Cheers and tears - people gathered to say goodbye to their Queen

The nation’s grief flowed deep and slow like a river down the Mall.

Amid the boom of guns and marching bands, the carriage pulled on cables by sailors, bore Queen Elizabeth II on her final journey.

Members of the public in the crowd on the Mall for the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

Hundreds of thousands of people had lined the streets of the capital as her procession passed along the route from Westminster Abbey to the Wellington Arch, from where she continued to her final resting place at Windsor.

Some had camped out for days to be at the front of the crowds, to catch a fleeting glimpse of the coffin draped in the Royal Standard, to see history made.

Others had joined the human tide flooding in from all four corners of the country in the morning, in the hope of a vantage point.

The coffin procession heads down the Mall towards Wellington Arch following the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II held at Westminster Abbey (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

From Norfolk, the royal exodus of those heading to the capital had begun before dawn.

There were around a dozen people on board the 04:48 service from King's Lynn station heading into the capital to pay their respects.

The Queen herself had often used the Norfolk station when travelling from London to begin her Christmas breaks at Sandringham.

The side entrance through which she would always pass to a waiting car was festooned with memorial flowers and ribbons as the early morning service took mourners towards the capital.

Members of the public on the Mall listen to the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, held at Westminster Abbey (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

Among those on board were Matthew and Jane Phillips, from Lynn.

"It's something we're never going to see again in our lifetime," said College of West Anglia supervisor Mrs Phillips.

"We're just going to experience the day, the history of it, we just want to be part of the atmosphere."

Sisters Ellen Waters and Emma Webber from Lynn were also on the early train. "You feel drawn to be in London to pay your respects," said Ms Webber, 43.

A marching band on the Mall during the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

Once in the capital, crowds headed in towards the so-called ring of steel which had been thrown around the central area through which the procession would pass, with all roads closed and a huge security presence.

From there, they walked the last half mile or so along packed pavements.

A ribbon of red, white and blue Union Flags fluttered lazily under leaden skies as the crowds built, until people were standing 10 deep in places.

We have never seen a monarch like Elizabeth. And London has never seen a gathering like the one which came to mourn her.

Members of the public in the crowd on the Mall ahead of the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

By 9am the access points to the ring of steel were closing, as people settled into position. Many had come prepared with folding stools and packed lunches.

But this was no Bank Holiday outing. The crowd was calm and quiet. The mood was sombre.

Queen Elizabeth’s picture was everywhere you looked, on bus shelters and black billboards. She smiled from the windows of shops and cafes.

Through Green Park, which was one of the main through routes for those walking towards the Mall, there were little shrines around the trees made up of cards and flowers, the small change of our sorrow.

The State Gun Carriage carries the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the Royal Standard with the Imperial State Crown and the Sovereign's orb and sceptre (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

Outside Buckingham Palace, the tops of the railings and the top of the Queen Victoria Memorial glowed golden as the sun broke through the clouds.

From 11 am, the Queen’s funeral service was broadcast live from Westminster Abbey to the crowds outside.

Silence reigned through the readings, psalms and hymns.

Some joined in as the service ended at noon with a rousing rendition of God Save the King.

In front of Buckingham Palace, the scene was coming to life. Guardsmen decked in bright red tunics and bearskin hats drilled to indecipherable shouts.

The coffin procession heads down the Mall towards Wellington Arch following the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II held at Westminster Abbey (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

The men then spread out around the circumference of the memorial and stood to attention with their assault rifles shouldered.

Then there was a massive boom from Hyde Park as the first field gun was fired.

It was followed by massive reports every minute or so, which sent the pigeons scattering and echoed off the roofs like claps of thunder.

In the distance there were other sounds. The slow thud, thud, thud of the big drum beats as the first marching band strikes up.

The State Gun Carriage carries the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II in the Ceremonial Procession down the Mall (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

Queen Elizabeth II was on her way from the Abbey. Her final journey had begun.

Staff filed out of the palace and lined the pavement outside, ready to say their last goodbyes.

There were cooks and kitchen porters in their chef’s whites and blues, maids and pages, men and women in suits.

Against the background of the palace, band after band passed by, slowly marching in perfect step to the beat of the drum, instruments gleaming in the sun.

And then there was a change of tempo. More than 100 naval ratings who were pulling the gun carriage carrying Her Late Majesty came into view.

The State Gun Carriage carries the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the Royal Standard with the Imperial State Crown and the Sovereign's orb and sceptre, in the Ceremonial Procession down the Mall (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

Legs and arms swung sharply. Left, right, left, right, left, right. They drew closer. Left, right, left, right, left, right.

And then there she was, flanked by her yeomen of the guard and gentlemen at arms, all keeping time with the sailors. Left, right, left, right, left, right.

The glittering Imperial State Crown Elizabeth II first donned at her coronation almost 70 years ago sat on top of the red and yellow Royal Standard that shrouded her coffin.

Its jewels include 3,000 precious stones, including a ruby said to have been worn by Henry V at Agincourt and a sapphire from a ring which is thought to have belonged to Edward the Confessor.

The Prince of Wales, Duke of Sussex, Peter Phillips, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Lawrence and King Charles III walk down the Mall (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

History sparkled briefly before us as the sun shone through the clouds, its beams catching the nation's crown.

Those who stood on the streets of London will never know another moment like it.

There were loud cheers and applause, not tears, for the Queen.

Amid the mourning, the mood had changed to one of celebration, as if we had flicked to another channel on our TVs.

The moment was short-lived. A minute or two at most.

And then she had passed us, past the palace, heading slowly west up Constitution Hill, on her way to be laid to rest at Windsor beside her beloved Prince Philip as the sun finally set on her platinum reign.

Members of the crowd on the Mall listen to the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth at Westminster Abbey (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

Queen Elizabeth II is gone.

And it is time for the tide to turn. The human sea which had engulfed the capital, wave after wave, had to retreat once more.

Groups six or eight abreast filed out through the parks away from the Mall as a crowd which was estimated at two million across the city gradually dispersed.

As they left, they carried with them their thoughts and memories of their Queen, her remarkable 70 reign and a day that none will ever forget.

A cavalcade of cars carrying members of the royal family follow behind the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, in the Ceremonial Procession (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)