LONDON DIARY: Reflections from the queue to mourn the queen

LONDON (AP) — A foreign correspondent, a consultant, a businessman, a retired accountant and his wife stand in a line for nearly eight hours.

That is how this story begins, once I claim my spot among a growing queue of mourners coming from all corners of the United Kingdom and the world to pay their last respects to Queen Elizabeth II in England’s capital.

It ends when the five of us exit the majestic hall — each in awe, in our own individual way, of the forces of change that swirl around us.

One step into the line, a volunteer named Kofi jots down my number; a wristband later confirms I am No. 3,017 in the queue.