In the rain they gathered exterior Buckingham Palace.
A journey some can have made many occasions earlier than for moments of celebration, now standing collectively to pay their respects.
The shock on the information was compounded by the truth that we might solely seen the Queen on Tuesday, finishing up one in every of her most vital constitutional roles as she was adamant that she would welcome her fifteenth Prime Minister at Balmoral.
But the assertion from the palace at lunchtime on Thursday had been ominous, her household dashing to be by her aspect including extra concern.
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The enormity of the information that got here at 6.30pm, that she had died at Balmoral, will solely actually sink in over the approaching days.
More on the Queen:
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This will now be a interval the place the pendulum of occasions will swing between mourning the dying of a a lot beloved monarch and the nation welcoming a brand new king.
The constitutional change is rapid and immense. King Charles III has already taken on all of the tasks of head of state, however on the similar time will even be coping with a really private grief with the lack of his beloved mom.
More on the King:
King to be often known as Charles III – as William and Kate develop into Duke and Duchess of Cornwall
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As we consider her household collectively at Balmoral, a spot the place they spent so many summers collectively, the ultimate days for the monarch couldn’t have been extra becoming.
She did not have to surrender on her duties, she was capable of dwell a lifetime of service till the very finish. And most significantly her household have been there, in a house she beloved, secluded from the general public gaze.
Source: information.sky.com”