The Queue was Great British loyalty at its best – I tracked down the people I waited with one year on

One year on and with a new monarch, Sian Elvin spoke to the people she viewed Queen Elizabeth II’s lying in state with about their memories (Picture: Supplied / Sian Elvin / BBC / Getty Images)

Almost exactly one year ago on September 15, my alarm went off at 4am and I wondered what on Earth I was doing.

I was exhausted after working days and nights on the coverage of the death of Queen Elizabeth II, who died aged 96 on September 8, 2022.

But I’d decided it was the time to embrace what is still possibly one of the most quintessentially British phenomenons of all time – The Queue.

In case you were living under a rock at that time, The Queue was a gargantuan line of mourners waiting to file past the late monarch who was lying in state for four-and-a-half days.

It snaked a length of 10 miles (16km), and people waited up to 24 hours to get inside Westminster Hall for a momentary glimpse of the royal coffin.

Around a quarter of a million people are estimated to have paid their respects, and the fervour surrounding the ritual reinforced a globally held stereotype: that Brits love queueing.

The Queue was not without controversy – with This Morning presenters Holly Willoughby and the now-disgraced Phillip Schofield being accused of ‘queue-jumping’ by using media passes to get into Westminster Hall.

Sian pictured with her boyfriend Chris McKeon as they got closer to Westminster Hall (Picture: Sian Elvin)

What the four-hour long line looked like just before 6am on September 15 (Picture: Sian Elvin)

The online map of The Queue showing its length was viewed across the world millions of times (Picture: Gov.uk)

But of course, because I’m British, a great queuer, wanted to be part of a piece of history and well – for journalism, I gave it a go too.

What I didn’t expect from The Queue was to make lasting connections and have strangely fond memories of the entire experience.

I joined the back of the line at around 6am and was queuing for around four-and-a-half hours before reaching the front, which appeared to be pretty good going compared to some.

There was not a not a lot to do during those hours of waiting, so naturally – after we all woke up a bit – those of us in The Queue together started to chat, and eventually swapped contact details to stay in touch.

So one year on and with a new monarch, I decided to see how the people I queued with are now, and what their memories are of that historic time.

Author Andrew Halas, 71, found the time to talk to me fresh from writing his second children’s book, after having recently published the first when we met in the line.

Reflecting on September 15, he told Metro.co.uk: ‘I remember not sleeping very well that night because I had to catch the earliest train possible to get to London – as the stories of the long queues were now everywhere.

Andrew Halas pictured waiting in The Queue near Westminster Hall (Picture: Sian Elvin)

Andrew, now 71, pictured now with his book The Adventures of Harry Alliss (Picture: Andrew Halas)

‘When I got to the end of The Queue down at Westminster Bridge, a steward said you’ll still have another four hours of queuing left.

‘Could that be possibly true? As it turned out we queued for around six hours in total. Had I come the following day that time could have tripled or even quadrupled!’

He said everyone was ‘surprisingly friendly’ with ‘no moaning or groaning’ about the length of time it was taking.

‘It was all very well mannered, respectful of the occasion,’ Andrew added.

‘There was a bond of camaraderie descending upon us and that feeling of a shared experience for one and all.

‘Everyone appeared to be aware of the historic nature of the day and was looking forward to it. It was a magical day despite its deep reverential significance over the loss of our Queen.’

Sarah McKeon, 31, spoke to me having just returned from a holiday in France.

‘I have some really fond memories of being in The Queue for the lying in state,’ the charity worker told Metro.co.uk. ‘In particular getting to know the people we queued with, and how people from all over the world came to pay their respects.

Sian, Chris and Sarah McKeon pictured when they joined the back of The Queue (Picture: Sarah McKeon)

Sarah, now 31, pictured on holiday in France this year (Picture: Sarah McKeon)

At one point people were waiting in line for 24 hours (Picture: NurPhoto / Shutterstock)

‘It was really special and I’m glad that I got to experience it. I still have the wristband from the day.’

Walking through the door and into Westminster Hall was a moment I will never forget. From the hushed silence to the glittering crown jewels on top of the coffin, every part seemed momentous.

Andrew, who I was stood with as we viewed the coffin, added: ‘I experienced the changing of the guard in the Great Hall with all the formality of the military process.

‘I was standing directly in front of the Queen’s coffin mounted on its raised platform at that moment, and it was a mesmerising spectacle.’

The Queen’s funeral, just a few days later on September 19, also had a ‘lasting impact’ on him.

‘I watched it with utter fascination in the knowledge that I was watching something so historic,’ he said.

Sian, pictured bottom right, leaving Westminster Hall after viewing the Queen lying in state (Picture: BBC)

Sian’s report in the Metro newspaper following her experience in The Queue (Picture: Sian Elvin)

In the last year, Andrew said he has missed the Queen’s ‘integrity’.

He explained: ‘Since I lived my entire life with one solitary monarch I always had that feeling of constancy about British life. The Queen was there and somehow it always felt very reassuring.

‘No person in my lifetime who presided in public office has done more to promote Britain and its core values than the Queen.’

In the past year we’ve also seen the coronation of King Charles III – a once-in-a-lifetime event for many. Andrew would have been very young when the Queen was crowned, and wouldn’t remember it.

‘I very much doubt that I will ever see another somehow,’ he said. ‘A very historic moment – all that pageantry and history rolled into one spectacular event.

‘Even the military parades are done with such panache that they don’t look overtly militaristic. I don’t know of any country in the world which could lay on a performance like that.’

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Sarah added: ‘I thought the coronation was also really interesting to watch especially as some of the rituals have been going for a thousand years.

‘I think Charles did a great job in it and in his reign so far – he definitely learned from the best.’

Andrew said he doesn’t ‘envy him as at his age to take on the office of state’, but thinks he ‘will take his duties seriously’ throughout his reign.

‘Charles is slightly older than I am, so I have seen his grow and mature,’ he explained. ‘He’s made mistakes and perhaps isn’t a perfect role model.

‘The Queen was young when she started her reign and could learn and adapt. Its not that easy when you are in your senior years. I wish him well.’

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‘A camaraderie descended upon us – that feeling of a shared experience for one and all.’