James Blunt was among the last to see the Queen lie in state after he joined the last of the hundreds of thousands in the queue to Westminster Hall. The queue was closed at 10.30pm on Sunday night (September 18) before the last mourner paid their final respects to the late monarch after four days of lying in state.
Thousands of people have made the pilgrimage to pay their respects to the late monarch. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said after 10.30pm on Sunday that the last people had been admitted to the queue to see the Queen’s coffin at Westminster Hall. The announcement had been expected throughout the day on Sunday as waiting times hit a peak of 14 hours at 10am.
The last member of the public to to pass through the hall was Chrissy Heerey, a serving member of the RAF from Melton Mowbray. Ms Heerey said: “I was the last person to pay my respects to the Queen and it felt like a real privilege to do that. I’d already been round once, I went in at 1.15 this morning. It’s one of the highlights of my life and I feel very privileged to be here."
James joked he was "ushered to the front after offering to sing" after he was spotted alongside his wife Sofia Wellesley in the miles-long queue stretching through London. The You're Beautiful singer wore a black suit and tie as he waited to pay his respects, with Sofia, who is the granddaughter of Valerian Wellesley, 8th Duke of Wellington and is believed to a pal of The Queen's granddaughter, Princess Eugenie, also opting for darker clothes.
James, 48, and Sofia, 39, were first spotted in a photo shared by a member of the public heading past Tower Bridge amongst thousands of others - who had queued for over ten hours on the day. In a different photo of James shared on social media, the singer was praised him for taking the time out to pose with scouts who had volunteered to help proceedings on the day.
"Hey @JamesBlunt you absolutely made some extremely hardworking @scouts who have been volunteering and #doingtheirduty to HM The Queen’s #lyinginstate day today," a tweet read alongside a selfie of James at the front of the shot with the volunteers crowded behind him. "Being thankful and kind really matters."
Responding to reports that he had joined the queue, James tweeted: ‘Offered to sing, and am now being ushered to the front.’ Prior to his musical fame, James was a reconnaissance officer in the Life Guards regiment of the British Army, he served under NATO during the 1999 Kosovo War.
It was after leaving the military, that he rose to fame in 2004 with the release of his debut album Back to Bedlam, which included hit single You're Beautiful. He stood guard at the coffin of the Queen Mother when she was lying in state following her death in 2002, and was part of her funeral procession.
James also became close friends with Prince Harry, and attended his wedding to Meghan Markle in 2018. He also wasn't the only famous face to join the queue on Sunday as Line of Duty star Daniel Mays has shared with fans details of his own 11-hour wait in the queue.
The actor, who played Danny Waldron in the hit BBC police procedural, shared photos of himself as he made his slow progress through the queue. Alongside the snaps, he wrote on Twitter : "11 hours queueing to pay our respects to the Queen for her exceptional 70 years of service yesterday. The warmth, affection, conversations shared, glorious views and sense of community were magical to be part of. Made me proud to be British and proud to be a Londoner."
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