My (Almost) Brush wtih The Queen

I got up fairly early this morning in order to make it down to St Paul’s Cathedral, in hopes of catching sight of Her Majesty, The Queen. Unfortunately, I woke up to rain, ominous skies, and howling wind. But, I told myself, such might make it easier for me to catch sight of Elizabeth—so, off I went!

I came by way of the Mansion House tube stop, meaning that I wound up circling around the back and northern sides of the cathedral in order to make my way to the front. En route, I passed quite a long queue of men and women—the invited guests—waiting to enter the cathedral. Most of them were older, and most of the men were dressed in tails and top hats whilst the women wore quite pretty dresses and prim hats. And, since this was a Service of the Order of the British Empire, almost all of them were wearing their medals (which were a lot smaller in person than I expected).  

NB: This is not my image!

 Having planned accordingly, I arrived about an hour before Queen Elizabeth II was scheduled to appear. This meant that I had a wonderful vantage point! In fact, there were only a small handful of people waiting at that point, meaning that I was able to stake-out a position right against the guardrail. 

People entering the cathedral--apparently, my invitation was lot in the mail.

It was raining the whole time!

I waited, as the crowd gradually grew bigger (and more excited)… 

And then the people dressed a bit more…showy started to appear. 

First there was the group of older men in red coats (who were brought in, I swear, in a massive gray ambulance—I kid you not!).  

Then there were the Royal Household Calvary’s trumpeters, who marched out and took position along St Paul’s steps in order to proclaim The Queen’s arrival... 

Royal Household Calvary Trumpeters...Take One!

 And then there were three carloads of men and women in even fancier frocks that I couldn’t see well enough to figure out who they were. They pulled up to the front, and rushed inside owing to the rain.
  

Mystery Special Guests

More waiting followed...

We were getting close now… 

And then… 

Confusion… 

Some official from St Paul’s rushed out and whispered something to the lead trumpeter, who quickly reorganized his men so that they now faced south (with their backs to us). This wasn’t looking good for my prospects of a Royal Sighting. 

Royal Household Calvary Trumpeters...Take Two!

A few police cars whizzed by at that point, cordoning off St Paul’s Church Yard (the street that runs alongside the church)… 

And then… 

The Royal Limo rolled by slowly! 

This was it! I was seeing the limo—and not in the Royal Mews this time!—meaning that I was about to see The Queen. 

What a momentous moment this was going to be… 

The trumpeters started their proclamation, accompanied by the bells of the cathedral… 

But the limo didn’t stop. 

Instead, it pulled up alongside the (wrong, from my vantage point) side of the church. Apparently, there was some concern about making the 85 year-old Sovereign climb the rain-slicked steps into the cathedral. 

I mean, I guess I can’t blame ’em…but, damn. Nonetheless, I did manage to snag this image—I think that’s her hot-pink coat that you see there. At least that’s what I’m telling myself. 

Was that a flash of the Royal Hot Pink Coat?

Oh well, there’s always next week… 

[UPDATE: Just came across these pictures from today's ceremony--looks like I was correct about the hot pink! What beautiful robes...]