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The first members of the congregation for the Queen’s state funeral have arrived at Westminster Abbey.
The great oak doors of the UK’s main church – where Her Majesty married Prince Philip and had her congregation – opened at 8 a.m., three hours before the service begins.
2,000 royals, world leaders, VIPs and hundreds of members of the public will be at the abbey, while billions of people around the world will attend Her Majesty’s state funeral.
And beyond the hardened royal fans defied the no-camping rules, as people of all ages set up tents, lounge chairs and even a makeshift minibar to grab premium seats for the spectacle that will see 2 million people pour into the capital.
And despite concerns that London will be ‘full’ today – and a lack of hotel rooms – dozens of people started queuing at The Mall in central London over the weekend, despite rules – seemingly loosely enforced – that people from setting up camp.
This morning, before dawn, stewards told campers to tear down their tents. Huge crowds have also formed in Windsor, where the Queen is buried tonight.
Several who slept in central London at night said friends and family told them they were “crazy” to perform the night watch, but insisted that they not miss the opportunity.
British minister Nadhim Zahawi was one of the first guests to arrive at the abbey
2,000 people will attend Her Majesty’s state funeral
A group, wrapped in Union Flags, camped on chairs overnight to be in London for the funeral
Crowds camp overnight in Whitehall and Parliament Square to await the funeral
Tents on Whitehall this morning in the shadow of the Women of World War II memorial
Mourners wrapped in blankets wait with others at Horse Guards for Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral. Many have camped
People slept on the floor and on chairs wrapped in blankets for the first state funeral in nearly 60 years
Members of the public camped overnight on The Mall near Buckingham Palace for a state funeral
The line of people sleeping in London was a few deep and stretched towards Green Park and St James’ Park
A pearly white king and queen along the procession route in London
Among them were school friends Christine Manning, 75, and Dianne Donohue, 73, from Leek in Staffordshire, who slept in a pop-up tent.
Mrs. Donohoe, a retired housewife and grandmother of three, said, “Yes, the advice was not to camp, but we didn’t obey. We made a good catch up, we enjoyed it.
“We slept in the tent and at 4:30 I woke up and asked Chris if she was awake, she was, so we had a whiskey and lemonade and a pork pie. A few more hours of sleep and then the prosecco.
“We had to tear down our tent at 7am because the police said we couldn’t, so we had to get a boy to help us.
“We’re out of pork patties unfortunately, but we’ve got sausage rolls and we’ve got some gin now that the whiskey’s gone – we’re shredded.”
Miss Manning, a retired waitress, added: “My kids said we were crazy.
“Well, “mental” is the word they used. They said we were idiots to do this.
“I said it had to be done.”
Mourners camped close to Parliament Square this morning
The street is being cleared ahead of Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral procession amid already huge crowds
The mall was a frenzy yesterday, as people arrived to lay flowers nearby, glimpse Buckingham Palace and Horse Guards Parade, and pack their vantage points for the funeral procession as it made its way from Westminster to windsor.
Tim Thompson, 35, from New Brunswick, Canada, and Charlie Shirley, 36, from north London, also slept in a tent in the Mall.
The pair became friends after sitting side by side for William and Kate’s wedding in 2011, and together again on Saturday in the same spot.
Miss Shirley said, ‘We do all the royal events together, it’s like being a family.
“I saw Tim at the Queen’s Jubilee and we said the next time we saw each other would probably be at the Queen’s funeral — we didn’t expect it to be three months later.”
Mr Thompson said, ‘I have four days of vacation a year for royal events, so I had to be here.’
American businesswoman Nicole Alford, 40, paid around £1,300 for a last-minute flight to London on Thursday and said she would stay until after the funeral.
She said, “You don’t come all the way here to see it on TV. I want a front seat of history.
‘My mother said, ‘I can’t believe you’re doing that.’
“I said, ‘I can’t believe you didn’t think I would.”
“Everyone thinks I’m crazy, but I got five and a half hours of uninterrupted sleep on my first night camping here, so I’m fine.”
Half-retired teacher Ian Rhodes, 66, and his wife Sue, 58, from Alton, Staffordshire, arrived at the Mall at 11 a.m. (SUN) yesterday to claim their spot – though they said they would be sleeping in lounge chairs instead of a to pitch a tent.
Mr Rhodes said: ‘The only other time I’ve queued for anything at night was when Stoke City arrived at Wembley for the cup final in 1972, and I was waiting in the club shop at night with my friends to get tickets.
“People have said we’re crazy, but common sense is relative.”
Ms Rhodes said the couple’s two adult sons were a little concerned that their parents would ‘rough it up’ in London at night, but said: ‘I told them we’d do it anyway – when did their mother ever done what she was told?’
Paulette Galley, of Boston in Lincolnshire, said she was determined to spend the night at The Mall.
The 54-year-old kitchen assistant, originally from South London, said: ‘I may not be sleeping, but I don’t care. She was my queen and I want to pay her my respects.
“It’s impossible that I wouldn’t be here.”