Queen Elizabeth’s funeral: Holding the line became a marathon test of endurance and ­patience

At 10.41pm on Sunday (7.41am AEST, Monday), it came to an end when the queue to see the Queen lying in state closed to new ­entrants.

Christine Rogers, right, and daughter Sarah got the last two wristbands.

At 10.41pm on Sunday (7.41am AEST, Monday), it came to an end.

The queue to see the Queen lying in state closed to new ­entrants after hundreds of people raced to pay their respects before her coffin was moved at 6.30am for her funeral.

Two women became the final members of the public to pay their respects at Westminster Hall.

The women were applauded by stewards as they received their wristbands, and those behind them in the queue were dismissed.

“You are the last person to join the queue,” a volunteer steward said amid the applause.

“Oh, bless you,” one of the women replied.

Many others hugged and kissed and said “We’ve done it” as they were handed the wristbands that guaranteed their entry to Westminster Hall on Sunday.

Caroline MacIntyre, 70, was out of breath and had “scrambled” to get to London Bridge from Barking in east London after testing negative for Covid-19 on Sunday afternoon to be one of the last to join the queue.

“I would’ve come much earlier, but obviously I wasn’t in the best shape and didn’t want to leave the house until I was testing negative,” Ms MacIntyre said.

John Bradford, 51, cheered as he approached the entrance and said: “I’d hoped to be here hours earlier, but time tends to get away from me when I’m in the pub.”

Carly Bedford arrived at 7.45pm, her two teenage daughters trailing behind her.

“I’ve left it to the last minute ­because I thought the line would be more manageable on the last night,” she said.

“I also didn’t fancy a 13-hour wait overnight with these two.”

All had set off despite advice from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport not to make the journey because of queuing times, which had stretched to the best part of a day, or even two, over the past five days.

At midday on Sunday, the estimated wait was 14 hours. By 2pm, it had dropped to 11½ hours, prompting more arrivals.

By 7pm, it was eight hours. By 7.30pm, civil servants were conceding privately that there may not need to be any announcement about the end of the queue, because it seemed to be shortening and quickening. Maybe everyone who wanted to join had.

Underneath Tower Bridge at the end of the queue, stewards were calling out: “Wristbands here! Join this queue for your wristband, please!”

Sister Funmi Aghomi, who was among nuns from the Brotherhood of the Cross and Star, which has churches in London, said: “We’ve come to pay our ­respects to Her Majesty the Queen and we cherish her.

A woman is consoled by her family after laying flowers outside Windsor Castle on Sunday. Picture: Getty Images

“She has done a lot for people of all nations.

“We will stay in the queue for as much as God gives us the ability to stay here.

“Some of us may go inside to see her, some of us may not. Some will drop out. But we have seen some elderly ones who made it to the end, so we hope many of us will. It’s about endurance and ­patience.”

One of her colleagues tried to hand over a leaflet about their church, but she was quickly ­silenced and told: “We’re not supposed to do that here.”

The sister said they would spend their time “talking, making friends and sharing the word of God between ourselves”.

On Saturday, St John Ambulance said 259 people in the queue had needed medical support. Overall, 403 people in the “ceremonial areas” of London needed medical help on Saturday, including 19 who were taken to hospital.

Food confiscated from people because it was not allowed in Westminster Hall was donated to the Felix Project. It estimated that it would collect more than two tonnes of food, mainly snacks such as crisps, chocolate and biscuits.

The project said its mission was to deliver surplus fresh and ­nutritious food to charities and schools “so they can provide healthy meals and help the most vulnerable”.

Finally on Sunday night, the culture department said the queue was “at final capacity” and “now closed to new entrants”.

Tens of thousands of people waited for up to 24 hours to pay their respects.

A final changing of the guard took place early on Monday before the Queen’s coffin began its journey to Westminster Abbey for the state funeral.

The Times, The Australian