Northern Ireland is being proudly represented at the Queen's lying-in-state by two Co Down scouts.
Thousands of people have been queuing through the night to get the chance to pay their respects ahead of the Queen's funeral at Westminster Abbey on Monday.
Until then, Her Majesty will lie in state at Westminster Hall, which is open 24 hours a day to allow as many people as possible to pass by.
Read more: Two-minute silence to be held after The Queen's funeral
Kayleigh Finlay from Strangford District Scouting and Nathan Quee from North Down Scouts are two of nine 18-25 year olds selected from Northern Ireland to represent the Scouts at this poignant moment in our nation’s history.
They are also among 120 from across the four UK nations doing their final duty to the late Queen, a promise Kayleigh made when she invested as a Scout.
Their first day on Tuesday started with a dawn flight from Belfast to Stanstead, after which they made their way to Gilwell Park, home to the UK's National Scouting Headquarters.
Kayleigh from Newtownards and Nathan from Bangor are supporting the police, military, and the millions of mourners and well-wishers flocking to London to pay their respects and their working shifts in London currently are 5.30am-3.30pm.
Kayleigh's first day on Wednesday started off bright and early, as she told Belfast Live.
"For the first time in my life I was in the showers by 4.15am and sleepily boarding the coach at 5.15. The highlight of my day came early in the morning, when a lovely lady stopped me to ask if we were helping with the lying-in-state.
"When I said yes, she teared up, held her hand to her chest and told me how that was really moving. In that moment, the sense of pride I felt was overwhelming.
"As I have explained to many members of the public, we made a promise to do our duty to the Queen and this is us fulfilling our final duty to her after 70 years of her support for the Scouting movement.
"I was stationed in Archbishop’s Park on Wednesday where the bag drop and security system is being run, and also where members of the public can be directed to lay their flowers.
"It was a busy afternoon trying my best to direct lovely people around a city that I have no sense of direction in! We also spotted the Archbishop of Canterbury walking past St Thomas’ on his way to the procession.
"By the time 3.30pm and the end of our shift came I think it’s safe to say we were all shattered, and personally my feet were rubbed red raw!
"A change over to the late team is completed and then we board the bus once again. It's a quick turnaround to get our uniforms pressed by the absolutely lovely valet ladies who keep ironing my nightmare kilt for me. It's early to bed each night for a busy next day - all kicking off at 4am again."
On Thursday, Kayleigh celebrated her 19th birthday by being stationed at Tate Britain.
"This is where the accessibility queue is being headed up from so we met a lot of remarkable people" she explained.
"At one stage we had to close the queue as it was pushing a couple of hours long but people were so grateful for everything and the majority understood that we were doing the absolute best we could.
"I met many remarkable people today and they all thanked me profoundly and asked lots of questions about our duties."
Although she missed celebrating her birthday at home with friends and family, Kayleigh says this was without a doubt the easiest decision she's ever had to make.
"Sacrificing these few things comes nowhere near as close to all the sacrifices Her Majesty made for us over 70 years on the throne. Fulfilling my final duty for the Queen, as I promised to do, is worth every sacrifice I had to make to be here," she added.
"I knew I was blessed to be coming here but on Wednesday the reality of the honour set in. Her Majesty has provided a steadfast sense of peace and remarkable pride and it really is the highest of honours to be able to do my duty to her now."
Among the visitors to the Queen's lying-in-state at Westminster Hall on Thursday was the mayor of Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council.
Cllr Ivor Wallace, 60, caught a flight into London at 4am to represent the borough - after being elected mayor in June of this year.
He queued for six hours, something he said was a "very emotional experience".
Mr Wallace added: "She was just always there and the person that everybody looked up to. She was a grandmother figure to most people."
READ NEXT:
NI public transport arrangements on day of The Queen's Funeral
DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson insists Union has not been weakened by Queen's death
GP practises to close in Northern Ireland for Queen's funeral
King Charles thanks people of Northern Ireland for messages of support following Queen's death
For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here. To sign up to our FREE newsletters, see here
