Sunday 18 September 2022 10:11 PM Carry on camping! Fans defy tent ban on The Mall to get prime spot for Queen's ... trends now
Hardy royal fans defied no-camping rules ahead of the Queen's funeral today, as people of all ages set up tents, deckchairs and even a makeshift minibar to grab premium seats for the spectacle.
Scores of people began bedding in to line The Mall in central London over the weekend, despite rules – seemingly loosely enforced – preventing people from setting up camp.
Several said friends and family told them they were 'mad' to carry out the overnight vigil, but they insisted they would not miss the occasion.
Among them were school friends Christine Manning, 75, and Dianne Donohue, 73, from Leek in Staffordshire, who slept in a pop-up tent.
Mrs Donohoe, a retired housewife and grandmother-of-three, said: 'Yes, the advice was not to camp but we disobeyed. We've had a good catch-up, we've enjoyed it.
Among them were school friends Christine Manning, 75, (right) and Dianne Donohue, 73, (left) from Leek in Staffordshire, who slept in a pop-up tent
'We were sleeping in the tent and at 4.30am I woke up and asked Chris if she was awake – she was, so we had a whisky and lemonade and a pork pie.
'A couple more hours' sleep, then on to the prosecco. We had to take our tent down at 7am because the police told us to, but we couldn't do it, so we had to get some lad to help us.
'We're out of pork pies sadly but we've got sausage rolls, and we've got some gin now the whisky's run out – we're chipper.'
Miss Manning, a retired waitress, added: 'My kids said we were mad. Well, 'mental' is the word they used. They said we were idiots. I said it had to be done.'
The Mall was a frenzy of activity yesterday, as people arrived to lay flowers nearby, get a glimpse of Buckingham Palace and Horse Guards Parade, and bag their vantage points for the funeral procession as it makes its way from Westminster to Windsor.
