Wild scenes have erupted in the United Kingdom following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Black cabs lined the streets, crowds grew enormous and grown men started crying in public. If there was ever going to be one group of people shattered by the news of the monarch’s passing, it was definitely the Brits.
Here are some of the wild happenings that went down in the UK after the news of her majesty’s swift departure from this mortal plane was announced:
The Mall (a road in London’s city of Westminster in front of Buckingham Palace) was positively chockablock with black cabs. Cab drivers wanted to show their respects for the Queen’s passing and did so in the only way they know how: causing traffic on the roads.
They have now closed the roads around Buckingham Palace. pic.twitter.com/4YjqSiCh9D
— Paul Brand (@PaulBrandITV) September 8, 2022
One driver, ‘while in tears’, said that he wanted to pay his respects to the monarch who’s “all we’ve ever known”
— Facts UK (@thefacts_UK) September 8, 2022
I do feel marginally sorry for those in the UK who have based their entire personalities on Queen Elizabeth II. What do they do now? Worship Queen Consort Camilla Parker-Bowles? In Diana‘s England?
Feel very fortunate to get down here this evening. Randomly singing the national anthem, spontaneous rounds of applause for the Queen and black cabs lining The Mall 🇬🇧👑 #QueenElizabeth pic.twitter.com/9kWHKnenGD
— ✈️ Danny Waine 🏖 (@DNY_W) September 8, 2022
Naturally, BBC One journalists were the first people on the planet to report the death of the queen. They’ve been preparing for this moment for quite some time now.
Black suits were on, the website’s banners went black and the mood was incredibly sombre. Shout out to Huw Edwards who stayed live on the air until the news was official, now that is dedicated journalism.
Here is the moment Huw Edwards on BBC One announced the death of HM The Queen. pic.twitter.com/ar08Ox27Cr
— Scott Bryan (@scottygb) September 8, 2022
Huge respect to Huw Edwards @thehuwedwards for presenting a very long live shift covering the sad passing of Her Majesty The Queen throughout today. An absolute professional. He must be utterly exhausted. pic.twitter.com/BStUGIG7tR
— Joe Porter 🇬🇧 (@JoePorterUK) September 8, 2022
There were also plenty of tears in the streets.
Here is some bonkers footage of white people Brits crying while singing “God Save the King”.
Interesting song choice given the situation but okay!
There was total silence outside Buckingham Palace as the news broke, and then the crowds broke into song: God Save the King. pic.twitter.com/6kCUNSLw68
— Anna Stewart (@annastewartcnn) September 8, 2022
Videos also emerged on TikTok of grown adults weeping publicly.
The streets of London were also lit up with the giant face of Queen Elizabeth II.
Not gonna lie that reflection in the rainy street is giving Blade Runner. Kinda chic.
There were also reports of British children spotting the queen in the clouds, which is something.
If you’re very online, you may remember that when Prince Phillip died BBC’s Radio 1 Dance made quite a jarring cut from the announcement of his death straight into a banging beat drop.
Despite what you may have seen from meme pages or your group chats, there was no such dramatic cut-off to music. Instead, the announcement went on for half a minute and was followed by “God Save The Queen”.
For the record: BBC Radio 1 Dance did not cut away back to dance music after the announcement.
— Scott Bryan (@scottygb) September 8, 2022
Spare a thought for those who found out about the Queen’s death while listening to Pete Tong on BBC Radio 1 Dance pic.twitter.com/pR48VMmWGj
— Hugh Carr (@hughcarrhere) September 8, 2022
And that’s all the madness, misery and monarchic obsession from the UK.
