TWO women have become the first to join the queue to see The Queen lying in state in London – over 48 hours early.
Anne Daley and Vanessa Nanthakumaran will be among three million mourners who will join the line to pay their respects to Her Majesty.
Desperate to beat the worst of the crowds, Anne, from Wales, got up at 3am on Monday morning, arriving in London at around 2.35pm to take her place on Westminster Bridge.
The 65-year-old told Good Morning Britain: "First and foremost we want to pay our respects to Her Majesty the Sovereign who spent 70-years of her life dedicating a life to this country.
It comes as…
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- King Charles, Anne, Andrew and Edward bow their heads in moving vigil as they stand guard over the Queen’s coffin
- Queen’s coffin to be flown to Buckingham Palace today with Princess Anne by her side – as millions queue to say goodbye
- Over three million mourners set to visit London this week to pay respects to Queen
- Oprah Winfrey hopes Queen’s death helps Harry & Meghan ‘make peace’ with royals after bombshell interview caused chaos
"She was just a remarkable, steadfast lady."
Clasping a Welsh flag, Anne – from Llandaff, Cardiff – said she loves The Queen because "she never let anybody down".
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She reckoned the whole country will be "in floods of tears and heartbroken" when The Queen's coffin arrives in London later today.
On hearing the news of the Queen's death, Anne told WalesOnline: "I couldn't stop crying for days."
Anne was knocked back to second in the queue by Vanessa, from Harrow, North London, who had worked out exactly where the queue will start.
The dedicated royalist told GMB she had armed herself with some snacks and a bottle of water.
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But policeman have provided the devoted duo with "tea and some breakfast" as they wait until Westminster Hall opens its doors to mourners from 5pm on Wednesday.
A third lady named Grace secured the next place in the queue.
The trio will be the first in London to see the Queen lying in state.
It comes after people were warned not to wait or camp along the route where the Queen's coffin will be taken from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall.
The coffin is expected to be flown back to London from Edinburgh at 6pm, where Her Majesty has been lying in state in St Giles' Cathedral.
Thousands of mourners queued from 7am on Monday, with some waiting 11-hours, before filing past The Queen's coffin yesterday and overnight.
The Queen's children, King Charles III, Princess Anne, Prince Edward and Andrew, the Duke of York, stood vigil in a heart-rending ceremony around Her Majesty's coffin last night.
Princess Anne will accompany The Queen on a flight back to RAF Northolt.
Her Majesty will then travel by hearse to Buckingham Palace in London, where mourners will line the streets to watch it pass.
After being greeted by a Guard of Honour from the King’s Guard at the Grand Entrance, the coffin will be moved to the Bow Room so the King and the Royal Family can pay their respects.
The Queen will then be moved to the Throne Room, where Her Majesty's former staff can visit and pay their respects.
On Wednesday, an official procession will take the coffin from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall where The Queen will lie in state until Sunday.
Queues of up to 35 hours are expected to snake all the way from Westminster, over Westminster Bridge and all along the Southbank to the Tate Modern Gallery.
Hundreds of thousands of mourners are expected to line up to pay their respects.
Mourners will be able to file past Her Majesty 24-hours-a-day.
The new Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley told ITV on Tuesday the force has been preparing for the occasion for years and facilities will be in place for mourners queuing up.
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Thousands of mourners queue through the night to see Queen lying in state
Emergency services will also be on hand to assist those who fall ill in the queues.
The Queen's state funeral will take place on Monday.
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