The last few weeks have been monumental for the UK and have seen communities across the the country - and beyond - band together to remember the life of the longest-reigning British monarch. Queen Elizabeth II died on Thursday September 8 age 96 at her Balmoral residence.
The UK has since entered a 10-day period of mourning, with processions and ceremonies taking place across the four nations and the Commonwealth to honour the late Queen. But it's Elizabeth's lying-in-state at Westminster Hall that has most captured the British public's imagination, with hundreds of thousands of people queuing for around 14 hours to see the Queen's coffin.
Even celebrities have got involved, with David Beckham among those joining the line to pay their respects. Friday (September 16) saw Charles III make his first visit to Wales since becoming king, as he and the Queen Consort travelled to Llandaff Cathedral for a memorial service for Queen Elizabeth II.
He then visited the Senedd in Cardiff Bay where he received a motion of condolence, before ending the trip at Cardiff Castle, where around 2,000 members of the public were there to welcome him back to the capital. WalesOnline's John Jones decided to get in on the action and camped outside Cardiff Castle on Thursday night to be in with a chance of meeting the new monarch. We'll hand over to him now, as he details his unique brush with royalty...
Let me just state for the record, I'm no royalist, nor am I a staunch anti-monarchist. I'm largely indifferent to the Royal Family in most respects, but having watched Royal weddings and Jubilee celebrations, I'd always wondered if I was missing out on the Royal bug. Those die-hard monarchists always seem so full of life on TV, and I decided I wanted to try a bit of that for myself.
A few hours later, at around 10.30pm on Thursday night, I took a seat outside the castle in a broken camping chair, surrounded by scurrying rats and filled with a feeling of almost instantaneous regret. I was going to wait there all night to be the first out of 2,000 to enter the castle and give myself a shot at talking to the new King who, as it happens, wasn't scheduled to get there until 1.30pm the following day.
Believe it or not, I've done stupider things before, and so while I wasn't exactly looking forward to the night ahead, I fully believed I could do it with no major issues. Saying that, it only took 10 minutes for disaster to strike as my water bottle leaked all over my bag of fresh clothes and books to pass the time with. This was going to be a long night.
The first few hours weren't so bad, to be honest. Obviously, I was the only one there, but I was snug in my sleeping bag, I had plenty of snacks to keep me going and a few of my friends even stopped by to lend their encouragement and check if I was of sound mind. The dog-sized rats that were hanging about posed a bit of a problem for sleeping arrangements, but I decided to cross that bridge when I came to it.
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There were a few police officers and council workers still at the castle as midnight came and went. I wouldn't say they were necessarily pleased to see me, but they were friendly enough, despite one openly laughing in my face when I told him I'd got there 15 hours early.
As we approached 3am, I was still the sole member of the queue, and I had started to feel like I'd slightly jumped the gun. A group of police officers walking past me and whispering "there he is" did little to change this. By this time, the floodlights illuminating the stunning castle walls had gone out, and I'd resigned myself to attempt to get a little bit of sleep. However, my mission was about to change remarkably.
No sooner had I shut my eyes, than a figure stumbled into the camera platform I was sitting behind. It was Tony. He'd had a few - ten in fact - but make no mistake, he was here to see the King. He had big plans to clear up climate change, and he wanted Charles III to hear him out.
He is a lovely bloke is Tony, and he's got an absolutely remarkable life story, which I heard a lot of over the next few hours. What I didn't expect to happen, however, was for us both to be lying on the tiny platform together just 20 minutes after we met, with my new mate curled up at my feet like a faithful hound. By this point, it was reaching 4.30am, and I was too tired to really acknowledge how bizarre it really was.
After a good 45 minutes of not-quite-sleep, briefly interrupted by officers from South Wales Police kindly checking in on us, I felt suitably refreshed and ready to attack the day. However, to mine and Tony's disgust, while we'd been napping, three other people had joined the queue behind us. Or, as it turned out, in front of us.
Not to worry though, we were still in the mixer. And as the sun came up, five became ten and ten became twenty, and soon, by around 6am, there were around 40 to 50 people lined up behind the barriers outside the front of the castle, with this number soaring as the hours went by.
Despite everyone at the front of the queue having an early start, the excitement was tangible. Most were here not just to pass on their sympathies and thanks to the new King, but to witness a moment of history. The term "once in a lifetime" was heard a lot amongst the crowds of Royal supporters young and old, with many feeling that it was their duty to attend.
With no portaloos or any such facilities freely available outside the castle, I broke queue etiquette and ducked out to go the toilet and change into fresh, smarter clothes. It didn't really matter however, as this line was going nowhere fast, with security holding firm at the entrance as the queue snaked around the castle walls and up North Road.
Unbelievably, it wasn't until nearly midday that we actually entered the castle, much to the relief of me, Tony - who by this point was wearing not one, but two ties - and the rest of the gang. I glided through security and unbelievably, out of a ten-horse race between those at the front of the pack, made into the grounds first. I'd done it!
It had felt like I'd almost reached the end of my weird and wonderful journey, but the waiting had only just begun. I should have savoured my stroll through the picturesque grounds, which looked even more stunning in the gorgeous sunshine, as for the next three hours I would be hemmed in against a rope fence with the rest of the 2,000-strong crowd gaggling behind me. Tony had also disappeared, which further dampened my spirits.
After those around me tracked the King's movements on their phones, there was much applause and fanfare when he finally arrived at the castle just after 2pm, nearly 16 hours after me. Any hopes of this being the moment to finally meet him were instantly dashed as he hopped out of the car and into the castle's banquet hall, from which he would not emerge from for a good few months.
Okay, it was only an hour and half really, but after so long on my feet, which were now sore, blistered and completely fast asleep, it felt like an eternity. As his entourage slowly filed out of the banquet hall following the King's meeting with charity representatives and dignitaries, everyone was waiting for the man himself to appear and shake some hands along with the Queen Consort.
At last, there he was. I knew this was my chance. As he approached, I stumbled over what to say to him, but in the end settled on: "Your Majesty, can I just say, I’ve waited 15 hours to come here today." I'd actually been there 17 hours in total, but my brain was completely fried at this point.
It all hinged on his response. "You shouldn't have!" he laughed. "But I'm deeply touched."
If I'm honest, if I'd known that he thought I shouldn't have bothered before I set out on this incredibly tiring mission, I would never have done it. But, despite the sleep deprivation, aching feet and almost definite sunstroke, I'm really glad that I did.
As I said, I'm no monarchist, nor do I think the institution should be completely abolished. Of course, there were times during the course of the night where that thought crossed my mind, but seeing people united in a shared passion or belief was heartwarming and I felt lifted by my time with the other queuing legends around me and the buzz that they emitted.
While I may feel like death as I write this, I will look back on this experience fondly. But God better save the King, because I don't fancy doing it again for a very, very long time.
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