On 19 September 2022, the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II took place at Westminster Abbey after a period of national mourning. Thousands gathered along the funeral route, some had been there for days beforehand camped out along the Mall.

I arrived on Whitehall at around 2:30am and there were already thousands of people who had claimed their spot along the route. People slept, talked, and whiled away the hours until daybreak when the funeral began.

This was the first State Funeral since that of Winston Churchill in 1965. Security was tight, and the police presence was heavy. Barricades had been placed at the ends of Whitehall and around Trafalgar Square and adjacent areas. The photos below are those taken from my walk around in the small hours talking to various people, and of the funeral preparations and procession itself.