After a state funeral attended by world leaders and a historic final ceremonial procession through crowded London streets, Queen Elizabeth II will be laid to rest on Monday.
The last of the people arrived at Westminster Hall in parliament after standing in line all night to view the queen’s casket before the doors closed at 6:30 am (0530 GMT).
The final person through the doors was Chrissy Heerey, a serving member of the Royal Air Force who joined the lengthy wait twice. She called the experience “wonderful.”
“When they came to me and said, ‘right, you’re the last person’, I said, really?!” she said before heading off to join the crowds for the coffin’s procession through central London.
“A long day but very well worth it. It’s nothing compared to what the queen has done for the country.”
After a year of deteriorating health, the longest-reigning monarch in British history passed away on September 8 at Balmoral, her Scottish Highland home. She was 96.
Her 73-year-old eldest son, King Charles III, succeeded her. Late on Sunday, he declared that he and his wife, Queen Consort Camilla, had been “deeply affected” by the outpouring of condolences from the people.
“As we all prepare to say our last farewell, I simply wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you,” he said.
For Winston Churchill, the nation’s prime minister during World War II, Britain last performed a formal burial in 1965.
Then, when his coffin was being transported up the River Thames by boat, the cranes that formerly emptied the wealth of Britain’s immense empire—which Elizabeth had inherited—were lowered out of respect.
In the six decades afterwards, Britain’s influence on the world has significantly decreased, and its position in the contemporary day is less definite.
To honor the only king that the majority of Britons have ever known, the nation will nevertheless delve deeply into its centuries-old traditions.
To observe the magnificent spectacle of pageantry and to show their final respects, many people have camped around for days.