10 Seconds With The Queen

Screengrab from livestream coverage of the lying-in-state of Queen Elizabeth II.

At 5pm on Wednesday 14th September, members of the public began to file in to Westminster Hall, where the coffin of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II lie in state. For the following 109 hours, a continuous stream of people, perhaps as many as half a million, passed the coffin, before the doors of Westminster Hall were closed at 6:30am today in preparation for the funeral.

I was one of those lucky enough to lay eyes on the Queen’s coffin.

Having worked in Parliament for over 6 years now, Westminster Hall, which directly adjoins the Houses of Parliament, is a building I have walked through dozens of times. However, none of those experiences were quite like this one.

The Hall itself has stood for over 900 years and even when empty, you can feel the weight of history. Coronation banquets, joint addresses to Parliament by world leaders and of course the lying in state of King George V and Winston Churchill, have all taken place under its wooden arches.

Upon entering Westminster Hall, I was immediately struck by the sombre and quiet atmosphere. People of all ages and backgrounds had come from across the country, in some cases from the other side of the world, to pay tribute to a woman who has embodied the monarchy for their entire lives.

Every single person who went through that Hall will has had some sort of connection with Elizabeth II. Many, like myself, would never have met her personally, but were nonetheless inspired by her life of service and duty.

However, a significant number of those who walked past that coffin will have met the Queen at some point. Over the course of her life, she took part in tens of thousands of public engagements, meeting hundreds of thousands of people from all walks of life.

The coffin itself sat on a raised platform in the centre of the Hall, draped in the Royal Standard and guarded 24 hours a day by Yeoman of the Guard, Gentleman at Arms and members of the Grenadier Guards, the latter famous the world over for their towering bearskin hats.

And yet, these immaculately dressed symbols of Britain’s glorious military, facing outwards from the coffin, heads solemnly bowed, went mostly unnoticed by the passing crowds.

For atop the Queen’s coffin lay the priceless ornaments of the British monarchy: the orb and sceptre, along with the iconic Imperial State Crown, which is adorned with 2,901 precious gems.

As I got closer to the coffin, I noticed that each person had their own way of paying their respects. Most bowed, while some crossed themselves or put their hands together in prayer.

When my turn came to walk directly past the coffin, I slowly bowed as many others did. In that moment, all the other sights and sounds around me blurred out of my comprehension; I felt as if it was just me and the late Monarch alone in the Hall. I contemplated her reign and the momentous tide of history she had seen in her 96 years of life.

In all, I was only beside the Queen’s coffin for about 10 seconds, but it was 10 seconds that will stay with me for the rest of my life.

At 73, King Charles III’s reign will be far shorter than his mother’s, and some of those who have seen the Queen’s coffin last week will live to see both her son and grandson (William) lying in state.

But in all likelihood, the ceremonies for those two future monarchs will never be able to top the significance of Elizabeth, whose 70 year reign will go down in history as one of this country’s unbreakable records.

At this point I should disclose that the entire visit to Westminster Hall took me about 10 minutes as opposed to 10 hours, as has been the case for a large majority of people, who had to queue for up to 5 miles to enter Westminster Hall. This is thanks to my boss, a Member of Parliament, who kindly allowed me to have one of his guest passes so I could effectively skip the queue.

However, it is worth mentioning that the queue has become an event in and of itself, a sort of secular pilgrimage for those wishing to pay their respects to Elizabeth II. I can say with absolute certainty that even had I not been able to avoid the line, I would have gladly spent half a day queuing along the Thames for the chance to honour a woman who served my country until her very last breath.