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The Queen dies, aged 96. The future of the monarchy

On a serious note; I hear that most of the world’s dignitaries and world leaders are attending the funeral. Only the leaders of Russia, Belarus and Myanmar were not invited.

That really puts into perspective just how many lives the Queen touched across the world!
 
Craig said:
Can we get back to serious discussion here please? We have a Tavern topic for the jokey stuff. Ta!
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Given that the news and mood in the media has been so solemn over the past few days it’s nice to actually have a little bit of humour about it. Can we not have a discussion that is both serious and at times a little lighthearted as well?
 
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Shaggy_Dog_ said:
Given that the news and mood in the media has been so solemn over the past few days it’s nice to actually have a little bit of humour about it. Can we not have a discussion that is both serious and at times a little lighthearted as well?
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There's a more humorous thread here in the Tavern. 🙂
 
@Matt N I don't know what you've done to me but I worked out throughput too. I worked it out as 1,200 mph, so not far off your figure. If Whitehall estimates 750,000+ people the figures of mph are way off as it would be impossible for that many people to view the Queen. Saying that when the Queen Mother lay in state for 3 days it was estimated 200,000 people visited her (source), so perhaps we are off with our workings out. Or maybe throughput was better in 2002? That's poor operations for you! Thorpe staff must be managing it.

Shaggy_Dog_ said:
But I wonder though, there must be some kind of fast pass system for this. Obviously it’s not something they’ll publicise, but let’s imagine if a big celebrity wants to pay their respects, for example say a Mick Jagger or a Richard Branson type of figure. I can’t imagine that they’d be made to go to the back of the queue in Bermondsey or somewhere and shuffle along overnight with the public. They must have some kind of system for letting certain people bypass the main queue and be batched in to the station, sorry I mean hall. Maybe you need to show your Knighthood to get that close.
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They did say on BBC there's a 'special visitor' ticket for selected persons to bypass the queuing system. They didn't specify if it's an invite-only thing or how it works.
 
Skyscraper said:
There's a more humorous thread here in the Tavern. 🙂
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TBH I created that for the overtly offensive rather than the mild humorous on topic asides that have cropped up here.

Anyway, while the rolling UK coverage couldn't be more tedious I have found some interest in reading foreign press for their take on the monarchy, King Charles, and the UK in general. From the outside it seems the monarchy is viewed very favourably, Charles mostly positively, and the UK as a whole being in the midst of some turmoil.
 
James said:
@Matt N I don't know what you've done to me but I worked out throughput too. I worked it out as 1,200 mph, so not far off your figure. If Whitehall estimates 750,000+ people the figures of mph are way off as it would be impossible for that many people to view the Queen. Saying that when the Queen Mother lay in state for 3 days it was estimated 200,000 people visited her (source), so perhaps we are off with our workings out. Or maybe throughput was better in 2002? That's poor operations for you! Thorpe staff must be managing it.
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The Queen Mother was arguably somewhat less notable in terms of role than The Queen, so I do wonder whether the Queen will get higher mourner numbers going to see her.

I did see 200,000 per day listed as the latest Whitehall estimate when I Googled earlier, with the possibility of over 1 million in total… either our mourners per hour figures are way off, or they’re going to have considerable trouble processing all the people who want to see her.
 
jon81uk said:
Most places are closing on Monday, why should only office workers and similar benefit from the bank holiday I don't see the issue with supermarkets and similar being closed similar to Christmas Day.
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I'm actually quite greatful for you bringing this up because as soon as it was announced on the weekend that the funeral would be a "Bank Holiday", there was very little detail released (competitors as well as my employer) as to how this would actually work.

I can assure you that most of us scum in food retail will not be enjoying the same bank holiday privileges as 9-5, Mon-Fri Sarah from the Accounts Dept. Closed or not, most will still be working.

For essential workers such as NHS workers it will be a normal working day. Many Coppers will probably see their day off actually sacrificed. For millions of workers across the country, Monday is little more than 1/5 of your contracted hours being added to your annual leave entitlement.

It's nothing like Christmas Day, more like a standard bank holiday with a few bells and whistles attached because your employer has decided to participate in the PR stunt of not unlocking the front door.
 
Matt N said:
The Queen Mother was arguably somewhat less notable in terms of role than The Queen, so I do wonder whether the Queen will get higher mourner numbers going to see her.

I did see 200,000 per day listed as the latest Whitehall estimate when I Googled earlier, with the possibility of over 1 million in total… either our mourners per hour figures are way off, or they’re going to have considerable trouble processing all the people who want to see her.
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Or perhaps they are just telling big fat lies about the actual mph figures.
 
Going back a little bit to the protests, the Met Police issued a statement that protest is allowed

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People have tested it by holding up signs such as 'Not my King' and 'End the Monarchy' and they weren't arrested.



Also, after all the jokes about throughout on here I did chuckle when I noticed there's actually a real time queue update available for seeing the Queen Lying-in-State. It's 2.6 miles long at the time of writing. It doesn't say what that equates to in terms of time though.
 
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Alsty said:
Also, after all the jokes about throughout on here I did chuckle when I noticed there's actually a real time queue update available for seeing the Queen Lying-in-State. It's 2.6 miles long at the time of writing. It doesn't say what that equates to in terms of time though.
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It’s about 8 hours from London Bridge.


Having watched some of the livestream, the slow formal nature of the changing of the guard must be slowing it down a lot.
 
Matt N said:
The Queen Mother was arguably somewhat less notable in terms of role than The Queen, so I do wonder whether the Queen will get higher mourner numbers going to see her.

I did see 200,000 per day listed as the latest Whitehall estimate when I Googled earlier, with the possibility of over 1 million in total… either our mourners per hour figures are way off, or they’re going to have considerable trouble processing all the people who want to see her.
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I’ve noticed since this morning they have been double batching both sides so it’s likely they are pushing 3,500+ people through per hour now compared to yesterday!

Edit: one of the guards had a bit of a nasty fall last night, happened around 1am.

 
James said:
I’ve noticed since this morning they have been double batching both sides so it’s likely they are pushing 3,500+ people through per hour now compared to yesterday!

Edit: one of the guards had a bit of a nasty fall last night, happened around 1am.

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Apparently a guard fainted as well.
 
Skyscraper said:
Apparently a guard fainted as well.
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That's the same guy in the video who was just coming off his his latest vigil. He stumbled off the step and then fainted shortly after (see toward the end of the video). It's "only" 20 minutes they're there for, but to be that still with head bowed for that length of time is ridiculously demanding on the body. They get a 40 minute break after each vigil, but you really can't overstate just how difficult it is.
 
Craig said:
That's the same guy in the video who was just coming off his his latest vigil. He stumbled off the step and then fainted shortly after (see toward the end of the video). It's "only" 20 minutes they're there for, but to be that still with head bowed for that length of time is ridiculously demanding on the body. They get a 40 minute break after each vigil, but you really can't overstate just how difficult it is.
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Ahh yeah, you're right, thanks for clarifying. I've seen the video of him fainting but not the bit where he stumbled first.
 
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