�* dressed! it �*dressed! it was �* dressed! it was said that smarter dressed! it was said that wherever she went, she must have thought the world was smelling of fresh paint, because everywhere have been whitewashed wherever she went. what efforts did you go into? in the what efforts did you go into? in the hallwa s of what efforts did you go into? in the hallways of the _ what efforts did you go into? in the hallways of the hotel _ what efforts did you go into? in the hallways of the hotel there - what efforts did you go into? in the hallways of the hotel there was - what efforts did you go into? in me: hallways of the hotel there was this quite gaudy orange and yellow patent going down the hall corridor. so, i contacted the owners of the hotel, and asked if i could have a quantity of money, and found out that her favourite colour was powder blue, so all the corridors became powder blue. all the way through to her sweet, and then we also painted her sweet, and then we also painted her sweet powder blue. she did comment

to me on how great the paintjob was, so there is her humour again! and there was the smell of fresh paint following her wherever she went! thank you very much for talking to us and sharing your memories of the queen. thank you for this opportunity. _ memories of the queen. thank you for this opportunity. i _ memories of the queen. thank you for this opportunity, i greatly _ this opportunity, i greatly appreciate it. it this opportunity, i greatly appreciate it.— this opportunity, i greatly areciate it. , for many people, meeting the queen was a once in a lifetime experience. one way to meet her majesty was to be invited to buckingham palace to attend an event, or collect an award. someone who did just that was maureen coumbe, who alongside her husband tony, was awarded an mbe back in 2012 in person by the queen. why did you get an mbe? it was services to _ why did you get an mbe? it was services to children _ why did you get an mbe? it was

services to children and - why did you get an mbe? it was| services to children and families. why did you get an mbe? it was i services to children and families. i believe you have your mbe right there, can we see it? flan believe you have your mbe right there, can we see it?— believe you have your mbe right there, can we see it? can you see it? we certainly _ there, can we see it? can you see it? we certainly can, _ there, can we see it? can you see it? we certainly can, a _ there, can we see it? can you see it? we certainly can, a very - it? we certainly can, a very precious — it? we certainly can, a very precious item _ it? we certainly can, a very precious item no _ it? we certainly can, a very precious item no doubt - it? we certainly can, a very precious item no doubt for| it? we certainly can, a very i precious item no doubt for you it? we certainly can, a very - precious item no doubt for you and yourfamily, where do precious item no doubt for you and your family, where do you precious item no doubt for you and yourfamily, where do you keep it? it is on show in the cupboard as you walk in, it is on show all the time, with lots of photographs, too. it gets regularly dusted i am sure. i think i shall wear it tomorrow, i never wear it, but i think i should. that has made me emotional, i rather think you should. how is nerve—racking wasn't to be invited to the palace? nerve-racking wasn't to be invited to the palace?— nerve-racking wasn't to be invited to the palace? very nerve-racking. i crew u- to the palace? very nerve-racking. i grew up with — to the palace? very nerve-racking. i grew up with the _ to the palace? very nerve-racking. i grew up with the queen, _ to the palace? very nerve-racking. i grew up with the queen, i _ to the palace? very nerve-racking. i grew up with the queen, i was - to the palace? very nerve-racking. i grew up with the queen, i was only | grew up with the queen, i was only two and a half at her coronation.

you do not think one day you are going to meet this wonderful lady. the morning where we would meet her, it was an overwhelming feeling of being nervous, very happy, very excited, and just so privileged. the overwhelming feeling of, this can't be happening, because we are just like ordinary people. celebrities get mbes, not us. it was very emotional, even before arriving at the palace. emotional, even before arriving at the palace-— emotional, even before arriving at the palace. ., , ., the palace. you look very elegant in the palace. you look very elegant in the photograph _ the palace. you look very elegant in the photograph we _ the palace. you look very elegant in the photograph we have _ the palace. you look very elegant in the photograph we have just - the palace. you look very elegant in the photograph we have just seen, l the photograph we have just seen, alongside tony. how did the queen put you at ease? filth. alongside tony. how did the queen put you at ease?— put you at ease? oh, the queen, absolutely _ put you at ease? oh, the queen, absolutely amazing. _ put you at ease? oh, the queen, absolutely amazing. we - put you at ease? oh, the queen, absolutely amazing. we walked l put you at ease? oh, the queen, l absolutely amazing. we walked up towards her, curtsied, took three steps towards it. in my head, i was thinking, don't trip over. everybody has mentioned her smile, but it is the most infectious smile. she just

has this aura about her that made you feel in that moment that you were the most important person there, and not her. hand were the most important person there, and not her.— were the most important person there, and not her. and she knew all about you? — there, and not her. and she knew all about you? she _ there, and not her. and she knew all about you? she knew _ there, and not her. and she knew all about you? she knew who _ there, and not her. and she knew all about you? she knew who we - there, and not her. and she knew all about you? she knew who we were l there, and not her. and she knew all. about you? she knew who we were and wh we about you? she knew who we were and why we were — about you? she knew who we were and why we were there, _ about you? she knew who we were and why we were there, and _ about you? she knew who we were and why we were there, and she _ about you? she knew who we were and why we were there, and she took - about you? she knew who we were and why we were there, and she took her i why we were there, and she took her hand and said, i understand you have looked after lots of children and help lots of families, that must be so rewarding, and i said yes, very rewarding. my husband said we have a surprise party, and she said that would be lovely. it was very surprising, and unbelievable, just talking to her, very humbling. you took some — talking to her, very humbling. you took some members of your family with you? taste took some members of your family with ou? ~ , . ., with you? we were very lucky that we could take three _ with you? we were very lucky that we could take three people _ with you? we were very lucky that we could take three people each, - could take three people each, because it was a couple, as a couple

we were getting an mbe. we took our grandchildren, ourson, and my eldest sister. pm grandchildren, our son, and my eldest sister.— grandchildren, our son, and my eldest sister. an amazing day for ou all. eldest sister. an amazing day for you all- we _ eldest sister. an amazing day for you all. we are _ eldest sister. an amazing day for you all. we are so _ eldest sister. an amazing day for you all. we are so grateful- eldest sister. an amazing day for you all. we are so grateful to - eldest sister. an amazing day for| you all. we are so grateful to you for sharing yours memories, congratulations and i know tomorrow will be a very important day for you. will be a very important day for ou. . ~' will be a very important day for ou. . ~ , ., will be a very important day for ou. ., ~ i. will be a very important day for ou. ., ~ . let's take a look now at some more of the pictures and tributes that you've been sending into us. here's dan stubbins, from gloucestershire, teaching the queen how to set off an explosion. this picture was taken during a visit to raf holbeach air weapons range, in 2007. she looks very pleased with what she has done. keith webber met the queen in 2012, whilst on duty at sherborne station, during her majesty's diamond jubilee tour. the queen stopped to meet station staff before boarding the royal train. keith described it to us as

"the biggest highlight" of his life. to balmoral now, and imagine taking your dog for a walk, and bumping into the queen. that's what happened tojeremy, joss and oliver atkin back in 2012. her majesty walked over to speak to the family, asking where they were going and where they were from. as she walked away, 0liver took this photo. you would be a bit dumbstruck, probably, wouldn't you? and finally — this watercolour drawing was sent in by jeannette d'souza from croydon. it shows the queen, being thanked for her lifetime of service, by paddington bear. please do send us more of your memories, stories and tributes to the queen. the email address for your tributes is yourqueen@bbc.co.uk. we'll try to show you as many as we can.

with the queen's passing, questions are being raised over the future of the commonwealth of nations. her ceremonial role has helped bind the group of 5a nations together. out of all of britain's former colonies in asia, singapore has seen the most dramatic development since independence. it's also seen as one of the commonwealth's success stories, and accordingly, the prosperous city—state tends to remember the positives of british rule — as nick marsh reports. singapore's synonymous with modernity. but look around and signs of the past reveal themselves. the late queen, immortalised in a forward thinking city. when she first came here in 1972, singapore was an ambitious young nation, keen to show its former colonial master it could go it alone.

she visited this estate, pioneering public housing, that singapore is now famous for. it's something that i think we wanted to show off. jerome lim was seven when the queen and prince philip were invited into his parents�* brand—new flat. we shook hands at the doorway. that's me with my back... that's you. that's me! you can see me peeking out. so, it's the highlight of my childhood. in fact, even for my parents, they still talk about the visit and they say it's the highlight of their lives. singapore's native malay population was colonised 200 years ago. but most present—day singaporeans have their roots in china. their ancestors came after the british, looking for better opportunities. for singapore's foreign minister, continuing in the commonwealth is also about furthering opportunity.

to him, singaporean history isn't a story of dominion. we have no baggage. we're not going to re—litigate the past. we acknowledge the past. we give credit for the institutions that we inherited. we admire british understatement. we believe even our current attributes of being pragmatic, sensible, reasonable... you know, it also reflects that shared history. it's pragmatism that allows singapore to wear its colonial past so lightly. this luxury hotel used to be the british military headquarters, far east command, built on top of a hill in case of a local uprising. you can't say that there is any real controversy here in singapore over

old buildings and statues or place names. the arrival of the british helped to transform this island into a global trading hub. but by the same token, ever since the british left, in the 1960s, well, singapore's hardly looked back. the new head of the commonwealth last came to singapore five years ago. the australian prime minister, anthony albanese, has told the bbc that he has ruled out holding a referendum on whether to keep the king as his country's head of state. mr albanese also said he had no problem if king charles continues to advocate for action to protect the climate. mr albanese is in london

for the funeral and spoke to the bbc�*sjim naughtie about his meeting with the king yesterday. well, it was very warm and friendly. it was a moment for me to offer my condolences to the king, not only, of course, on the loss of ourjoint head of state, but in his case, of course, the loss of his mother coming so soon after the loss of his father, so it's a very personal bereavement. one of the things that matters to you, of course, is the future of australia and its constitution. you've talked in the past about revisiting the republican question that was asked just over 20 years ago. when do you think that's likely to come round? well, i don't think now is the time to discuss those issues, and i've made that clear. this is a time in which we should acknowledge the life of service of her majesty queen elizabeth.

those are matters of debate, of course, in australia, and certainly the royal family understand that, but now is not the time to focus on that. what i have said very clearly is that my priority as the incoming prime minister, and i said this before the election, which was to commit to a referendum in this term to recognise aboriginal and torres strait islander people in our constitution. you're talking about how any nation, when it considers its own history, is bound to go through a process of change and re—evaluation, and that process in australia is bound to continue, isn't it? i know you didn't want to talk about this this week, for very obvious reasons, but that process is going to go on and everyone knows it. of course that's the case. but it's also the case that you can have different views

about our constitutional system whilst having respect for queen elizabeth's contribution and whilst having respect for king charles assuming the throne as our head of state, how we are one of 15 realm countries who are represented here to attend the queen's funeral tomorrow. but it is also a fact that we will continue to have that strong engagement with the uk. how is the commonwealth, do you think, going to matter in the future? i think the commonwealth very much matters, because what ties it together is a common history. the queen herself had such a close affinity to australia. she herself spoke about that many times, including when she did major events — opening our sydney opera house, opening our new parliament house,

but as well at times of tragedy and difficulty. australia's a land of much natural disasters, and the queen always stood with australians at times of difficulty. one last question, and it's about climate change, which you are very concerned about. the king is now out of the political arena in the sense that he has to tread carefully on political issues that are a matter for government. but everyone knows his commitment on these questions, and no doubt you would hope that that is a conversation, despite his accession to the throne, that can go on? well, i think that is a matter, of course, for king charles, what he comments on. and it's important that the sovereign stay distant from pa rty—political issues. but, from my perspective, what i said is that i would be very comfortable with the king expressing views about the importance of climate change.

it is about the very survival of our way of life. we know that in australia, the impact of bushfires, floods, natural disasters, are doing exactly what the science told us would happen. and it would be quite proper in your view for him to continue to make it clear that it's a concern in his mind? well, if he chose to do so, then of course that would be a matterfor him. but i think that should be respected, if he does choose to do so. the prime minister of australia, anthony albanese speaking earlier. let's take you back to the scenes of those people queueing in victoria gardens, just to the sides of the palace of westminster. these are the last few people who will be able to view queen elizabeth's lying in state. people have now been told not

to set off to see this happen, because it will be too late, because, of course, the funeral takes place tomorrow, and the event will be closed tomorrow at 6:30am. hello there, flags at half mast today, but of course, the sun shone. some sunny skies across devon and cornwall, parts of wales, and towards north—east scotland too. high pressure will be giving us mostly dry as we head towards the start of next week, it is gradually drifting eastwards. there will be more cloud drifting round, more moisture in the air, attempts will be a little higher than they were. there is a week warm front heading to scotland, too. cross the north—east of scotland temperatures could drop as low as three or four

celsius. in central london tomorrow for her majesty's state funeral we are expecting a dry day. there will be a lot more cloud than we saw over the weekend, the could be some dry spells, the winds are light, highs of 18 celsius. this is the wider picture. a week, warm front will give us patchy rain and drizzle across the western isles, approaching north—west england and western scotland as we head through the afternoon. also some outbreaks of rain, light and patchy for much of rain, light and patchy for much of wales, too. plenty of cloud, a few brighter spells, and temperatures will be higher across the board reaching the mid to the high teens. 0n the board reaching the mid to the high teens. on monday night, it's a lot milder, many of our temperatures are expected to stay in double figures, and this is tuesday. for most of us we will see a dry day, high pressure still dominates, and it weakens these weather fronts trying to push on for the north—west. still result in western scotland, perhaps in northern ireland as we head through the

course of the day. temperatures will peak in the high teens, 18, 19 celsius per both england and central england two. weather fronts will move down from the north—west, this more active front on thursday could possibly stall, and some of this rain is likely to pep up at times too. turning a lot more unsettled by the end of the working week, then cooler, with more of a northerly breeze developing as we go through the weekend.

this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. iam lucy i am lucy hockings live at westminster. our top stories: a minute's silence is held for queen elizabeth as people across the uk reflect on her life and legacy. president biden pays his respects at queen elizabeth's lying—in—state — and later made this tribute. our hearts go out to you. you were fortunate to have had herfor 70 years, we all were. the world is better for her. hundreds of world leaders and dignitaries are attending a reception at buckingham palace hosted by king charles, ahead of his mother's funeral on monday.

this is the scene here in westminster, as the opportunity for people to pay their respects at the lying—in—state enters the final hours. among the 2,000 guests for the funeral at westminster abbey are members of the public, who've been preparing for the solemn occasion. fairly choked up. emotional is probably the main word, yeah. honoured and emotional. this the bbc�*s a tribute to queen elizabeth. a national minute's silence has been held for queen elizabeth, a moment to reflect on her life, her reign and her legacy, on the eve of her majesty's state funeral.

after ten days of national mourning — days which have seen hundreds of thousands of mourners gathering to pay their respects, waiting patiently outside the royal residences, the bustle and rehearsal of ceremonial events, and many public appearances by the royal family — an hour ago, millions of people in the uk and beyond fell still and silent, in poignant tribute. those people still queuing also joined the silence — thousands are still in the line waiting to pay their respects to her majesty as she lies in state in westminster hall. and earlier they were joined by president biden, the first ladyjill biden, and the us ambassador to london, jane hartley. mr biden was one of 1k us presidents in office during the queen's 70—year reign — she met them all except lyndonjohnson. this evening, heads of state have attended a reception at buckingham palace, hosted by king charles ii!

and queen consort camilla. it comes as world leaders gather in london ahead of queen elizabeth's state funeral to be held at westminster abbey tomorrow. president biden signed a book of condolence for queen elizabeth — and paid this tribute. when the queen had us to the castle for tea and we were joking on crumpets. she kept offering me more and i kept eating everything she put in front of me. but she was the same in person as her image. decent, honourable and all about service. our hearts go out to the royal family, to king charles and all the family. it is a loss that leaves a giant hole and sometimes you think you will never overcome it. but... ..as i told the king, she is going to be with him

every step of the way, every minute, every moment. maybe above all, the notion of service. we all owe something. there is something within our capacity to do that can make things, notjust the world better, but your neighbourhood better, your household better, your workplace better. and that is what she communicated to me, anyway, and it was an honour to meet her. president biden there. earlier i spoke to matthew barzun, the united states ambassador to the united kingdom from 2013—2017 and author of the power of giving away power — he gave his reflections and memories of her majesty. it was wonderful to hear the words of president biden because i think his personal tribute spoke to what so many americans, i mean, the level of interest and care shown by americans for the british people at this time of transition and this time of loss and remembrance are just so deep. i actually was able

to be part of it, as fate would have it — my wife brooke and i arrived in london the day before her majesty passed away, so for eight of those ten days of mourning we were able to be with our british friends and then get all sorts of outflowings of love from this side of the atlantic from our american friends. and matt, was there something in particular while you were here that particularly touched you? there was. i was able to, as all ambassadors and high commissioners do, have this wonderful, quite formal, by american standards, opportunity to present our credentials to her majesty when i arrived as ambassador and she said something to me and i will tell you what it was, but it moved me so much that i ended up making a very big mistake, which was i said it out loud in the presence of a reporter, so it ended up in a newspaper, which, as you know, is a big no—no, and so i apologised

and the palace was very gracious in accepting my apology. what was more frustrating, other than making the mistake, was that they misquoted in the paper what i had said and all the many articles that have been written about various royal weddings since have included this misquote and the misquote was that i had revealed that her majesty had told me there were, quote, "no selfies allowed," which is the opposite of what she said that day, and so i wanted to set the record straight on this moment of remembrance because my wife and i had arrived into buckingham palace on a horse—drawn carriage wearing a top hat, so very unusual for most people and certainly for an american. and when we were speaking with the queen, i had asked her something about, "what is it like with these thousands and thousands of tourists?" we had done it once, people snapping their photographs. and she said... "well, you know, they have always had cameras" and she simulated what it was like

to have a 35mm camera and she said, "well, they used to put them up, take a picture and put them down. "but now," she said, and she pulled her white gloved hand in front of their eyes and held it up there as she finished her sentence and she said, "and now they hold up these rectangles and they never take them down. "and you know what?" she said, "i miss seeing their eyes. "i miss seeing their eyes." and i love that because it seems such a fitting tribute to the way she chose to lead. that from the outside you could think, "oh, that is a one—way transaction." right? the tourists snapping and the queen being snapped, but that is not how she saw it. for her it was a connection and that is what i am remembering today. so many people have reflected that as well, that when they met her she made that connection so strongly that they really felt like they were the only person in the room and she was speaking to them. matt, iwonder, bigger

picture, though, do you see the relationship between the uk and the united states changing now with king charles? i do. changing in a good way, for two reasons that i was thinking of. 0ne, here we have in king charles and in president biden, who in addition to being our head of government of courses is our head of state as well and these are two men who have had a long chance to prepare for these big jobs that they are both now in and they bring all the wisdom and seasoning that that sort of time provides. and the second thing, i think, is as we talk about change, one of the things i have been reflecting on is that an adjective used over and over again in describing the remarkable reign of her majesty was the word "steadfast," and i think steadfast is not the same as never—changing. the way i think about

it is if you have a leader represented by this finger and the public they serve here, if someone never changes public opinion always moves, so then you appear out of step or if you get out in front of it you are out of step, so the trick is how do you constantly evolve and adapt with the public you serve? and i think queen elizabeth was a wonderful example over seven decades of how you do that. and if you do that, you remain steadfast, but you don't fall into the trap of being rigid or brittle. and that is something i think king charles will do and already is doing in his own way. matthew barzun matthew ba rzun speaking matthew barzun speaking to me from kentucky, once the us ambassador to the uk. president biden and his wife have been at westminster hall and signed the book of condolence and then went across to buckingham palace, this big reception being hosted there this evening by king

charles and hundreds of other dignitaries from all over the world. at straw and my colleague fare at the palace, rebecca jones, who has been monitoring people coming and going there all day. how many details have been be given by the people of buckingham palace as to what has happened there this evening? what has happened there this evenin: ? , ., , evening? very few details, the palace insisted _ evening? very few details, the palace insisted they _ evening? very few details, the palace insisted they were - evening? very few details, the palace insisted they were not i evening? very few details, the - palace insisted they were not going to publish a full guest list, but we have managed to piece together some details to give to you because as you say this was an unprecedented gathering of heads of state, world leaders and royalty, we have had princes and princesses here, presidents and prime ministers, ambassadors and diplomats, who all came here to buckingham palace for this reception hosted by king charles and queen consort camilla. and we had the us president, joe biden. he arrived just before 6pm local time in the presidential car, known of course as the beast, in the midst of a convoy of vehicles who

swept into buckingham palace and here is the first lady, doctorjill biden emerging from that vehicle with her husband, the us president, joe biden, and a nice little detail that we have found out for you that while the couple were inside at the reception, members of the president's entourage mingled with household staff and also the police on the lawn outside. and the bidens were inside at that reception for a little over an hour. other guests were there longer, i have to say because we saw the limousines and the vehicle is going to buckingham palace and we saw them come out as well and among some of the other guests that we saw entering buckingham palace, president macron of france. i think we might be able tojust see him emerging of france. i think we might be able to just see him emerging from, of france. i think we might be able tojust see him emerging from, there he is, president macron of france, one of the high profile guests here, alongside his wife, brigitte, and we

have had prime ministers here as well, representatives from around 200 countries were at this reception, i should say, and we also saw the prime minister of new zealand, i think you canjust saw the prime minister of new zealand, i think you can just see jacinda ardern there, and behind her the prime minister of canada, justin trudeau, arriving with his wife. around 500 guests. also the president of brazil, president bolsonaro, was also there. i think we might havejust bolsonaro, was also there. i think we might have just a bolsonaro, was also there. i think we might havejust a picture of him as well. and once inside, the guests mingled, notjust with the king and queen consort camilla, but with other members of the royal family as well, including the prince and princess of wales, the earl and countess of wessex, the princess royal and her husband, vice admiral sir tim lawrence and the duke and duchess of gloucester and they were entertained in the picture gallery at buckingham palace and the blue

drawing room, the white drawing room and in the music room. and as i say, we saw the vehicles arrive and leave, joe biden the important dignitaries who was able to arrive in his own vehicle along with the president of israel and also the british prime minister, liz truss, and the king and queen ofjordan. and then we had these coaches arrive in convoy, one after another, with blacked out windows, which was somewhat frustrating because we couldn't see the dozens and dozens of important people inside, but one was able to tantalisingly speculate that perhaps an emperor was rubbing shoulders with a king, but we do know the president of ireland and the kings and queens of spain, sweden and denmark were among those who were in the coaches and the coaches were indeed among the last to leave just after 8pm here local time. we do also know that a lot of

the people who attended this reception were given the opportunity to go to westminster hall to pay their respects to the queen, to stand in front of the queen's coffin and also to sign that book of condolence at lancaster house. yes. condolence at lancaster house. yes, we would love _ condolence at lancaster house. yes, we would love to _ condolence at lancaster house. yes, we would love to know _ condolence at lancaster house. yes, we would love to know who, princes and princesses were sitting next to, which world leaders they got to have a seat next to in their coach. rebecca, thank you very much for joining us from buckingham palace. as we have been hearing, people are being asked not to set off to join the queue or pay their respects to the queen. the end of the queue has been moved a bit closer to westminster ahead of the lying—in—state and period at 6:30am tomorrow morning. at some point over the coming hours, we understand the queue will be closed entirely. what is interesting is the accessible queue for people with disabilities was permanently closed yesterday after reaching full capacity and it has been very

difficult and very frustrating for many who wanted to see the queen. some have left because they were simply unable to stand for that long in the queue, but a member of our team spoke to someone, an elderly lady and herfamily team spoke to someone, an elderly lady and her family who had team spoke to someone, an elderly lady and herfamily who had reached the very end of the queue, when she tried to drain the accessible queue she was turned away because it was shot and had to go all the way back to southwark cathedral and queue for 12 hours to get here. so she was adamant that she wanted to do it, she was talking about perhaps the sense of resilience. can you imagine what stamina she needed to do it? but that gives you an idea what some of the people in the queue we haven't been able to use the accessible queue have been through, long, long waits to get to this point here and some have just not been able to manage. we have been hearing various reports. so frustrating, particularly disappointing for them. others, though, have had an incredible experience, as they have described it, queueing back, they have formed

incredible friendships they say will last a lifetime, they have been tired, but the sense of quiet anticipation and the more sombre feeling you get as you get closer to the end of the queue very much worth it and with this report today is lucy manning. where there was despair, it brought hope. where there was sadness, it broughtjoy. the queue itself was a journey, notjust in the steps people took. the lines will close this evening. the end of a perfect tribute. the last few running to make sure they were in it. remember, it is a marathon, not a sprint _ remember, it is a marathon, not a sprint today — i'm jo and i've just joined the queue at 15:22. i've come from bournemouth. we queued on friday night and then my daughter was crying her eyes out, her back and feet and knees, so we left the queue at six o'clock yesterday morning and we thought, we have got to give it another shot. luckily, i'm flustered, because we wanted to get here before the queue closed, and we have made it. for those nearer the front it was also a challenging night.

i'm emma and this is esme. we are from cornwall and we have been queueing about 11 hours. my legs have been hurting. it's been pretty hard. it's cold and we stopped for quite a long time, we were going to give up, but we carried on and we got each other through it, didn't we? yeah. why didn't you give up, esme? because the queen would have wanted us to be resilient in ourselves - and to push ourselves to be the best we can. _ you feel quite emotional about the journey you have done? yes, there's a lot of reasons for coming, people we have lost, and seeing so many people here all united. we lost my gran during covid, so we did not get the chance to say goodbye. emma kept turning back for a last look. was it worth a very hard night? yes. i think it was. it was our final chance to pay our respects. . it meant a lot to you to be able to do that? it did. i will be telling the people who

aren't here any more all about it. i would be telling the people who aren't here any more all about it. but it makes me closer to them. we're lucy and jamie and we have been queueing for 12 hours and this is my second time doing this. she came first with her parents, returning today with her husband. the question is why do it again? that five minutes was so special, and it was almost not enough time to take it all in but i thought, well, i'll go through it again. it will be worth it. for me, it has restored my faith in humanity quite a bit because you see all of these people who are coming together and who may come from different backgrounds, but we have one thing in common today. there was something in the air in there that was just magnificent. this queue is a phenomenon. it has helped sustain the royal family and given the nation a focus for its grief. the british people, just by turning up and by being here, have turned a part of the national mourning into a celebration of the queen's life.

millions of steps. hundreds and thousands of people. all for one queen. lucy manning, bbc news. there are still huge queues along the river thames, where people are waiting to pay their respects to the queen. we can now speak to bbc journalist grace harbage, who started queuing six hours ago. how is it going? so far so good, we have been queueing _ how is it going? so far so good, we have been queueing since - how is it going? so far so good, we have been queueing since three - have been queueing since three o'clock when we got to southwark park and since then we have actually been moving quite quickly. i don't know if you can see behind me, we are on the embankment now, so we have gone from southwark park through to tower bridge and then passed the london eye and now we are here just walking down to lambeth

bridge, so we can see where we need to be, but we know that we have still got quite a bit of a way to go. still got quite a bit of a way to .o, . ., ., still got quite a bit of a way to go. what time are you expecting to net here? go. what time are you expecting to get here? well. — go. what time are you expecting to get here? well, we _ go. what time are you expecting to get here? well, we have _ go. what time are you expecting to get here? well, we have been - go. what time are you expecting to | get here? well, we have been told, lu , get here? well, we have been told, lucy. about — get here? well, we have been told, lucy, about 1:30am, _ get here? well, we have been told, lucy, about 1:30am, which - get here? well, we have been told, lucy, about 1:30am, which we - get here? well, we have been told, lucy, about 1:30am, which we if. get here? well, we have been told, lucy, about 1:30am, which we if we j lucy, about 1:30am, which we if we are lucky, which actually isn't too much longer to go, but we thought it would be much later and we thought they would start closing the park at about liam, but actually we have managed to sneak in, so if we are thereby 2am i think we will have done quite well. they said yesterday that people getting to the london eye had been waiting in the queue already full to a half hours, so our six seems ok right now. —— they had been waiting for 12 hours. you six seems ok right now. -- they had been waiting for 12 hours.— been waiting for 12 hours. you are lookin: been waiting for 12 hours. you are looking like _ been waiting for 12 hours. you are looking like you're _ been waiting for 12 hours. you are looking like you're doing - been waiting for 12 hours. you are looking like you're doing quite - looking like you're doing quite well, but the message yesterday was don't come down and join the queue added it might shot at some point, so what sort of stories are you hearing around you about why people decided to come down so last minute and join the queue?—

and join the queue? well, in my r-rou and join the queue? well, in my a-rou of and join the queue? well, in my group of queue _ and join the queue? well, in my group of queue friends, - and join the queue? well, in my group of queue friends, which i and join the queue? well, in my group of queue friends, which isj and join the queue? well, in my i group of queue friends, which is a real thing, as we have all been hearing about, i have people who come from somerset, oxford and new look and people have said they have just been watching this on tv —— back on new york and they have been watching this on tv and they felt compelled to come down here and it just felt like the constant watching of this queue has made people want to come down and in some cases fly over tojoin the queue to come down and in some cases fly over to join the queue and end to come down and in some cases fly over tojoin the queue and end up to come down and in some cases fly over to join the queue and end up at westminster hall to pay their respects. westminster hall to pay their resects. �* .,. westminster hall to pay their resects. �* .. ., westminster hall to pay their resects. �* ., , respects. and grace, we have been s-ueakin respects. and grace, we have been speaking to — respects. and grace, we have been speaking to people. _ respects. and grace, we have been speaking to people, members - respects. and grace, we have been speaking to people, members of i respects. and grace, we have been. speaking to people, members of our team, who haven't been able to use the accessible queue because it was shot last night, but they have still gone all the way to the back and made their way to westminster hall and i wonder if you have seen anyone around you who is actually struggling orfinding it difficult? yes, it is really interesting, lucy, there have been some... i am actually passing the tea and coffee

stand right now, so we are being very well looked after, but i have seen a lot of people that i would have imagined to be in the accessible queue yesterday or the day before and they are here with people looking after them, just so determined to get to westminster palace, so the determination of everyone is amazing that people are still very keen to spend upwards of 10-12 still very keen to spend upwards of 10—12 hours to make sure that they can get to westminster hall, regardless of one queue being closed, they are going to wait it out in the main queue for the last night. out in the main queue for the last niuht. , , ., . , night. yes, the stoicism of the --eole, night. yes, the stoicism of the people. the — night. yes, the stoicism of the people, the endurance - night. yes, the stoicism of the people, the endurance as - night. yes, the stoicism of the people, the endurance as well| night. yes, the stoicism of the i people, the endurance as well as just something to witness. grace, good luck and keep us posted, thank you so much. get a cup of tea extract laughter as we've witnessed, there's been an outpouring of grief across the uk. on the eve of queen elizabeth's funeral our home editor mark easton reflects on the past ten days of national mourning.

the certainties of a kingdom have been shaken. ruptured by the loss of its monarch and a key bridgehead to its past. plans for these days have been in place for decades. every feather and flag, every step and turn, choreographed in minute and meticulous detail. the last ten days have been about two distinct events — the passing of a queen, and the making of a king. the transfer of authority is designed as an illustration of national competence — britain showing its people and the world that even at a time of flux, it knows what it's doing. fanfare plays there is purpose in the performance, too, binding king and kingdom in the gold braid

of reassuring custom. questions over the future of the monarchy or the union are answered with ceremonial conviction — echoes from ancient mists, albeit that much of the pageantry is a reinvention from the last century. hip—hip... hurray! but the respectful public response is real. the loss of a much loved and venerable queen a reminder of our own transience. pilgrimages to palaces, the reverential ritual of flowers and flames, a communion with the sacred. the last time i saw her, i saw exactly the same cheerfulness and confidence in her eyes as i imagined i'd seen at the coronation. we shall see whether the threads been cut. king charles could, after all, take the thread and knot it in a royal knot and say,

on we go. that's what i hope he will do. we have seen hostilities put to one side, a temporary truce, perhaps, but an opportunity for healing, too. planned strikes suspended, disputes and rivalries postponed, fulham and chelsea, alloa and falkirk, derbies for another day. the detailed plans for the accession always emphasised how the new king must be seen not only surrounded by the elite and titled, but among the ordinary people. his first public act as king was to step from his rolls—royce outside the palace railings to meet and touch the gathered crowds, content to be kissed on hand and cheek by those he did not know. but when the dust settles, normality will return, with the trials of real life. in facing those challenges, the country may have been

strengthened by a period of reflection — a rare moment to think about who we are and who we want to be. mark easton, bbc news. standing here all afternoon and watching the queue, i can understand why there is this fascination around the world with what is happening here. people prepared to queue for hour upon hourfor this moment and they arrive here tired, bleary eyed, cold, often hungry, the kids of course, some of them are quite near the end of their tether, but they know the end is in sight by the time they get to this point, but speaking to people in the queue not a single one of them has told me that they regret it. they all love the collective experience, i think, is being here, and speak of how emotional they find it and the friendships and the bonds that they have formed within the queue.

occasionally you hear a cheer going up. you just saw those pictures of the stewards and that is because when they reach the end of the zigzag, they say to people, you are here this is it. there are 71 zigzags, we have been told, so everybody gives a cheer when they round the corner and the mood completely shifts, it becomes a lot more quiet and solemn as people realise they are about to enter westminster hall after all the weight and then this is what they come to and they come out telling us how unbelievably moving it is to be there. we see people as they go in walk past the coffin, obviously in silence, you can see the guards there, the flickering candles. some people paused to power, others blew a kiss, others put hands on their chest or they cross themselves and as they walk away there is a look on some people's faces where they do appear visibly emotional, some are wiping away tears, others are very

reflective, but it is quite something to witness and so it will continue throughout the night. no word yet that the queue will actually be closed, but i think the wait time at the moment is about seven or eight hours, as grace was saying just a short time ago and we will be with you here on bbc news throughout the evening. but for now it is back to you in the studio. thank you very much, lucy hockings in westminster. in other news... three million people injapan have been urged to leave their homes as the country prepares for one of the most destructive typhoons in years. winds of more than 90 miles per hour have been battering the southern coast and at least 25,000 properties are already without power. our tokyo correspondent, rupert wingfield—hayes, reports. so far, the more dire predictions about typhoon nanmadol have not come to pass. despite winds gusting to nearly 150 miles an hour, only minor damage is being reported from western japan. but this is a huge storm, one of the biggest to hit japan in half a century,

and it is farfrom over. as it swept ashore this morning, the government issued an emergency alert which has never been issued for anywhere before on the japanese mainland. translation: there's a chance we will see winds of a kind - we haven't experienced before. we could also get big swells, storm surges and record rain. the destructive winds are only part of the threat. it is also carrying vast quantities of water, and that is now falling right across the eastern half of kyushu. as much as half a metre of rain could fall in less than 2a hours. kyushu is very mountainous and the danger will then be of landslides and even more so of flooding. there is now too much water coming down for the rivers to handle, so the japanese government has told nearly 3 million people they need to leave their homes and head to local evacuation centres.

this morning, thousands began to heed that advice, but hundreds of thousands more will likely choose to ignore that advice and ride out the storm at home. it will be a very tense night for them and for the authorities. river levels across kyushu and southern honshu are expected to peak sometime in the next 12 hours, putting japan's flood defences under severe strain. it would only take one breach for whole towns to be inundated in minutes, giving those who've refused to evacuate no time to escape. rupert wingfield—hayes, bbc news, tokyo. to other news now, and ukraine's president zelensky says investigations into possible russian war crimes are continuing in the city of izyum, which was recently retaken from russian forces. bodies are being exhumed from a mass burial site on the edge of the city. izyum is one of several areas back in ukrainian hands after significant territorial gains in recent days — although heavy fighting

is still continuing. our ukraine correspondent james waterhouse gave us the latest from kyiv. it seems ukraine is just as focused on documenting as it is defending, president zelensky today claiming that investigators have found new evidence of ten torture chambers around the city of izyum used by the russians during their occupation. there are, too, once again, reports of fighting with one official in the kharkiv region saying that four health workers were killed in a shelling as they tried to evacuate patients. i think we can see such claims continuing over the coming days, weeks and months, but the question over how russia will respond to recent ukrainian successes is only going to get louder. the ministry of defence in the uk is reporting that russia is looking to expand the number of civilian targets it wants to target

with long—range missile strikes. this past week we have seen a dam and major electricity substations targeted. but look, throughout this war russia has always used long—range weapons to strike across ukraine, to undermine ukrainian morale and as things stand very much the opposite is happening. earlier i spoke to military expert mike mihailovic and asked him how the ukrainian army has managed its advance, recapturing so much russian—occupied territory. preparations lasted for a long time. ukrainian forces, preparations lasted for a long time. ukrainianforces, besides preparations lasted for a long time. ukrainian forces, besides amassing vast quantities of armour and artillery, they had something, which is the most important thing in this work. information. that information came from nato sources. nato provide

ukrainian planners, orjoint ukrainian planners, or joint planners ukrainian planners, orjoint planners with a set of information, which pinpoints the locations where the russian alliance is the weakest. they started to withdraw some troops in other directions, and it was dictated by surveillance means, and ukrainians exploited that weakness in the russian lines. before that they tried an offensive, with that offensive was bogged down, because it was not successful, but that offensive took a significant number offensive took a significant number of russian troops there as well. ukrainians in the ukrainian army pinpointed the weakest point in rushing defence, —— in the russian defence. they retreated behind the natural barriers with the river, so

it is much easier to defend with less troops. now russia, as they move trips to other locations, there is potential that they will try and attack with other directions. this ukrainian attack bears some risks, because the flanks may be exposed. the ukrainian general staff know about this. on a tactical level, there is a smaller scale to try and flank the ukrainians there. mas there is a smaller scale to try and flank the ukrainians there. was sort of back-ups — flank the ukrainians there. was sort of back-ups do _ flank the ukrainians there. was sort of back-ups do the _ flank the ukrainians there. was sort of back-ups do the ukrainian - flank the ukrainians there. was sort of back-ups do the ukrainian forces| of back—ups do the ukrainian forces now need, because we know they have been asking pretty much constantly to get more sophisticated weaponry? they need more sophisticated weaponry, they need shells and a huge amount, and they need a much better air defence. this is the weakest side of the ukrainian defence. they also need propelled

artillery, and the himars missiles. they can do some tactical attacks, but large—scale attacks in multiple directions, for that, need much more weapons to be supplied by nato allies. you much more weapons to be supplied by nato allies. ., ., , , ., ~ ., , nato allies. you are speaking to us from toronto. _ nato allies. you are speaking to us from toronto, how— nato allies. you are speaking to us from toronto, how adequate - nato allies. you are speaking to us from toronto, how adequate is - nato allies. you are speaking to us from toronto, how adequate is the j from toronto, how adequate is the support been to ukraine from canada? gear canada delivered some very limited quantities of older weapons to limited quantities of older weapons t. , , ., ., to be... the sheer volume of fire that ukrainian _ to be... the sheer volume of fire that ukrainian forces _ to be... the sheer volume of fire that ukrainian forces are - to be... the sheer volume of fire that ukrainian forces are using, i that ukrainian forces are using, firing five or 600 shells per day,

it is extreme. after a few days, they need to be sent back to very remote places to be repaired. the other stuff is anti—tank launchers, which are not reliable. canada did not send, because they do not have enough stuff to send here. canada is strong on the morale and the wording, but they can also financially support buying those weapons from other nato allies. the european commission has given more details about its plans to withhold billions of dollars from hungary... which it accuses of failing to tackle corruption. 7.5 billion dollars will be held back unless hungary takes action to protect the rule of law, though the proposal needs the approval of eu member states.

this was what the eu's budget commissioner had to say. the commission's assessment is that a risk for the budget at this stage remains, therefore we cannot conclude that the new budget is sufficiently protected. the commission has therefore proposed measures to the council. the commission proposes a suspension of 65% of the commitments for three operational programmes and the cohesion policy, amounting to an estimated amount of 7.5 billion euros. let's return to events in london — as the final preparations are made ahead of the queen's state funeral tomorrow. those who want to pay tribute to the queen — lying in state at westminster hall — have until 6:30 in the morning — but time is running out to join the queue. let's speak to my colleague

chi chi izundu — who is at the back of the queue for us. where exactly is the back? the department — where exactly is the back? the department for _ where exactly is the back? iia: department for culture, where exactly is the back? i“i;a: department for culture, media where exactly is the back? i“i9 department for culture, media and sport are saying it is at the hayes gallery. you need to pass certain points of the queue to get into viewing the queen's lying in state, but very recently in the last 15 minutes, stewards have been telling people right at the back of the queue to adjoining much further down the line that they may not get a wristband, which means they may not be able to join the queue and view the queen lying in state. a number of people are walking past us, still trying to join the queue, of people are walking past us, still trying tojoin the queue, and as of people are walking past us, still trying to join the queue, and as you said, it is supposed to close, the queen is supposed to finish lying in

state at 6:30am. people from the department of culture, media and sport are saying that even though you can technicallyjoin the queue, there might not be enough wristbands and they are urging people not to join the queue. and they are urging people not to join the queue-— and they are urging people not to join the queue. and they are urging people not to 'oin the rueue. , :,, :, join the queue. some people may have travelled quite — join the queue. some people may have travelled quite some _ join the queue. some people may have travelled quite some distance - join the queue. some people may have travelled quite some distance even - travelled quite some distance even though there was a warning that went out that they might not have time? indeed, we bumped into a mum and her son, jack. jack is in a wheelchair, and they got to the previous en pointe, southwark park, and she was quite distressed at the fact that she was going to have to try and find her way to tower bridge, which was the next point that they were saying was the end point of the queue. she did not understand where that was, she was quite confused about how to get there. there are people with accessibility issues that are also trying to stilljoin the queue, and there is concern

about them. the stewards are trying to do their best to advise people on the best way to go, but we have witnessed them counting how many wristbands they have left, and they are now starting to tell people, you may not get a wristband, which technically means you can no longer join the queue to view the queen lying in state. join the queue to view the queen lying in state-— lying in state. there might be of some very _ lying in state. there might be of some very disappointed - lying in state. there might be of some very disappointed people, j lying in state. there might be of- some very disappointed people, and of course, it is a cold night that a lot of them might be looking forward to. you come act indeed, it is a little bit chilly here. the stewards are giving out free blankets, which you can give back, there is in are giving out free blankets, which you can give back, there is- you can give back, there is in the rueue you can give back, there is in the queue does _ you can give back, there is in the queue does move _ you can give back, there is in the queue does move its _ you can give back, there is in the queue does move its speed, - you can give back, there is in the queue does move its speed, i - you can give back, there is in the i queue does move its speed, i know you can give back, there is in the - queue does move its speed, i know it looks like it might have stopped, but they are telling people to hurry along, which should keep people warm. it is expecting to take eight hours still, which is the expectation from the department of culture, media and sport, and hopefully it will not take that long, and people will still be able

to meet that 6:30 m deadline. you miaht be to meet that 6:30 m deadline. you might be able _ to meet that 6:30 m deadline. you might be able to run up and down to keep warm as well. such dedication from my colleagues. now on bbc news — another chance to see — your queen. people here in the uk and across the world have been offering their tributes to the queen and their memories of meeting her what is clear, is that so many people who have had handshakes, photographs, or the opportunity to meet the queen has created lifelong memories. this was rachel at the age of four giving

the queen some flowers or drawings, it was taken on a visit to the dockyard in portsmouth. this photo is from 1953, and it shows sandra, who sent us this, with her older brother terry and her younger sister, during a street party for the queen's coronation. he was another picture from 1957, sent in by linda, the queen was visiting her school, and viewed cakes that the pupils had made for the big day. during her reign, the queen travelled across the world, and that included several visits to canada. her majesty's stayed at a hotel in regina. the man responsible for looking after the queen in that visit was the hotel's manager. we can speak to him now. when you know the queen is coming to stay, what

goes through your mind?- goes through your mind? details, details. goes through your mind? details, details- all _ goes through your mind? details, details. all the — goes through your mind? details, details. all the details. _ that the security can give you on how they want everything, and how the queen appreciates things. i believe she particularly appreciated the menu you chose, tell us about that. king george was in regina in 1939, and he attended a dinner at the lieutenant governor's residence. we replicated the menu of that dinner, and the queen was the guest of honour there, and when she came back to the hotel, it was my duty to meet her as she was coming back in, and she commented to me how great the menu was, she commented on the attention to detail and the great service that it was,

and she really commended us and thanked us for replicating it. she was always so appreciative of everything. can you remember what it was that was served? i can remember the main course was chicken, but it is a long time ago now. i was only 35, i was born on the day that the queen came to the throne, so 35 years later i finally meet her, and 35 years later i am talking to you. you say security was the big issue, how far in advance did you have to plan it? i would say we were probably organising two weeks before, and that was everything from what the expectations were of us through protocol, and also the menu tasting, and walking through how the events were going to take place. they were very helpful. very helpful.

lots of protocol, waits to be spoken to, don't speak first, that is a big one. that was an interesting one. most discussions were in the elevator, because i would escort her to the floor that she was staying on, and on the first occasion she came in, you will notice in the picture there that i am not, i have my hands behind my back, i don't usually work that way, back, i don't usually walk that way, but it was to prevent me bumping her or getting in the way. in the elevator, just a touch on her wonderful sense of humour, she identified that i had an aussie accent, and asked me, "what on earth are you doing here when you come from such a beautiful city?" i said hopefully it is part of my career, i was working with a canadian hotel company, and prince philip said

after, "crocodile dundee, that is a good nickname for you," and as of that time, every time i met them i was referred to in the elevator as crocodile dundee! well, you are much smarter dressed! it was often said that wherever she went, she must have thought the world was smelling of fresh paint, because everywhere she walked had been whitewashed wherever she went. what efforts did you go to? in the hallways of the hotel there was this quite gaudy orange and yellow pattern going down the hall corridor. so, i contacted the owners of the hotel and asked if i could have a quantity of money, and found out that her favourite colour was powder blue, so all the corridors became powder blue.

she has obviously seen that, and all the way through to her suite, and then we also painted her suite powder blue. she did comment to me on how great the paintjob was, so there is her humour again! and there was the smell of fresh paint following her wherever she went! thank you very much for talking to us and sharing your memories of the queen. thank you for this opportunity, i greatly appreciate it. it is our pleasure. one way to meet the queen was to win an award. one person who did that was more rain, whojoins us now. why did you get an mbe? taste

was more rain, who joins us now. why did you get an mbe?— did you get an mbe? we had an mbe throu~h did you get an mbe? we had an mbe through fostering, _ did you get an mbe? we had an mbe through fostering, we _ did you get an mbe? we had an mbe through fostering, we were - did you get an mbe? we had an mbe through fostering, we were in - did you get an mbe? we had an mbe through fostering, we were in 31 - through fostering, we were in 31 years of fostering now, and it was for services to children and families. i for services to children and families-— for services to children and families. , , :, :, , :, families. i believe you have your mbe riht families. i believe you have your mbe right there, _ families. i believe you have your mbe right there, can _ families. i believe you have your mbe right there, can we - families. i believe you have your mbe right there, can we see - families. i believe you have your mbe right there, can we see it? | families. i believe you have your. mbe right there, can we see it? can ou see mbe right there, can we see it? can you see it? — mbe right there, can we see it? can you see it? we _ mbe right there, can we see it? can you see it? we can _ mbe right there, can we see it? can you see it? we can indeed, - mbe right there, can we see it? can you see it? we can indeed, a - mbe right there, can we see it? can you see it? we can indeed, a very i you see it? we can indeed, a very recious you see it? we can indeed, a very precious item _ you see it? we can indeed, a very precious item for _ you see it? we can indeed, a very precious item for you _ you see it? we can indeed, a very precious item for you and - you see it? we can indeed, a very precious item for you and your - precious item for you and your family, no doubt. where do you keep it? can act it is on show in the cupboard whilst you walk in, with lots of photographs, too. i cupboard whilst you walk in, with lots of photographs, too.- cupboard whilst you walk in, with lots of photographs, too. i think i shau lots of photographs, too. i think i shall wear — lots of photographs, too. i think i shall wear it _ lots of photographs, too. i think i shall wear it tomorrow, _ lots of photographs, too. i think i shall wear it tomorrow, i - lots of photographs, too. i think i shall wear it tomorrow, i have - lots of photographs, too. i think i i shall wear it tomorrow, i have never worn it in ten years, and i think it deserves to be worn tomorrow. that has made me _ deserves to be worn tomorrow. that has made me feel _ deserves to be worn tomorrow. that has made me feel very emotional, yes, i think you should. hour yes, i think you should. how nerve-racking _ yes, i think you should. how nerve-racking wasn't - yes, i think you should. how nerve-racking wasn't to - yes, i think you should. how nerve-racking wasn't to be i yes, i think you should. firm-o" nerve—racking wasn't to be invited to the palace? absolutely nerve—racking. i grew up with the queen, i was only two and a half and

her coronation, along with my twin. i look at the photograph, waving my flag for the commonwealth, are not thinking that one day i'm going to meet this wonderful lady. the morning where we are going to meet her, there were overwhelming feelings of being nervous, very happy, very excited, and just so privileged. the overwhelming feeling of, this can't be happening. the overwhelming feeling of, this can't be happening, because we are just like ordinary people. celebrities get mbes, not us. it was very emotional, even before arriving at the palace. you looked very elegant in the photograph we have just seen, alongside tony. how did the queen put you at ease? oh, the queen, absolutely amazing. we walked up towards her, curtsied, took three

steps towards her. in my head, i was thinking, don't trip over. everybody has mentioned her smile, but it is the most infectious smile. she just has this aura about her that made you feel in that moment that you were the most important person there, and not her. and she knew all about you? she knew who we were and why we were there, and she took her we were there, and she took our hand and said, i understand you have looked after lots of children and help lots of families, that must be so rewarding, and i said yes, ma'am, very rewarding. my husband said we have a surprise party later, and she said that would be lovely. it was amazing, and unbelievable, just talking to her, very humbling.

you took some members of your family with you? we were very lucky that we could take three people each, because it was a couple, as a couple we were getting an mbe. we took our grandchildren, our daughter, ourson, and my eldest sister. an amazing day for you all. we are so grateful to you for sharing your memories, congratulations again, and i know tomorrow will be important day for you. thank you so much. here is dan from gloucestershire. he was teaching the queen about setting off an explosion. she looks very pleased with what she has done! keith met the queen in 2012 whilst

on duty during her diamond jubilee tour. the queen stopped to meet station staff before boarding the royal train. station staff before boarding the royaltrain. he station staff before boarding the royal train. he described it to us is the biggest highlight of his life. to balmoral, a very special place for the queen. imagine taking your dog for the walk and bumping into her majesty. that is what happened to the atkin family, her majesty walked over to speak to them, asked them where they are going and where they are from, and as she walked away, oliver took this photo. you would be a bit dumbstruck, probably, when you? finally, we were sent this watercolour, it shows the queen being thanked for her lifetime of service by paddington bear. please do send us your memories and your stories and your tributes to the queen. we will try to show as many

as we can. a young girl who sent a poem to the queen during her platinum jubilee says she was amazed to get a thank you card, the day after the late monarch died. nine—year—old lois from southampton says she will treasure the note, which would have been one of the last sent from the queen before her death. james ingham has been to meet lois and her mum, zoe. the platinumjubilee — a moment of special celebration for many this summer, including one young girl who really loved the queen. all her years of working, she's done so many things for all of us, so i sent a poem. you shine oh so bright, like the stars in the night. happyjubilee. i hope you have a nice cup of tea. the jubilee will be history,

and looking back, you're what they'll see. happyjubilee. i said it might be a nice idea to send it to the queen. you know, she might see it, you never know, and just sort of forgot about it. until last friday, when some post arrived. i got a letterfrom buckingham palace, and i opened it and i was just surprised. i was speechless. "i send you my grateful thanks for your kind message on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of my accession to the throne — elizabeth r." you were really excited to get something from the queen, weren't you? i've always been a big royalist, and so to have the queen pass away one day and the next day get a card from her —

i'm happy and sad at the same time, i suppose. happy that i got a piece of history, and a bit sad that the queen died. she lived a long, happy life. we might as well celebrate it. no other cards will have gone out from the queen as of thursday, so we've got a piece of history there, and it will be treasured forever. a lovely memento for a and her mum, zoe. let'sjust take a lovely memento for a and her mum, zoe. let's just take a quick look at those pictures of the last lengths of this extraordinary queue that we have seen over the last few days. people are still trying to join the queue, we are told. it hasn't officially been closed, but those who are not in the queue yet may find that they are too late to get

into westminster hall, which is obviously, the pictures that we are seeing now, as people slowly make their way in these last few hours of their way in these last few hours of the queen lying in state. flags at half mast today, and yet the sun shone. this is hampton court in surrey. also some sunny skies across devon and cornwall, parts of wales and north—east scotland, too. high pressure will make us mostly dry as waste head through the start of next week, it is gradually drifting eastwards, but there will be more cloud around, more moisture in the air, sea temperatures will be a little higher than they were last night for most of us, and there is a weak warm frontjust night for most of us, and there is a weak warm front just approaching night for most of us, and there is a weak warm frontjust approaching in scotland. across north—eastern areas of scotland temperatures could possibly drop as low as three or

four celsius. in central london, from her majesty's state funeral tomorrow, we are expecting a dry day. there will be a lot more cloud around, but they could be some dry spells at times, perhaps a few spots of drizzle in windsor and central london, the winds will be light, highs of 18 celsius. this is the wider picture. a week warm front will give us some outbreaks of light patchy rain and drizzle across the western isles, approaching north—west england and western scotland as we had through the afternoon. also some outbreaks of rain, light and patchy for wales, if you brighter spells, and temperatures will generally be a lot higher across the board, reaching the mid to high teens. on monday night, it is a lot milder. many temperatures are expected to stay in double figures, and this is tuesday. for most of us we will see a dry day. high pressure still dominates, and it weakens these weather fronts trying to push on from the north—west, drizzle across western

scotland, elsewhere it is dry and certainly feeling a bit warmer. temperatures will be given a high teens, 18 or 19 degrees celsius for south—east england and central and southern england. high pressure moves eastwards, allowing weather fronts to move down from the north—west, and this more active front on thursday could possibly stall and some of this rain is likely to pep up at times, too. turning a lot more unsettled by the end of the working week, and then cooler, with more of a northerly breeze developing as we go into next weekend.

this is bbc news — welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. in a moment, our news bulletin on how today's events have unfolded on the eve of the state funeral of her majesty queen elizabeth. a reception for foreign dignitaries was held this evening at buckingham palace, hosted by king charles. it was possibly the largest ever such gathering of world statesmen — certainly in recent years. among those attending were president biden and the first lady, jill biden. president biden earlier paid his own respects, signed a book of condolence and delivered this tribute. when the queen had us to the castle for tea and we were joking — crimpets.

she kept offering me more and i kept eating everything she put in front of me. but she was the same in person as her image. decent, honourable and all about service. our hearts go out to the royal family, to king charles and all the family. it is a loss that leaves a giant hole and sometimes you think you will never overcome it. but... ..as i told the king, she is going to be with him every step of the way, every minute, every moment. and the way... she had that look, like... are you ok? anything i can do for you? what do you need to? what do you need? and also... make sure you do what you're supposed to do. what do you think she meant to the wider world? i think what she gave was a sense of... maybe above all, the notion of service. we all owe something.

there is something within our capacity to do that can make things, notjust the world better, but your neighbourhood better, your household better, your workplace better. and that is what she communicated to me, anyway, and it was an honour to meet her. residencejoe biden, residence joe biden, who residencejoe biden, who has arrived in london with his wife for the funeral tomorrow. thousands of people will line the streets of central london tomorrow for the final journey of her majesty, but there's still a queue of people winding their way along the south bank of the thames, into tower hill gardens, the end of the queue is now around london bridge, they are the last few thousand people who will be able to enter westminster hall and pay their respects to her majesty at the lying—in—state, with the imperial crown, the orb and sceptre on top of the coffin, and the continued

vigil of the guards. we are hearing that some of those who have been queueing have actually been told that they won't make it into westminster hall before the doors are closed there in just over eight hours' time at 6.30 in the morning. i cannot, i have no idea. there is a long queue. it depends how quickly people get through, so... thank you. yes. well, thank you for coming out tonight. there is a chance you may not get a wristband this evening. ijust wanted to give you the heads up. what? you may not get a wristband this evening. why? those last mourners are hoping to pay their respects, of course, to the queen before the doors close at 6:30am. a few hours later, the queen's coffin will be taken in procession to westminster abbey for her funeral service, attended by the royal family and hundreds of foreign leaders and heads of state, but also some members of the public, chelsea pensioners, some nhs workers, members of the armed forces, especially chosen

to attend the event. after the funeral service her coffin will be taken to windsor — that was her home for much of the last two years during the pandemic — and laid to rest in st george's chapel. this evening, the nation fell silent for a minute, this after ten days of intense activity which has seen the nation and the world pay their respects to queen elizabeth and her 70—year reign. fat one miniature of reflection began and ended with a single chime from big ben. the bell in the elizabeth tower on the palace of westminster estate. so here we have some of the last few people who are going to be able to pay their

respects in person at westminster hall. but of course the bbc has been livestreaming the scenes for people who wish to pay their respects virtually to queen elizabeth. people came together to share a moment of reflection — remembering the country's longest reigning monarch. the us presidentjoe biden was among those paying his respects at westminster hall where the queen is lying—in—state — and later he paid tribute to her. our hearts go out to the royal family, king charles and all the family. it's a loss that leaves a giant hole. this is the scene outside westminster hall now, as people wait patiently to be allowed in — it will close to the public in the early hours of tomorrow morning.

among the 2,000 invited guests at tomorrow's funeral