Monday 19th September 2022 - London - The Queens Funeral

We were picked up by our Uber driver around 9.30am this morning and were taken as close as possible to Hyde Park Corner.  We would have liked to be on The Mall, but people had been camping there for days, and its quite a long way from any transport, so we decided the best place was Hyde Park, near Wellington Arch.  We walked for a while with thousands of others into Hyde Park, but realised when we stopped that we were not where we wanted to be, so started walking to the other end of the park - quite a distance !! The park had about 8 absolutely huge screens broadcasting the funeral.  We watched the procession to Westminster Cathedral and then the majority of the Ceremony, on one of the screens. The crowd was very sombre and the only real noise was the walkie talkie of the security guard, which wasn't appreciated by the crowd.   We then made our way further towards Wellington Arch, where the coffin was to be transferred from the Gun Carriage to the Hearse.  We weren't able to get right to the fence, again as people had been there since the early hours of the morning, hence, we were not able to see very much.  The crowd around us was large, but we were able to distance a little from others.  

We met a few lovely people, a mother and daughter who had driven the 3 1/2hrs from Iron Bridge, Shropshire, and a  couple from Los Angeles, who like us  had arrived in London yesterday. 

We could see some of the Guards and horses arriving to wait for the Gun Carriage,

 and also see the Security on the top of the surrounding buildings.

We were able to see the top of the Hearse as it slowly drove past, but that was all.

Once the crowd started to disperse, it was very calm, but everyone had to walk in the same direction for quite a long way, which meant, for us, that we had no idea where we were.  All the closest Tube Stations were closed and buses and taxis weren't allowed in to the area.  We seemed to walk for a very long time. !! Eventually, we were able to get something to eat at a Pret a Manger (coffee shop) in Berkley Square, where we stopped in the Park for a well earned rest. We then started to walk again, and were pointed in the direction of Green Park Tube Station, which had just opened. We had almost walked in a circle !!!We caught the tube to Leicester Square, and had drinks at a pub, The Bear & Staff in the Theatre District.

After such a big day, and so much walking we caught a Black Cab back to the unit, where we sat and ate and watched a replay of Queen Elizabeth II funeral.

We were a little disappointed that we didn't get to see more of the Pomp & Ceremony live, but we felt so privileged to be among the crowds to pay our respects to a truely amazing lady.