I’ll be flying to London this evening in hopes of being able to file past the casket of Queen Elizabeth II and pay my final respect in person.
My Brief Trip To London To File Past The Casket Of Queen Elizabeth II
It has been a busy week. Yesterday I was in Virginia, today I’m back in LA, and tomorrow I’ll be in London…with the hope that waiting times will not be overwhelming and by the end of the day on Saturday I can be back on a plane to California.
Why didn’t I just go from Washington, DC direct to London? Because of commitments in LA that were made before the Queen passed. That’s particularly tragic because fares remain sky high and the diversion back to LA between Washington and London was quite costly.
Even more tragic is that this will be a race against the clock, as I have commitments in Los Angeles on Sunday and Monday and that absolutely require my attendance (I’ll detail this next week).
The trip will all come down to this: how long will the queue be? Officials in London have warned that lines will be burdensomely line and many news outlets have speculated waiting times could top 40 hours. Over a million people could descend upon Westminster in an attempt to say goodbye to a monarch who reigned for over 70 years. But I don’t have 40 hours.
I’m monitoring this helpful real-time update on queue time and if it grows too long as the day goes on, I may scrap the trip altogether.
But part of me holds out hope that all will work out, even though I will arrive at the start of the weekend when many tens of thousands may decide it is time to start lining up.
You might wonder why an American who has never met the Queen or has much British blood (my maternal grandmother’s side of the family was English) would sacrifice so much time and money to file past a casket 5,000 miles away.
I’ll address this more in a future post, but I do want to direct you to this poignant article by Andrew Sullivan that so nicely captures why I hold so much respect for Queen Elizabeth II and the stability, order, humility, and compassion she demonstrated during her reign.
I don’t worship the Queen or idolize the Royal Family. But unlike many of my American siblings, I love the British system, the monarchy, and the beauty of a lifetime of public service that flourished precisely because she deflected attention off herself and to her noble duties.
CONCLUSION
I’ll say farewell for now, with tomorrow’s series of blog posts already set for publishing. Be sure to follow along Twitter and potentially even YouTube as I brave the lines and prepare for an extended wait.
I always thought the Queen of England was Elton John.
In a different way, he certainly is!
I’m going to be in London on Sunday. Report back quickly with what you experience. I’m debating heading over to Westminster while I’m there.
Will do my best!
Good for you @Matthew. I simply prayed for her at home that rest soul rests in peace and that other world leaders mirror her legacy when making decisions that affects people’s lives. I personally would never spend my time and money to go to London, stay on queue that is miles long so see a closed casket. But that is me and I respect your decision to go.
FYI, my next door neighbor is a top FA for Delta and usually the top purser on international Delta One flights. Just yesterday we were chatting in our front yard and he said every FA at Delta that has a schedule to fly to London in the next couple of days is begging another FA to take their spot. Nobody wants to go there.
What legacy? She pretty much adopted a nuetral stance on just about everything and didn’t wield mich political power.
Should have caught the casket in Edinburgh. No queue at 5:30am!
I thought the livestream was the Heathrow queue time, and honestly wouldn’t have been surprised if it was…
She did help legitimize colonial oppression in Africa…
Cy the type of guy who would like to delete Mount Rushmore
I live about a mile for the Palace of Westminster and it hasn’t even crossed my mind!
@Cy. Bizarre comment. She presided over the ending of the colonial era. If you don’t believe it, check out the number of colonies when she came to the throne and the number now. The few remaining ones are tiny and want to remain. Check your facts before making such contentious statements.
@NB: that’s a weird reply…yes colonies have decreased as the world in general has moved away from colonialism and subjugating others (although Putin seems to be trying to recreat it). Nevertheless, britiain did some horrible things in Africa and India during her reign…she never once spoke out and even visited those areas and gave it a veneer of a royal blessing…that’s disgraceful, its not the same level of disgraceful as a Nazi guard just saying they were following orders, but its in the same ballpark.
Britain had already left India by the time she started her reign so how is it possible that Britain did “horrible things” there during her reign?
https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/comments/xaekvs/during_the_british_rule_of_india_from_1769_to/
Yup wrong on the timeline. Right on the kind of people.
Best of luck!
Planning to be in London on Sunday/Monday, will be a quite interesting journey, I am sure.
Thanks for your impressions so far.
Best, Markus
For folks who may not know (I had to look this up) – The What3Words in the tracker are:
What3words is a proprietary geocode system designed to identify any location with a resolution of about 3 metres.
So, even your home address will have one!
For folks who may not know (I had to look this up) – The What3Words in the tracker are:
What3words is a proprietary geocode system designed to identify any location with a resolution of about 3 metres.
So, even your home address will have one!
There are provisions for people who, because of poor health, cannot wait so long. However, it’s not supposed to be abused.
Consider taking some photos of in the inside and outside of LHR Terminal 3 because eventually that building will be torn down. I sadly have no photos of Terminal 3.
Why are Americans going? I think its kinda weird. I get it… its a huge world event right? Well only so many people can attend….wouldn’t the Brits like to have this moment?
This whole scenario is a farce. Just bury her remains and get on with life.
My honest respect for you doing that.
Meanwhile, Meghan the Duchess of Montecito is really torqued that that old woman had to die and take the attention from her (and what’s his name – oh, Harry) during their LOOK AT ME (and if you must – Harry) tour in Europe. Why, she even thought about bringing the two kids from the California palace to London so as to get the attention back on her. But not to worry, the Meghan groupies will be ready to suck-up to her upon her majesty’s return.
You have absolutely no idea what really has occurred in relation to being royal. Everything said about them for the most part is pure gossip & only they know the truth. Besides, the entire royalty thing is an illusion.
Please CK, Meghan is not even back yet. LOL
The Andrew Sullivan article you linked is an abomination. First paragraph is just another opportunity to bash Donald Trump…talk about boorish behavior Mr. Sullivan…
Insert 2020 and Joseph Biden and you can draw the same conclusions with regard to behavior, intent and actions.
In America the press is supposed to be that check on power and tyranny. It is that failure of the liberal media (at the behest of Democrat political machine) that has failed the country to an even more perilous degree than the next generations of British monarchs.
Have a safe trip Matthew
God Save the Queen
God Save America
Reread the paragraph…. Sullivan is an idiot, but the information in there is 100% correct: “It was a coincidence that The Crown debuted on US television in November 2016. America had just elected a new president — boorish, unstable, indifferent to rules, contemptuous of the law, with a long history of sexual assault, fraud and deception. There was no impulse he didn’t indulge, no cruelty he didn’t entertain, no tradition he wasn’t willing to trash.”
God Bless Joe Biden for saving the U.S.A. from the trump crime family.
The Dems aren’t strong enough to have the influence that you fear. Trump is not Jesus.
Under Joe Biden, my 4 for $4 Jr Bacon Cheeseburger is now a $5 biggie bag, FJB for that.
Butt Pirate jan, a True rupert murdoch Patriot, who says the price of a fast food burger is worth a coup d’etat on a young democracy. Can I friend you on truthy social?
You can thank Trump for that….not Biden. Once again a Democratic President ascends to office only to spend the first four years of their presidency cleaning up the mess left by the previous Republican president (e.g., Clinton, Obama, Biden, Kennedy, even Carter to a lesser degree). Trump and the criminals that surrounded him (and are now, finally being tried and soon jailed along with Trump) are the ones that ignored science when the pandemic hit, and tried to sweep it all under the rug. How many times did Trump suggest that the pandemic would just go away? Or drinking bleach would kill it? Or hydroxychloroquine, Ivermectin, blah, blah, blah. And look what happened……
And throwing trillions of dollars at the economy without any type of oversight. Right….it’s all Biden’s fault. LMFAO….no one believes your lies except for the morons still following Trump, and his criminal friends on their way to jail.
Everything that man touches dies, and you morons will follow him into your grave. And why exactly? What has he EVER done for any of you. True idiocy on a an epic level……and no one to blame but yourselves.
Nico Z can’t stop thinking about butt pirates, like he craves butt pillage and plunder. He can’t help but project.
@Michael, I’d be up for Trump and all his goon squad going to prison id convicted and found guilty.
Leftists just have such a binary way of thinking, that saying Joe Biden is a fking mess must mean I’m a MAGA racist Trumper. But alas, leftists have very little brain capacity to have a slightly more complex opinion otherwise.
You comments about leftists belies any neutrality you are trying to project.
Sure, Jan.
Are you friends with Hunter
I’m glad you’re going, Matthew. I completely understand. I’ve maintained an affinity for the Queen, the royal family and the UK since I started an interest back in the 3rd grade (when dinosaurs roamed the earth). While she has not been a significant influence to me, Queen Elizabeth has been a constant in my life, my entire life. The world will not be the same without her.
I hope your travel works out for you. Best of luck.
I appreciate that a master plan has been in the works for decades. However, my hat is off to all the local governments (town, villages, cites, etc); volunteers; military; police; Minister of Interior who had responsibility for many arrangements; and news agencies as well. Each has gone out of their way to assure the master plan has been followed to the letter.
Well done!!!
You rock, Matthew.
If you had died, would she travel thousands of miles to pay her respects to you?
“Mickey Mantle doesn’t care about you, so why should you care about him?”
Good on you Matthew, may all your hard work on this travel adventure pay off. I understand why you feel you must go. I look forward to reading about this amazing experience, best of luck!
Good luck!!
I ❤️ England!
Anyone that has endured a job for seventy years gets a tip of the hat. Today’s knowledge should not be used to judge the past. She did her best given the time. She continued to roll with it as should we all. Rest in peace
Can you hold a spot in line for me?
Oh, Butt Pirate jan.. as it is such so as such is it unto you.. ad infinitum.
In today’s paper: another viewpoint on the Queen https://www.aspendailynews.com/opinion/what-might-have-been/article_901ec4bc-348e-11ed-89e4-9b338084ea95.html
Imagine going to great lengths to pay respect to someone who sheltered a pedo.
She did her duty until her death, which in itself is exceptional, so she’s praiseworthy for that. But the monarchy she represented can go to hell for all I care. The British empire raped the natural resources of its colonies and stole their wealth. Not the queen’s fault as she came afterwards I suppose. Anyways, it’s quite strange to travel across the pond to stand in line for hours to honor a monarchy that America rebelled against. But we all do strange things….
I’m holding a spot for you in the queue, you can sneak in with me. Just about to pass Blackfriars Bridge now.
Is it really about paying respect to the Queen or more about narcissistic self-promotion and being able to boast that you waited in a 4 mile line for 15 hours so now you can write about it and take pics. For someone who talks about family and fatherhood so much, this type of time-sucking pointless trip sure runs counter to that ideal.
Hopefully you were able to get in line before they shut it down. Latest thing I’ve seen online over here is 5 mile queue and 14 hour wait.
I’m sorry, but this is a bit pathetic. I have been reading your blog for a long time and greatly appreciate your insights, observations and comments. Flying to FRA for a duck…was borderline but I could see why, I have also been know to take flights to simply keep my status. It’s a hobby of sorts. But in this day and age, we need to be a bit more mindful about how and where we fly. My kids give me a hard time every time I fly somewhere, but on most occasions I can explain why its necessary to take a plane. But jumping on a plane to stand in line for the Queen…I don’t get it. It’s negligent. Quite frankly, you should be a little bit embarrassed – don’t mention at any upcoming parties. And I won’t even go into the circus around the passing of the monarch. Yes, impressive lady, but the world should move on. That was another time. I truly cannot understand how people can celebrate the continuance of this completely outdated, undemocratic farce.
why bro.. I literally gave up my dream of going to my first Tottenham home match and changed flights 2 days early to come back home before the impending clownshow of the funeral. just landed and not regretting at all the money I forfeited back in london
Your ability to fly wherever you want a moment’s notice and leave your family is simply astounding, as well as quite envious. Hats off to your wife, who by all accounts, seems to be the most patient and tolerant wife I know of.
She’s the best! So are my parents, who help wtih the kids. But this trip was less than 48 hours and I did plan it a week in advance!