OUR QUEEN
Thousands of mourners line the Mall for Queen’s funeral with all public viewing areas FULL in hours
THOUSANDS of mourners lined the Mall this morning - completely filling all public viewing areas hours before the Queen’s funeral.
Crowds of people arrived in London in the early hours to make sure they could be part of the historical day.
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The public streamed out of nearby Green Park tube station road close to Buckingham Palace.
The long walk to Windsor Castle is filled with people standing and sitting on camping chairs wanting to pay their respects to Her Majesty.
They are hoping to get a good spot to witness The Queen on her final procession before her coffin is lowered into the royal vault.
Some mourners in the crowd are wearing medals, others are waving Union Jack flags and many are clutching thermos flasks.
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One sign being carried read: “She left her soul in bonnie Scotland to remain the monarch of every glen.”
London’s City Hall said public viewing areas for the procession of the Queen’s coffin from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch were full hours before the funeral began.
A statement on Twitter said: “All procession viewing areas are now full. There is no entry to any new arrivals.
“Please follow the advice of stewards and police. If you are in the area or about to arrive, use the dedicated walking route to Hyde Park to watch Her Majesty The Queen’s state funeral and procession.”
The royal family, including Prince George and Princess Charlotte, were among the 2,000 people gathered at Westminster Abbey to remember the late monarch, before a committal service at Windsor Castle.
The family walked behind the Queen's coffin during the procession into the Abbey.
George and Charlotte walked with the Prince and Princes of Wales, followed by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and other members of the royal family.
The coffin, which has been lying in state since Wednesday, arrived at Westminster Abbey at 10.52am ahead of the funeral at 11am.
Hundreds of dedicated royal fans set up camp near Buckingham Palace to secure prime positions for the funeral procession.
Those who slept out overnight faced chilly weather - with lows of 10C.
It comes as...
- Solemn King Charles leads the Royal Family in an emotional procession behind the Queen's coffin
- Princess Charlotte, 7, and Prince George, 9, arrived at Westminster Abbey with mum Kate Middleton
- Meghan Markle bowed her head as she joined the Royals
- Prince Andrew wore a suit after being banned from his military uniform
- Two thousand mourners including world leaders gathered for the funeral
The Mall was littered with tents, sleeping bags and blankets keeping mourners wrapped up in the cold.
Tracey Hannam made a mammoth journey from the Orkney Islands after breaking off from an epic coastal trek of the UK to attend the funeral.
The 55-year-old said on Sunday: "To get here, I started at the highest northern part of the Orkney islands in a lighthouse.
"From there I caught a flight with just me and the pilot on an eight-seater aeroplane.
"I then spent a night on a yacht of someone I met there. Then I got the ferry to Aberdeen and finally got a 12-hour coach to arrive in London today."
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Tracey set up camp with pals at the front of the Mall.
"It's great being together as we all take it in turns to watch the bags while we pop to the toilet or get some food," she said.
"I do lots of work for the RNLI so it was important for me to be here as the Queen was a patron."
Meanwhile, Darran, who served a decade in the Welsh Guards, said he came to say his final goodbye to the Queen.
He and his wife arrived in London at 4am on Sunday to queue up to see The Queen lying in state.
Darran said: "The queue was very emotional, but we all were laughing and joking up to a point of no return.
"And then in the Great Hall it was all very surreal as I walked past Her Majesty one last time.
"For the Welsh Guards I used to be Prince Charles' mounted escort so I used to look after his horse. Being around the royal family was fantastic."
He added: "I have come to say one last goodbye.
"She was our Commander in Chief and she just is the greatness in Great Britain."
The Queen's lying-in-state officially ended at 6.30am this morning, with the last two mourners receiving the last final pair of wristbands late last night.
And Kara Jennings, 52, whose nan worked for Her Majesty as a cleaner, said: “I’m here to pay my respects to our incredible Queen, who gave us a lifetime of service.
"It’s great to see so many people already here. We’re sharing stories and making friends.”
Meanwhile, Bernadette Christie, 68, has travelled all the way from Alberta, Canada.
She said: “We all know who the Queen is — our grandmother. I don’t think we’ll ever be totally prepared for her funeral. There will be tears flowing."
Police began closing the A4 and A30 in West London at around 6am this morning - with full closures in both directions will be in place from 10am.
And numerous roads in central London surrounding the funeral procession have been closed.
These will not likely open again until this evening.
Among police specialists on duty will be divers, dog-handlers, mounted cops, motorcycle outriders and firearms officers.
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Undercover SAS soldiers are there, with Special Forces prepared to seal off London in the event of a major incident, while an air exclusion zone will be established.
More than half of the world’s population are expected to tune in for the state funeral — the first in Britain since Sir Winston Churchill’s in 1965.
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