"God save the King, God save the King!"
Despite the crowd's best efforts, the chant didn't quite catch on.
"I think we need a bit of practice with that," the ABC overheard one mourner outside Buckingham Palace say.
"It still doesn't feel quite right, but we'll get there."
On Thursday night, when the British public first learned that their queen had died, the feeling outside the palace gates was driven by pure emotion: Shock, and for some, disbelief.
On Friday, the first day that Britain — and many places in the world — woke up to the reality that it had a new ruler, the mood was a little different on the steps of Buckingham Palace.
There was still a deep sense of mourning, and a sense of loss.
But there was also acceptance and celebration.
Yet, in reality, it was also a day on which Britain truly entered a new era: the era of Charles III.
'The Queen was like a grandmother to me'
Mourners streamed in all day almost non-stop to pay their respects to Elizabeth, the monarch they'd got to know so well.
There were hundreds and thousands of them.
They held flowers to place at the famous gates in a line that went for almost hundreds of metres, many of them with personalised messages to their Queen.
Others came with flags and pictures of Elizabeth, both the young Queen and old.
But even for those coming in empty-handed, there was one thing binding the crowd together: A mutual respect — some called it a deep love — for the woman many of them considered to be like a grandmother to the nation, and the world.
Walking through the crowd was like being inserted into a miniature human ecosystem of the world, just like the diverse Commonwealth she ruled over.
Languages from all over the globe could be heard, from Japanese to Spanish, French to Thai, with mourners stopping to take pictures of the scene, sucking in a deep breath of history in the making.
Right at the front of the crowd, clutching a picture of Queen Elizabeth, was Katarina Marzel.
Formerly from Russia, she became emotional when telling the ABC about her feeling for the Queen, describing her as "truly special".
"When I moved to the UK and became a British citizen, the Queen meant so much to me," she said.
"I'm here on behalf of all my family, back in Russia. I can't see them, I can't go back to Russia.
"I can't see my own grandmother, so the Queen was like a grandmother to me.
"I'm so sad, I will miss her in so many ways."
For Argentinians Sara Ryhe and Gonzalo Mases, who have been living in London for two and four years respectively, it was "a privilege" to be outside the palace gates to pay their respects.
They say Britain, and the Royal Family, still has a "complicated" relationship with Argentina after the Falklands War.
But for Ms Ryhe, even though she "is not a royalist", the queen signified honour, pure and simple.
"I think it's important to be here," she said.
"I respect her as a woman. And she's a symbol of consistency.
"But Charles doesn't seem to be that popular. It'll be a challenge, and I'm sure people will come around, but I'm also curious about what's going to happen from here for Britain."
'I think he's in his rightful place'
That step into the next era of the royal family came later in the day when the new King made his first public appearance after the death of his "darling Mama".
Police blocked the procession of people placing flowers to allow the new King to be driven in, say hello, and inspect the flowers himself.
Next to the ABC — right at the front of the barrier —were the Webb sisters, Nicola, Lisa and Sara, all originally from Bedfordshire.
Nicola, who was visiting her home country from New York, said she was due to go back today but "stopped everything" to be outside the gates.
She said she had full trust in Charles, even if some didn't.
"I know a lot of people think Charles should step back and let William go for it, but that's what they're born to do, and I think he's in his rightful place," he said.
"People used to laugh at this environmental stuff, but hey, he's been proved right."
On the other side of the ABC was Sam Hodgson.
It was his birthday, and the 23-year-old from Hertfordshire couldn't believe his luck when he ended up at the front of the crowd, with tens of thousands behind him.
At just before 2:30pm local time, a few hours before he'd address the nation for the first time, the King arrived, and the smartphones emerged.
It was at that point the "God save the King" chant came out.
But the lure of getting snap of the new King proved too much for most, and the chant lost steam quickly, fading into the distance.
They stepped out of the vehicle.
The King went right, but Camilla went left — and she made her way straight to Sam.
"'I'm sorry for your loss," Sam said, shaking her hand.
"It's such a sad time for all of us," said Camilla, now known as the Queen Consort.
Sam couldn't believe his luck.
'What a day," he told the ABC.
"I can't believe it."
History in the making, in so many different ways.
