London, September, 2022

So soon after Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee, we were not prepared for the demise of the monarch we've known for seventy years, a lifetime. We (Kristine Hughes and I) met in London on September 7 to attend a conference on the Napoleonic Wars at the National Army Museum. At the opening reception on the afternoon of September 8, the din of conversation was silenced when everyone's phone chimed with one of two messages: The Royal Family had been called to Balmoral; the TV presenters at the BBC had gone into black suits.​ 

Everyone knew the Queen was frail but she had met with a new British Prime Minister two days earlier, the fifteenth PM of her reign (#1 was Winston Churchill). Amid surprise and regret, our conference was cancelled (actually, postponed) and we all went our separate ways to await developments. Below, our hotel, Royal Horseguards (l) and (r) the WWII Royal Tank Regiment Memorial across Whitehall Place.

Above, the Embankment Gardens (l) between the hotel and the Embankment tube station and (r) the ever-changing floral displays in the lobby. Below, the rainbows shining at about the moment of the Queen's death on September 8.

We were in a restaurant in Whitehall when the definitive statement was broadcast, but the flag on Parliament was already at half-mast at the other end of the street. Below, Charles III addressed the nation the next day.

      All over town we saw photos of the Queen in shop windows, notices of sorrow, and plenty of memorabilia. 
     Below, left, a statue of explorer Captain James Cook just outside the Old Admiralty on the Mall on September 9, as we walked toward Buckingham Palace with large crowds of people, many carrying bouquets.

    The Mall was closed to traffic other than horses and military equipment moving toward the parks for memorial salutes. We left our flowers at the place gates, with hundreds more, eventually thousands. 
​  A few days later, the Queen's coffin was brought to St. Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh, for a memorial service in Scotland. 

   Topped by the Crown of Scotland, the coffin was guarded by British soldiers and by King Charles III.
​     In the next few days, the neighborhood around our London hotel became a staging area for security coverage. Police and soldiers filled the streets.  ​

The only access was on foot, as the bollards blocked off the streets and even taxis could not get to us. 

At one point, as we left the hotel, Kristine asked a policemen if we could get back to the hotel later, and he answered, "Maybe."
     Although we were close to various processions, we found it better to rely on the BBC television cameras for the best views.
       After being flown back from Scotland, the Queen was returned to London and spent a final night at Buckingham Palace

The coffin was brought from the palace in procession down the Mall, across Horse Guards Parade, and along Whitehall to Westminster Hall, where the catafalque awaited.

The pall bearers carried the Queen's remains into the ancient Hall where she was to lie in state for several days, allowing tens of thousands to pay their respects.

As London filled up with world leaders and ordinary folks,  the security tightened even more around our hotel. We were glad when we moved on to Derbyshire to explore five country houses, though we set aside the day of the funeral to watch together on television where we would see much more than if we stayed on the streets of the capital city.