Chris Bond, from Truro, had attended the Queen Mother’s lie in state in 2002 and hoped to have a shorter wait to see Queen Elizabeth, after joining the queue at 7am on the other side of the Thames to the Palace of Westminster. .
Mr Bond, who was wearing a black tie and jacket, said that in 2002, “I watched the procession go by on Horse Guards Parade, and when I got off, I started queuing right next to the Millennium Wheel ·leni and then it took me six hours to progress from there.”
“It was six o’clock when I entered Westminster.”
He added: “Obviously it’s quite difficult queuing all day, but when you walk through those doors into Westminster Hall, that wonderful historic building, there was a great sense of silence and one was told you take as long as you want. , and it’s amazing.”
In preparation for the wait this time, Mr Bond had brought crisps, nuts and energy bars and bottles of water, and said he was “well equipped” throughout.
He said: “We know the Queen was a good age and served the country for a long time, but we hoped this day would never come.
“But she has arrived, and I think she has certainly been our most outstanding monarch.”