Only the UK can do that

R.I.P Ma'am

Got to agree with that.

As I have said before I am not a Royalist, but I found the whole thing very moving. 

Mrs FF is a Royalist so she put the TV on to watch it. I surprised both her and myself in watching the whole thing until she left in the Royal Hearse. 

Got to agree with the above quote that we really do excel at pagentry in this country.

Thought the AB of Canterbury spoke very well of HM ,he obviously knew her well.

We are at OBYS and only one boat movement throughout the whole thing.

[FlyingFortress]

Just a question that I'm sure our military members will know the answer to.

Do the armed forces now have to swear allegiance to The King or does it automatically transfer?

[CeePee1952]

8 minutes ago, FlyingFortress said:

Just a question that I'm sure our military members will know the answer to.

Do the armed forces now have to swear allegiance to The King or does it automatically transfer?

The allegiance is to the queen and her heirs etc when she was alive so that will stay in place for the current serving armed forces, all new recruits will swear allegiance to the King and his heirs.  I believe RN officers do not have to swear the allegiance?

Chris (Ex Army of 23 years)

[FlyingFortress]

Thanks Chris 

[Bikertov]

I just heard that the Grenadier Guards don't make a Loyal Toast, as their allegiance to the Monarch is never in question  

[Chelsea14Ian]

The Queen is almost home in Windsor. A truly  moving and unforgettable day.As others have said,all thr armed  forces have done the country  proud.The Queen served the country,the commonwealth and indeed the world well.And today the country and beyond paid tribute to the her.

RIP Ma'am 🙏. 

[andyg]

9 minutes ago, Bikertov said:

I just heard that the Grenadier Guards don't make a Loyal Toast, as their allegiance to the Monarch is never in question  

Very true my nephew is a guard. 

[RS2021]

As a Lancastrian the loyal toast stays the same - 'The Duke of Lancaster'

[Bikertov]

22 minutes ago, andyg said:

Very true my nephew is a guard. 

Immense pride in not just the Guards but all the military taking part today  

Difficult to find words to do justice to them  

Watching the final procession up to Windsor, with the haunting sound of the pipes playing. 

It is also moving to see their weapons pointing backwards ('Reverse Arms') in a sign of mourning 

[grendel]

well I have just sat and watched 8 hours of TV, the most tv i have watched in over 2 years, and i found the whole thing profoundly moving. I found the entire pageantry of the event first class, done as only the british military and church can do things, on perfect time, and with all the due pomp and glory.

[Paul]

And so the nation has paid it’s final respects, said it’s last goodbyes to a monarch who has served our nation for longer than I have been alive. When Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II ascended the throne Britain was, to put it bluntly in something of a mess. We, or should I say they, as I personally will not play a part in this story for another decade or so, were still subject to food rationing. There were still steam trains and people used them because very few had cars. Few even had televisions and most who had bought them specifically for the coverage of her coronation. The Empire was in decline and in many aspects Victorian values pervaded through the monarchy and the nation as a whole.

 

Her Majesty oversaw the inevitable break up of the Empire, the end of imperialism and the development of the Commonwealth, so beloved of her. She led the modernisation of the monarchy helped in no small part by developments in television. For the first time ever the Monarch was in our house at tea time, we followed her on her tours within this country and overseas. We saw her playing with her children, then grand children.

 

I was born into a family which had immense respect for the Royal Family. I fear to use words such as royalist and republican which have become the rhetoric of hatred and intolerance, the very things which Her Majesty stood against. When a news item came on the television featuring the Queen or other members of the royal family then everyone shut up and listened. If not we got a “flea in our ear”. Christmas day was scheduled around seeing them attend church in the morning and watching Her Majesty’s speech in the afternoon. Still to this day Christmas is not complete in this house without these events, even though those who bought these traditions to me are now themselves long since gone and courtesy of the press we know exactly what she was going to say. Still, the act of watching the speech was an act of continuity, a remembrance of parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles who in years gone by sat and watched with us. Those parents and aunts and uncles were much of an age with Her Majesty and the last of them passed away a few years ago now. For me personally the loss of the Queen is very much an underlining of the passage of that generation, a sad day and one which I am not embarrassed to say has bought a tear to my eye on several occasions today.

 

The pavane is completed, the entwinement of duty, ceremony and pageant come to an end. The Queens coffin now rests in the vault of her family chapel, alongside her parents and her beloved husband. May winged angels sweep you to your rest Ma’am, you have earned it many times over.

 

[ExSurveyor]

Her Majesty's final journey into St Georges Chapel Windsor.

Going home.

[Bikertov]

2 hours ago, andyg said:

Very true my nephew is a guard. 

It looked like a large proportion of the Regiment took part today, between Westminster and Windsor 

[FairTmiddlin]

Maybe also respect should be given to the 10,000 ish police officers from all over the UK. Who came stood on duty and saw nothing.

Also to the volunteers who made part of the pageantry i.e the British Legion Flag Bearers at the Cenotaph.

[Bikertov]

25 minutes ago, FairTmiddlin said:

Maybe also respect should be given to the 10,000 ish police officers from all over the UK. Who came stood on duty and saw nothing.

Also to the volunteers who made part of the pageantry i.e the British Legion Flag Bearers at the Cenotaph.

Very true  

I saw and spoke to many police officers from all over the UK when I was in The Queue on Saturday  

They had all volunteered to come down for the weekend, and offer their support in what must have been the biggest and most important event of our lifetime 

[FlyingFortress]

3 hours ago, Bikertov said:

Very true  

I saw and spoke to many police officers from all over the UK when I was in The Queue on Saturday  

They had all volunteered to come down for the weekend, and offer their support in what must have been the biggest and most important event of our lifetime 

Just salute everyone that took part in that magnificent display of Britishness.

[Bikertov]

As I watch the repeats and highlights, I just think 'truly outstanding'

Even down to Palace and Castle staff standing immaculately in honour of the Queen.

No other country in the world could have done this for their Head of State, and the Heads of State of the world were there to see it for themselves.

Without exaggeration - we will never see the likes of today, and this week, again in our lifetime, or ever.

[kpnut]

While watching on the small tv screen on the boat and therefore not seeing anything clearly, it was ‘just an occasion’ to me.
But now, seeing the photos on the bbc website of the total sadness on the faces of those in the Royal family it finally hit home.
And I’m glad it has. 

[Chelsea14Ian]

We as a nation  can and do show our respects,sadness and grieve with dignity. That was shown not only today but every  day since her passing.

What we need to do now is bottle that spirit and give to those in need.The world would be a better place.

[DAVIDH]

The day showed the world the best of our nation, we've embarassed ourselves enough over the last few years. Not the arguing and rows of politics, just the country (mostly) coming together in grief at the loss of "the mother of the nation".

[Polly]

Immensely moving. God bless Ma’am