5 miles and 9 hours in the Elizabeth line to see Queen

Thousands of mourners snaked through the streets of London yesterday as the queue to see the Queen lying in state stretched more than five miles.

The ‘Elizabeth Line’ was praised as a ‘ triumph of Britishness’ as it stretched past Tower Bridge to Bermondsey in East London at 2pm. By yesterday evening it was nearly five miles long as it reached back to southwark Park.

Those at the back faced a wait of up nine hours. Firefighters arrived to hand out bottles of water to them in the park. Many had queued through the night in order to be part of the historic occasion.

Participants described a jovial, happy atmosphere in the line, with some making lifelong friends along the way.

‘The people I queued with I will now have a lasting bond with,’ said BBC journalist Robert Rea. ‘one of my favourite moments was on the albert Embankment,’ he said. ‘Two girls had stopped to leave their bags at the bag-drop and were walking up and down the queue trying desperately to find their friends.

‘one of the queue marshals suggested they give their friends a call. “We can’t” they said, “We don’t know their numbers. We only met them in the queue”.’

downing street said: ‘The people of the united Kingdom are demonstrating not only respect for each other in queuing in such a responsible way and showing sort of a great response to this situation,’ a spokesman said. one twitter user said: ‘The queue as a triumph of Britishness. It’s incredible.’ The post has been liked 66,000 times.

On the move: The river of well-wishers and mourners threads its way through cobbled streets in Bermondsey, East London

Setting off: Hundreds wait to get a tag and find the back of the queue

Landmarks: City Hall, HMS Belfast and (right) the City’s Walkie Talkie

River of sorrow: The queue moves steadily along the Thames, returning past Tower Bridge with the City of London on the opposite bank

So close: The queue zigzags across Victoria Tower Gardens, next to the Houses of Parliament and their destination – Westminster Hall

Looking back: The Houses of Parliament and the London Eye behind them, the patient crowd crosses the Thames on Lambeth Bridge