Everyone’s saying the same thing about the nine-hour long queue to see the Queen’s coffin

‘This is the queue that British people have been training for for decades’

Thursday 15 September 2022 11:44 BST

Queue stretches into Victoria Tower Gardens as mourners pay respects to Queen Elizabeth II

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Mourners have queued throughout the night to wait to pay their respects to the Queen as her lying-in-state began at Westminster Hall.

On Wednesday (14 September), members of the public were warned that they could face a “30-hour wait” to catch a glimpse of the late monarch’s coffin.

With the British renowned for their strict observance of queuing protocol, social media users have joked that British people have been “preparing and training” for this moment all their lives.

“Guys, check out this queue to see the Queen lying-in-state,” began one user on TikTok over a map of the current queue route through London.

“This is the queue to end all queues. This is the queue that British people have been training for for decades.

“If you know how much British people love a queue, this is it.”

Another user on Twitter added that that the queue was “a triumph of Britishness”.

“It is the motherlode of queues. It is art. It is poetry. It is the queue to end all queues,” they declared.

“It is a queue that goes right through the entirety of London. It has toilets and water points and websites just for The Queue.

“You cannot leave The Queue. You cannot get into The Queue further down. You cannot hold places in The Queue. There are wristbands for The Queue.”

The user goes on to note that there is a YouTube channel, Instagram page and Twitter feed all providing updates on the queue, while the BBC has live coverage of the queue.

It continues: “And the end of the queue is a box. You will walk past the box, slowly, but for no more than a minute. Then you will exit into the London drizzle and make your way home.

“Tell me this isn't the greatest bit of British performance art that has ever happened? I'm giddy with joy. It's fantastic. We are a deeply, deeply mad people with an absolutely unshakeable need to join a queue. It's utterly glorious.”

Another user commented that they were having “the British desire to go join it just because it’s there”, while another added that the “Elizabeth line is finally complete”, a reference to the new train line that recently opened in London that was named after the former monarch.

The Queen’s lying-in-state will end at 6.30am on Monday 19 September, the day her state funeral will take place.