Queue Two for QEII: Royal fans line up again so they can see Queen’s grave
Royal well-wishers will now be able to visit the Queen's final resting place for the first time.
Dozens of Royal fans snaked around Windsor Castle as it re-opened to the public for the first time since the Queen died.
The castle and St George’s Chapel opened at 10am today.
Photos showed a large queue snaking around the castle walls this morning, as Royal fans got in line to visit the Queen’s final resting place.
They will also be able to view the ledger stone inscribed with the Queen’s name in the George VI Memorial Chapel.
It has now been inscribed alongside her mother’s, father’s, and husbands on a new black ledger stone in the King George VI Memorial Chapel.
All four royals were members of the Order of the Garter, which has St George’s Chapel as its spiritual home.
Some people had queued since 7.30 this morning to see the Queen’s resting place.
Anne Daley, 65, from Cardiff, and Grace Gogharg, from Ghana but lives in London, were the first people in the queue.
Ms Daley said she felt emotional about entering, adding: ‘The castle feels like empty, gloomy. Nobody’s living in it. You know, you’ve lost the Queen, you’ve lost the duke, you lost the corgis.
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‘It’s like when you’ve sold your house and all the history is gone.’
Both Ms Daley and Ms Gogharg had been supporters of the monarchy for a long time.
Ms Daley said: ‘My father was in the Irish Guards and he did the coronation. So I had an interest from when I was a little girl.’
Ms Gogharg added: ‘I am from the Commonwealth so I knew the Queen before I came here.
‘She did a good job as head of the Commonwealth. She was a good woman and a good mother. Everybody loves her.’
The pair, who became friends at the unveiling of the Diana, Princess of Wales statue outside Kensington Palace in July 2021, were among the first people to see the Queen lying in state in Westminster Hall.
Ms Daley said: ‘We waited at Lambeth Bridge on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, when we eventually got in at 5pm.’
Darren Martin, 43, from near Melbourne in Australia, was the next person in the queue.
He travelled to the UK two weeks ago because of the Queen’s death.
Mr Martin said: ‘I arrived in time to do the queue and camped out for the funeral. I’ve driven all the way to Balmoral, Holyroodhouse and Sandringham.
‘I then had a little bit of a holiday in Sussex and Cornwall. I’ve come here today for my final send-off before I go back home.
‘She was somebody that I admired very much for her service, everything that she did and everything she stood for.
‘My grandparents liked the royal family. My grandmother reminded me of the Queen.
‘As a child I fantasised about my own grandmother being the Queen and that stood with my throughout my life.’
In 2013 Mr Martin brought his two 85-year-old grandparents to the UK and they visited many of the royal sites.
He said: ‘It’s been quite an emotional experience coming back, but I think it was just something I felt really deeply and strongly about doing.
‘It wouldn’t have been the same just sitting at home watching everything on TV. I felt strongly enough to be here in person.’
The Queen was laid to rest with the Duke of Edinburgh, in a private service attended by the King and the royal family, following her state funeral at Westminster Abbey.
The chapel will reopen to visitors on all days the castle is open to the public, excluding Sundays when it is only open for worshippers.
Entry to the castle is £28.50 for adults on Saturdays and £26.50 on other days, according to the website.
Members of the Royal Family returned to their duties earlier this week as the period of Royal mourning came to an end.
Prince William and Kate visited Wales for the first time since they took on their new titles of Prince and Princess of Wales.
They met with members of the RNLI in Anglesey and spoke with people at a community food bank.
Following the death of his mother, King Charles has taken solace in Balmoral in Scotland.
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