Thousands of people file by the Queen’s coffin silently paying a final tribute to her 70-year reign. People of all descriptions – young, old, healthy, blind, in wheelchairs, and on walkers – pass by. They either bow, curtsy, or both. Some cry. A man in a wheelchair halts when he gets to the coffin, using crutches to stand as he bows to the Queen for the last time. A little boy of 7 or 8 stands like a soldier and salutes.
For 15 minutes today, King Charles III and his siblings took up the guard. They paid a moment of devotion to their mother. They will pay one more at the funeral on Monday, September 19th.
Yesterday, something different happened. One of the guards passed out. The broadcast stopped until they got the man to medical care. Then the streams of people continued.
They say hundreds of thousands have passed by. These people pay their respects to a magnificent woman.