queen's death tourism

Disruptions and high hotel prices: What to know if visiting London for Queen Elizabeth II events

Sep 13, 2022 • 6 min read

Mourners gather in Green Park, London on Tuesday to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II © Getty Images

London is set to become increasingly busy over the next week as people travel to see Queen Elizabeth II lying in state at Westminster Hall and take part in public gatherings and official ceremonies. There are already reports of hotel price surges, transport delays, and event cancelations with visitors urged to plan ahead before traveling to the capital.

If you are one of those people or you happen to find yourself in London, or indeed the UK, during this historic time, here's what you need to know.

Is it easy to find accommodation?

London is expecting "unprecedented travel demand" starting Wednesday, September 14 as more than one million people are expected to make their way to the capital for the official ceremonies. If you haven't yet secured accommodation, expect to pay steep prices for a room. According to the Guardian , prices are at their highest since the 2012 Olympics with some hotels increasing them by more than 300%. 

Are museums, restaurants, and shops open?

The UK is in a 10-day period of national mourning that will end on September 19 but it will be business as usual for most places over the next few days with a statement from the government confirming that "there is no obligation on organizations to suspend business". That said, it's a good idea to check ahead to make sure that opening times haven't changed, especially when visiting a museum or cultural establishment. The Royal Collection Trust, which manages royal estates and attractions, has closed all six of its sites for the duration of the mourning period, while  Westminster Abbey is closed to tourists until September 21. 

You'll find that the country comes to a standstill on Monday, September 19 - the day the state funeral takes place with widespread business shutdowns including some supermarkets and holiday resorts like Center Parcs. Even the National Health Service (NHS) is canceling appointments on the day.

Will events be canceled?

Yes. If you are traveling to the UK for a particular event that's not connected to the queen's passing, your plans will probably go awry. All major sporting events will be canceled on the weekend of September 17 and 18. And any major events, including film festivals and Pride celebrations, have been scaled back or canceled outright.

Again, it's a good idea to confirm that plans haven't changed before going anywhere as it's likely schedules will continue to change over the coming days.

Will trains run? Can I expect transport disruptions?

You'll likely encounter transport disruptions across the UK but particularly in London and Edinburgh where much of the official ceremonial arrangements are taking place. In London, access to some areas in the city center will be restricted as people travel to Buckingham Palace to commemorate the queen. "We expect large crowds, which can pose risks to public safety," the government said in an earlier statement.

Planned industrial action across rail networks has been canceled for September but expect train and bus schedules to be impacted throughout the mourning period. Planning journeys in advance "will be essential," according to a joint statement released on Tuesday from Network Rail and Transport for London. London, they said, will be "exceptionally busy" and Tube stations could temporarily close to avoid overcrowding.

"We will see unprecedented travel demand in the capital, especially from Wednesday, September 14," the statement from the rail companies reads. "Transport providers have well-developed plans with extra staff and services coming on-stream to help people get to where they need to be."

London Underground passengers are asked to avoid Green Park station, the nearest one to Buckingham Palace due to "high numbers of customers passing through and try other nearby options including Victoria, Piccadilly Circus, and St James’ Park.

Airports and flight schedules shouldn't be impacted, but trains and busses to London's airports may suffer delays and overcrowding.

How can I take part in commemorations?

The state funeral is taking place at Westminster Abbey in London on the 10th day of mourning, that is Monday, September 19. But beforehand, people have an opportunity to commemorate the queen at various events and gatherings across the UK.

How to attend the queen's lying in state at Westminster Hall, London

On Tuesday evening the queen's coffin is set to be flown to London, where it will be taken first to her former home at Buckingham Palace . It is expected that the coffin will be taken in a procession on a gun carriage on Wednesday from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall , the oldest building at the Houses of Parliament, where it will lie in state for five days, until the nation holds a minute's silence on Sunday, September 18 at 8pm.

All roads in central London are expected to close to traffic for the public to stand along the route. The Hall will be open to the public for 24 hours each day, with over three-quarters of a million visitors expected to file past the coffin which will be closed and placed on top of a raised platform known as a catafalque.

The British government issued guidance for anyone planning to go to parliament: "You will need to stand for many hours, possibly overnight, as the queue will keep moving." People have been told to reconsider bringing young children given the long waiting times expected and to pack food and drink and any medication they may need. 

Attendees will need to pass through airport-like security screening before entering Westminster Hall, so no liquids will be permitted through. Once inside photography is banned and those wishing to attend have been told to dress appropriately, anyone wearing clothes that are heavily marked with branding or marketing messages will not be allowed entry. Larger bags can be left at the bag-drop facility but capacity is limited.

Details on the state funeral will be released "in due course".

Where can I leave flowers?

Buckingham Palace has become a focal point for people to congregate since her passing. Any flowers left at the Palace gates are being moved to nearby Hyde Park and the Green Park Floral Tribute Garden, which is also becoming a gathering point for visitors. 

What about the coronation of King Charles?

That event won't happen for another few months. It probably won't even happen this year. Queen Elizabeth II's coronation took place 16 months after her accession in 1953, so her son's coronation will likely take some time. Details haven't been made public yet but it's likely, despite the current cost of living crisis, it will be a major event with plenty of pomp, pageantry, and anachronistic traditions.

How do I approach discussing the queen with people in the UK?

While there's no universality of sentiment in the UK - as even a cursory scan of the polarised world of social media will reveal - this is going to be an extraordinary few days to be in the United Kingdom. People will be going into new shared experiences and visitors will be a part of something unique. Expect wall-to-wall media coverage of funeral arrangements, and pundits discussing the queen's legacy and what the future has in store for the monarchy.

Bear in mind that the royal family is a symbol of many things in today's UK - tradition, privilege and, of course, colonialism. When talking to people there's no need to shy away from the queen's death but on the other hand, no one will expect to be offered sympathy. Meanwhile, away from royal honeypots like Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle which will be busy and strewn with floral tributes, Brits will be (mostly) keeping calm and carrying on. Away from grappling with constitutional questions, most people are more worried about energy bills and inflation.

This article was first published September 2022 and updated September 2022

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What Queen Elizabeth’s Death Means for Tourists to the U.K. Right Now

• One gay couple visiting London said the Queen’s passing has made their vacation “even more historical.”

(CNN) – The death of Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch in British history, has led to astonishing scenes in the UK.

Over the past few days, the accession of King Charles III has taken place and the Queen’s coffin has traveled through the Scottish Highlands to Edinburgh, before being flown into London and brought to Buckingham Palace for a private ceremony.

On Wednesday, the coffin will be transported to Westminster Hall, where it will lie until the state funeral – the first to be held in the U.K. since the death of Sir Winston Churchill in 1965 – on Monday.

The UK is currently in a period of national mourning, which is to last until the end of the day of the funeral, and well-wishers from around the world have been flocking to the capital in order to witness these historic events up close.

In fact, on the day of the Queen’s death, travel app Hopper reported a 49-percent spike in flight searches from the U.S. to London compared to the previous day.

Visitor surge

Witnessing history, ‘world-changing event’, travel disruption, event cancellations.

“We are expecting an increasing number of international visitors to travel to the U.K., in particular London, in the coming days to not only mourn the passing of Her Majesty the Queen but also celebrate her life,” Joss Croft, CEO of tourism trade association UKinbound , tells CNN Travel .

Shortly after the news was announced, Rachel Shoemaker from Louisa White Travel, a boutique tour operator specializing in tailor-made travel to Britain, received several requests from people wishing to travel to London, while some travelers who were already in the U.K. at the time were keen to extend their trip.

“The Queen had an extraordinary ability to inspire people all around the world and there are many Americans, myself included, who feel a particular connection to her and want to pay their respects,” explains Shoemaker.

But while some tourists have made, or are making, last-minute travel arrangements, there are many others who just happen to be arriving for their pre-planned trips during a totally unprecedented time.

Those arriving last minute will likely struggle to find a hotel room, particularly if they’re planning to stay in London.

Many hotels in the capital are now fully booked, while room rates have tripled in some cases, as visitors descend on the city in the hope of either seeing the Queen’s coffin at the Palace of Westminster between Wednesday and Monday and/or being amongst the many mourners lining the streets on Monday, which has been declared a public holiday.

Mourners were already beginning to form queues to view the coffin on Tuesday.

“London is pretty well full over the coming days, with many hotels closing off online bookings so they can manage availability and prices manually for foreign delegations,” Paul Charles, founder of travel PR agency The PC Agency and a commentator on the travel and tourism industry, tweeted earlier this week.

Budget hotel chain Travelodge, which operates close to 80 hotels in the U.K. capital, has reported a surge in bookings, with a spokesperson commenting that staff is “gearing up for a busy period in the lead-up to the Queen’s state funeral,” before noting that its hotels in central London and Windsor “are literally sold out.”

Justin Allen, from Illinois, who has visited London several times in the past, is thrilled that his pre-planned trip to the U.K. capital with partner Matthew Anastasia has coincided with these historic events.

“It’s made the trip even more historical for my partner who has never been out of America,” Allen tells CNN Travel over email.

“For his [Anastasia’s] first trip to Europe , he gets to experience so much more than just a regular London getaway.”

The pair were among those lining the streets to watch King Charles III’s motorcade emerge after he was formally proclaimed the U.K.’s new monarch on Saturday morning, and Allen says that being in the city during this particular moment in time has been incredibly special.

“The city has been bustling even more with so many people coming in,” he adds. “I have never seen this amount of people on the streets in all of the times I have come to London in the last 18 years.”

Unsurprisingly, one of the busiest sections at present is the area around Buckingham Palace, which has become one of the main focal points for people paying their requests to the Queen, while a memorial flower garden has been set up in nearby Green Park.

Several roads surrounding the area are currently closed to traffic, and Monday will bring about even more closures.

Sharron Stone, from Toronto, was enjoying a Baltic cruise with her husband that happened to dock in London on Friday, a day after the Queen’s passing.

“After we checked into our hotel we walked to Buckingham Palace,” she says. “We didn't need directions, we just followed the crowd. Many of the hundreds of people walking with us clasped bouquets of flowers. All of the people around us were polite and friendly, as were the police who lined the road as we got closer to the palace. It was clear that people were heading to the palace because they wanted to be a part of this world-changing event.”

While Stone has already flown home, Allen and Anastasia are still in the capital, and hope to view the Queen’s coffin at Westminster Hall on Sunday, provided they "can wait out the crowds.”

And there certainly will be crowds. Network Rail, Transport for London, and industry body the Rail Delivery Group have gone as far as to release a joint statement advising those planning to use public transport during this time to plan their journey in advance due to “unprecedented travel demand in the capital.”

“We recognize that many people will travel to Buckingham Palace and other Royal Residences as a mark of their respect,” reads a statement issued by the UK government earlier this week.

“We expect large crowds, which can pose risks to public safety. Those who do travel are asked to follow any instructions given to them by stewards and the police.”

Some level of flight disruption is also expected, particularly at Heathrow Airport, over the coming days.

When contacted for comment, a spokesperson for Heathrow Airport confirmed that some flights on Wednesday would be disrupted to ensure silence over central London during the ceremonial procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall.

“Passengers will be notified by their airlines directly of any changes to flights,” reads a statement provided to CNN . “We anticipate further changes to the Heathrow operation on Monday September 19, when Her Majesty's funeral is due to take place, and will communicate those in more detail over coming days. We apologize for the disruption these changes cause, as we work to limit the impact on the upcoming events.”

While tourists such as Stone and Allen are relatively pleased to have ended up in the UK during this time, others will have a slightly different view, particularly if their plans are heavily affected.

“After postponing my trip to England several times, I finally got here,” says a traveler named Rebecca from Florida, who’s currently visiting the UK. “The next day the Queen passes away. All the roads around Buckingham Palace were closed. Couldn't visit any of the planned venues.”

As most of the events are taking place in the capital, tourists staying outside of London are unlikely to be impacted by the crowds.

However, business closures are pretty unavoidable, particularly on the day of the funeral, regardless of where you happen to be located.

Several major supermarkets and shops will close on Monday, some for the whole day, others for part of the day.

Travelers who’ve pre-booked restaurant and theater tickets for Monday are advised to check ahead, as many are temporarily closing.

The National Theatre in London is shutting its doors on Monday, and evening performances of popular productions such as Hamilton at Victoria Palace Theatre and Mamma Mia! at the Novello Theatre have been called off.

The majority of major UK cinema chains won’t be open for business on the day of the funeral either, although some, including Vue and Curzon, will be open for one screening – a free broadcast of the funeral.

Meanwhile, popular royal estates and attractions such as the State Rooms, the Royal Mews, and The Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, have been closed since last Friday, and will not reopen for the duration of the mourning period.

The state funeral will take place at Westminster Abbey, which means the famous church, which is also a popular attraction, will be closed to tourists until September 21.

Madeleine Fournier, from Puerto Rico, is scheduled to arrive in London on September 15 for a trip with a group of friends to attend ABBA Voyage, a virtual concert residency by iconic Swedish group ABBA at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London.

“We are a group of 32, so we have hotels, tours, restaurants, bus to/from concert etc.,” she explains of the visit, which had been almost a year in the making.

So far, aside from a pre-booked restaurant reservation on Monday, none of their plans have been hugely affected.

But like many other travelers due to arrive in the UK, Fournier is wary that things might change and has been contacting her hotel, as well as some of the companies the group has made bookings with, to make sure that everything is still going ahead.

Meanwhile, Cindy Martin, from Texas, is due to fly from Budapest to London on Sunday, after wrapping up a Danube River cruise, and is looking forward to being able to “experience some of the events surrounding the Queen’s passing that we could never have planned on when we booked this trip months and months ago.”

Martin, who has a room booked at the Doubletree By Hilton London, Hyde Park, says the rate had tripled when she visited the hotel website on Saturday. Like many hotels in the central London area, it’s now fully booked on Sunday evening, the night before the funeral.

“[We’re] hoping against hope that our British Airways flight from Budapest will be able to land at Heathrow on time on Sunday (not held up by dignitaries landing) and we can get to the hotel,” says Martin.

“Since Monday is a national holiday, we won’t be able to visit any museums or do much sightseeing, as planned, but [we’re] hoping to witness a bit of history in exchange.”

The-CNN-Wire ™ & © 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

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What the Queen’s death means for tourists to the UK right now

Friday, September 16, 2022 Favorite

The death of Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch in British history, has led to astonishing scenes in the UK.

Over the past few days, the accession of King Charles III has taken place and the Queen’s coffin has travelled through the Scottish Highlands to Edinburgh, before being flown into London and brought to Buckingham Palace for a private ceremony. On Wednesday, the coffin was transported to Westminster Hall, where it will lie until the state funeral — the first to be held in the UK since the death of Sir Winston Churchill in 1965 — on Monday.

The UK is currently in a period of national mourning, which is to last until the end of the day of the funeral, and well-wishers from around the world have been flocking to the capital in order to witness these historic events up close.

In fact, on the day of the Queen’s death, travel app reported a 49% spike in flight searches from the US to London compared to the previous day. Visitor surge

Joss Croft, CEO of tourism trade association UKinbound, tells a news media are expecting an increasing number of international visitors to travel to the UK, in particular London, in the coming days to not only mourn the passing of Her Majesty the Queen but also celebrate her life.

Shortly after the news was announced, Rachel Shoemaker from a boutique tour operator specializing in tailor-made travel to Britain, received several requests from people wishing to travel to London, while some travelers who were already in the UK at the time were keen to extend their trip. The Queen had an extraordinary ability to inspire people all around the world and there are many Americans, he himself included, who feel a particular connection to her and want to pay their respects, explains Shoemaker.

But while some tourists have made, or are making, last-minute travel arrangements, there are many others who just happen to be arriving for their pre-planned trips during a totally unprecedented time.

Those arriving last minute will likely struggle to find a hotel room, particularly if they’re planning to stay in London. Many hotels in the capital are now fully booked, while room rates have tripled in some cases, as visitors descend on the city in the hope of either seeing the Queen’s coffin at the Palace of Westminster between Wednesday and Monday and/or being amongst the many mourners lining the streets on Monday, which has been declared a public holiday.

Mourners were already beginning to form queues to view the coffin on Tuesday.

London is pretty well full over the coming days, with many hotels closing off online bookings so they can manage availability and prices manually for foreign delegations, Paul Charles, founder of travel PR agency and a commentator on the travel and tourism industry, tweeted earlier this week.

A budget hotel chain which operates close to 80 hotels in the UK capital, has reported a surge in bookings, with a spokesperson commenting that staff are gearing up for a busy period in the lead-up to the Queen’s state funeral, before noting that its hotels in central London and Windsor are literally sold out.

Witnessing history

Justin Allen, from Illinois, who has visited London several times in the past, is thrilled that his pre-planned trip to the UK capital with partner Matthew Anastasia has coincided with these historic events.

The pair were among those lining the streets to watch King Charles III’s motorcade emerge after he was formally proclaimed the UK’s new monarch on Saturday morning, and Allen says that being in the city during this particular moment in time has been incredibly special.

The city has been bustling even more with so many people coming in, he adds. He has never seen this amount of people on the streets in all of the times I have come to London in the last 18 years. Unsurprisingly, one of the busiest sections at present is the area around Buckingham Palace, which has become one of the main focal points for people paying their requests to the Queen, while a memorial flower garden has been set up in nearby Green Park.

Several roads surrounding the area are currently closed to traffic, and Monday will bring about even more closures. Sharron Stone, from Toronto, was enjoying a Baltic cruise with her husband that happened to dock in London on Friday, a day after the Queen’s passing.

Many of the hundreds of people walking with them clasped bouquets of flowers. All of the people around us were polite and friendly, as were the police who lined the road as they got closer to the palace.

It was clear that people were heading to the palace because they wanted to be a part of this world-changing event.

World-changing event While Stone has already flown home, Allen and Anastasia are still in the capital, and hope to view the Queen’s coffin at Westminster Hall on Sunday, provided they “can wait out the crowds.”

And there certainly will be crowds. Network Rail, Transport for London and industry body the Rail Delivery Group have gone as far as to release a joint statement advising those planning to use public transport during this time to plan their journey in advance due to “unprecedented travel demand in the capital.”

Some level of flight disruption is also expected, particularly at Heathrow Airport, over the coming days.

When contacted for comment, a spokesperson for Heathrow Airport confirmed that some flights on Wednesday would be disrupted to ensure silence over central London during the ceremonial procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall.

Passengers will be notified by their airlines directly of any changes to flights, reads a statement provided to a news channel.

They anticipate further changes to the Heathrow operation on Monday September 19, when Her Majesty’s funeral is due to take place, and will communicate those in more detail over coming days.

They apologize for the disruption these changes cause, as we work to limit the impact on the upcoming events.

Travel disruption

While tourists such as Stone and Allen are relatively pleased to have ended up in the UK during this time, others will have a slightly different view, particularly if their plans are heavily affected.

As most of the events are taking place in the capital, tourists staying outside of London are unlikely to be impacted by the crowds.

However, business closures are pretty unavoidable, particularly on the day of the funeral, regardless of where one happens to be located. Several major supermarkets and shops will close on Monday, some for the whole day, others for part of the day.

Travellers who’ve pre-booked restaurant and theater tickets for Monday are advised to check ahead, as many are temporarily closing.

The National Theatre in London is shutting its doors on Monday, and evening performances of popular productions such as “Hamilton” at Victoria Palace Theatre and “Mamma Mia!” at the Novello Theatre have been called off.

The majority of major UK cinema chains won’t be open for business on the day of the funeral either, although some, including Vue and Curzon, will be open for one screening — a free broadcast of the funeral.

Meanwhile, popular royal estates and attractions such as the State Rooms, the Royal Mews and The Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, have been closed since last Friday, and will not reopen for the duration of the mourning period.

The state funeral will take place at Westminster Abbey, which means the famous church, which is also a popular attraction, will be closed to tourists until September 21.

Event cancellations

Madeleine Fournier, from Puerto Rico, is scheduled to arrive in London on September 15 for a trip with a group of friends to attend ABBA Voyage, a virtual concert residency by an iconic Swedish group at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London.

So far, aside from a pre-booked restaurant reservation on Monday, none of their plans have been hugely affected.

But like many other travelers due to arrive in the UK, Fournier is wary that things might change, and has been contacting her hotel, as well as some of the companies the group has made bookings with, to make sure that everything is still going ahead.

Meanwhile, Cindy Martin, from Texas, is due to fly from Budapest to London on Sunday, after wrapping up a Danube River cruise, and is looking forward to being able to experience some of the events surrounding the Queen’s passing that we could never have planned on when we booked this trip months and months ago.

Martin, who has a room booked at the Doubletree By Hilton London, Hyde Park, says the rate had tripled when she visited the hotel website on Saturday.

Like many hotels in the central London area, it’s now fully booked on Sunday evening, the night before the funeral.

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Tourism boost expected for the UK following the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II

Thousands of people flocked to London in the days following the death of Queen Elizabeth II to pay their final respects, which ultimately delivered a significant boost to the tourism sector. Now, it’s expected the UK could be in for another tourism boost following the death of Her Late Majesty.

According to RadioTimes, the State Funeral was watched by a peak of 37.5 million people in the UK. That number contributed to an estimated four billion people watching worldwide. In Australia, there were just over an estimated three million viewers – numbers that put the Royal Family and London at the forefront of people’s minds.

Dr Cindy McCreery, head of the Modern Monarchy in Global Perspective Research Hub and senior lecturer in history at the University of Sydney, said there is a clear link between major royal events and UK tourism. It is not just a boost in people travelling to the UK, but people visiting the royal landmarks. For example, during the wedding of Charles and Diana at St Paul’s Cathedral in 1981, the cathedral saw a significant boost in tourists, as did the city of London.

“Traditionally, Buckingham Palace has only been open to visitors for two months in July and August – when the Queen was at Balmoral – and that’s going to change,” McCreery told Traveller.

“ King Charles has said that he wants to open royal residences to public access more, so tourists will be able to visit Buckingham Palace more readily than they can at the moment.”

It’s believed there will be changes extended to Buckingham Palace, Balmoral, Sandringham, Clarence House, and Windsor Castle, with plans to make them more accessible throughout the year. For example, this could include expanding visiting times at Sandringham from the current April to October window to all year. McCreery believes historical sites featured in the late monarch’s funeral procession will be of particular interest.

“People will have seen Westminster Hall, they’ll have seen Westminster Abbey, they’ll have seen St George’s Chapel, and they’ll think ‘maybe I’ll go and visit.'”

Patricia Yates, chief executive for the UK’s national tourism body, Visit Britain, said research shows exploring Britain’s history and heritage is a top reason for international visitors: “ We are inspiring people to book a trip to come and see our world-renowned attractions, our culture, heritage and history for themselves and, as we look ahead to the Coronation of King Charles III, to be part of the once-in-a-lifetime experiences that you can only have in Britain.”

In 2019, income from ticket admissions to Brain’s royal residences came out to ₤50 million. At the time, Windsor Castle and Frogmore House, the residence of Prince Harry and Meghan at the time, were some of the most popular residences to visit.

In August, Visit Britain unveiled a 2022 tourism forecast of ₤21.6 billion in visitor spending for the year.

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What the Queen’s death means for tourists to the UK right now

By Tamara Hardingham-Gill, CNN

The death of Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch in British history, has led to astonishing scenes in the UK.

Over the past few days, the accession of King Charles III has taken place and the Queen’s coffin has traveled through the Scottish Highlands to Edinburgh, before being flown into London and brought to Buckingham Palace for a private ceremony.

On Wednesday, the coffin was transported to Westminster Hall, where it will lie until the state funeral — the first to be held in the UK since the death of Sir Winston Churchill in 1965 — on Monday.

The UK is currently in a period of national mourning, which is to last until the end of the day of the funeral, and well-wishers from around the world have been flocking to the capital in order to witness these historic events up close.

In fact, on the day of the Queen’s death, travel app Hopper reported a 49% spike in flight searches from the US to London compared to the previous day.

Visitor surge

“We are expecting an increasing number of international visitors to travel to the UK, in particular London, in the coming days to not only mourn the passing of Her Majesty the Queen but also celebrate her life,” Joss Croft, CEO of tourism trade association UKinbound , tells CNN Travel.

Shortly after the news was announced, Rachel Shoemaker from Louisa White Travel, a boutique tour operator specializing in tailor-made travel to Britain, received several requests from people wishing to travel to London, while some travelers who were already in the UK at the time were keen to extend their trip.

“The Queen had an extraordinary ability to inspire people all around the world and there are many Americans, myself included, who feel a particular connection to her and want to pay their respects,” explains Shoemaker.

But while some tourists have made, or are making, last-minute travel arrangements, there are many others who just happen to be arriving for their pre-planned trips during a totally unprecedented time.

Those arriving last minute will likely struggle to find a hotel room, particularly if they’re planning to stay in London.

Many hotels in the capital are now fully booked, while room rates have tripled in some cases, as visitors descend on the city in the hope of either seeing the Queen’s coffin at the Palace of Westminster between Wednesday and Monday and/or being amongst the many mourners lining the streets on Monday, which has been declared a public holiday.

Mourners were already beginning to form queues to view the coffin on Tuesday.

“London is pretty well full over the coming days, with many hotels closing off online bookings so they can manage availability and prices manually for foreign delegations,” Paul Charles, founder of travel PR agency The PC Agency and a commentator on the travel and tourism industry, tweeted earlier this week.

Budget hotel chain Travelodge, which operates close to 80 hotels in the UK capital, has reported a surge in bookings, with a spokesperson commenting that staff are “gearing up for a busy period in the lead-up to the Queen’s state funeral,” before noting that its hotels in central London and Windsor “are literally sold out.”

Witnessing history

Justin Allen, from Illinois, who has visited London several times in the past, is thrilled that his pre-planned trip to the UK capital with partner Matthew Anastasia has coincided with these historic events.

“It’s made the trip even more historical for my partner who has never been out of America,” Allen tells CNN Travel over email.

“For his [Anastasia’s] first trip to Europe, he gets to experience so much more than just a regular London getaway.”

The pair were among those lining the streets to watch King Charles III’s motorcade emerge after he was formally proclaimed the UK’s new monarch on Saturday morning, and Allen says that being in the city during this particular moment in time has been incredibly special.

“The city has been bustling even more with so many people coming in,” he adds. “I have never seen this amount of people on the streets in all of the times I have come to London in the last 18 years.”

Unsurprisingly, one of the busiest sections at present is the area around Buckingham Palace, which has become one of the main focal points for people paying their requests to the Queen, while a memorial flower garden has been set up in nearby Green Park.

Several roads surrounding the area are currently closed to traffic, and Monday will bring about even more closures.

Sharron Stone, from Toronto, was enjoying a Baltic cruise with her husband that happened to dock in London on Friday, a day after the Queen’s passing.

“After we checked into our hotel we walked to Buckingham Palace,” she says. “We didn’t need directions, we just followed the crowd.

“Many of the hundreds of people walking with us clasped bouquets of flowers. All of the people around us were polite and friendly, as were the police who lined the road as we got closer to the palace.

“It was clear that people were heading to the palace because they wanted to be a part of this world-changing event.”

‘World-changing event’

While Stone has already flown home, Allen and Anastasia are still in the capital, and hope to view the Queen’s coffin at Westminster Hall on Sunday, provided they “can wait out the crowds.”

And there certainly will be crowds. Network Rail, Transport for London and industry body the Rail Delivery Group have gone as far as to release a joint statement advising those planning to use public transport during this time to plan their journey in advance due to “unprecedented travel demand in the capital.”

“We recognize that many people will travel to Buckingham Palace and other Royal Residences as a mark of their respect,” reads a statement issued by the UK government earlier this week.

“We expect large crowds, which can pose risks to public safety. Those who do travel are asked to follow any instructions given to them by stewards and the police.”

Some level of flight disruption is also expected, particularly at Heathrow Airport, over the coming days.

When contacted for comment, a spokesperson for Heathrow Airport confirmed that some flights on Wednesday would be disrupted to ensure silence over central London during the ceremonial procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall.

“Passengers will be notified by their airlines directly of any changes to flights,” reads a statement provided to CNN.

“We anticipate further changes to the Heathrow operation on Monday September 19, when Her Majesty’s funeral is due to take place, and will communicate those in more detail over coming days.

“We apologize for the disruption these changes cause, as we work to limit the impact on the upcoming events.”

Travel disruption

While tourists such as Stone and Allen are relatively pleased to have ended up in the UK during this time, others will have a slightly different view, particularly if their plans are heavily affected.

“After postponing my trip to England several times, I finally got here,” says a traveler named Rebecca from Florida, who’s currently visiting the UK. “The next day the Queen passes away.

“All the roads around Buckingham Palace were closed. Couldn’t visit any of the planned venues.”

As most of the events are taking place in the capital, tourists staying outside of London are unlikely to be impacted by the crowds.

However, business closures are pretty unavoidable, particularly on the day of the funeral, regardless of where you happen to be located.

Several major supermarkets and shops will close on Monday, some for the whole day, others for part of the day.

Travelers who’ve pre-booked restaurant and theater tickets for Monday are advised to check ahead, as many are temporarily closing.

The National Theatre in London is shutting its doors on Monday, and evening performances of popular productions such as “Hamilton” at Victoria Palace Theatre and “Mamma Mia!” at the Novello Theatre have been called off.

The majority of major UK cinema chains won’t be open for business on the day of the funeral either, although some, including Vue and Curzon, will be open for one screening — a free broadcast of the funeral.

Meanwhile, popular royal estates and attractions such as the State Rooms, the Royal Mews and The Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle, have been closed since last Friday, and will not reopen for the duration of the mourning period.

The state funeral will take place at Westminster Abbey, which means the famous church, which is also a popular attraction, will be closed to tourists until September 21.

Event cancellations

Madeleine Fournier, from Puerto Rico, is scheduled to arrive in London on September 15 for a trip with a group of friends to attend ABBA Voyage, a virtual concert residency by iconic Swedish group ABBA at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London.

“We are a group of 32, so we have hotels, tours, restaurants, bus to/from concert etc.,” she explains of the visit, which had been almost a year in the making.

So far, aside from a pre-booked restaurant reservation on Monday, none of their plans have been hugely affected.

But like many other travelers due to arrive in the UK, Fournier is wary that things might change, and has been contacting her hotel, as well as some of the companies the group has made bookings with, to make sure that everything is still going ahead.

Meanwhile, Cindy Martin, from Texas, is due to fly from Budapest to London on Sunday, after wrapping up a Danube River cruise, and is looking forward to being able to “experience some of the events surrounding the Queen’s passing that we could never have planned on when we booked this trip months and months ago.”

Martin, who has a room booked at the Doubletree By Hilton London, Hyde Park, says the rate had tripled when she visited the hotel website on Saturday. Like many hotels in the central London area, it’s now fully booked on Sunday evening, the night before the funeral.

“[We’re] hoping against hope that our British Airways flight from Budapest will be able to land at Heathrow on time on Sunday (not held up by dignitaries landing) and we can get to the hotel,” says Martin.

“Since Monday is a national holiday, we won’t be able to visit any museums or do much sightseeing, as planned, but [we’re] hoping to witness a bit of history in exchange.”

Top image: Crowds watch the hearse carrying Queen Elizabeth’s coffin depart from St Giles Cathedral en route to Edinburgh Airport on September 13, 2022. (AP Photo/Petr Josek)

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Travelling the country after the Queen’s death, I’ve caught a glimpse of the post-Elizabethan age

New voices are emerging, altogether more irreverent and questioning of Britain’s institutions

“I t’s very sad, how she’s passed away,” said Tina. “She did so much. She was the longest-reigning person who ever had the crown. And now she’s not here, there’s a big loss in the world. She brought us together, I think.”

We were in Milton Keynes, the new town that was granted city status to mark the Queen’s recent platinum jubilee . We chatted outside the council house Tina has lived in for more than a decade: the kind of modernist home, looking out on green space, that once brought droves of people to a place conceived in the last big burst of postwar optimism. But the Netherfield estate now looks noticeably rundown and unloved, and the details of people’s lives are often of a piece.

Tina’s is no exception. She and her husband, both grandparents, depend on disability benefits. With bills and prices rocketing, she is getting ready for a grim winter. “I feel the cold,” she said. “My bones ache. So when it gets cold, do I wrap up with a few layers or just go to bed?” But within a few moments, we were back to talking about the Queen. “There was a real connection there,” she said. “It’ll be a few more months till people can get their heads together.”

Not for the first time, I was reminded of monarchy’s remarkable power: the way it somehow defies vast social gaps, and smooths over the most glaring inequalities. To some people – like me – those things ultimately amount to an awful kind of con trick. Royalist voices, by contrast, would presumably emphasise the institution’s central place in ideas of the United Kingdom as a national community, and the late monarch’s undeniable talent for words, actions and gestures that sustained millions of people’s deep sense of belonging to it. You can take your pick, but in either case, what we are really talking about is an institution whose hegemonic magic was probably never greater than when Elizabeth II was on the throne.

In three days on the road talking to people about the Queen’s passing and what it might mean (a Guardian film of our travels will appear later this week), that basic point has hit me time and again, mostly in conversations with people aged over 40. In both the grounds of Salisbury Cathedral and inner-city Birmingham, passersby talked in the same terms about duty, public service and the loss of such a long-serving monarch being almost unthinkable. In a takeaway food shop in Milton Keynes, I had a long conversation with a man from Ghana who bashfully showed me the WhatsApp message he had sent his friends and family: “I have lost my Grandmother.” Occasionally, there was a sense of people reciting a script written by someone else, but at plenty of other occasions, they conveyed their feelings with an authentic sense of loss.

But at the lower end of the age range, something rather different happened. For the most part, younger people seem to see the Queen and the rituals that have followed her death much more dispassionately. From people in their late teens and 20s, I have heard acknowledgments of her family’s loss and her life of public service, but also things that have underlined a yawning sense of distance between royalty and everyday reality.

In the Birmingham neighbourhood Handsworth, for example, I met Aleisha and Kay, two 18-year-olds who put their feelings about the past week’s news in the context of an area that has long been neglected. “I care, and I don’t care,” said Kay. The Queen’s death was sad, she said, but she felt no real sense of connection with her. “She ain’t done nothing for us,” she said. The conversation then turned to the lack of local job opportunities, the fact that there is precious little for young people to do, and her and her friends’ anxieties about the future.

These were opinions I also heard elsewhere, highlighting a sharp generational difference borne out by opinion polling: last year, for example, a YouGov poll found that only 31% of people aged 18 to 24 agreed that the monarchy should carry on, contrasted with 81% of people over 65. Some of this, clearly, is about the royal family’s recent contortions over the Duchess of Sussex and Prince Andrew. But it also seems to reflect no end of deep social shifts, and the huge differences between the kingdom we used to be, and the much more divided, uncertain country we have been evolving into for at least three decades.

In all the coverage of the Queen’s passing, one simple historical point has been noticeably missing, perhaps because it is deemed too awkward to talk about. At the time of her coronation, the idea of a tightly bound national community with the monarch at its apex made an appealing kind of sense. The left’s social democracy had fused with the right’s patrician instincts to produce the postwar consensus. In 1953, a Conservative government built nearly 250,000 council houses , the largest number ever constructed in a single year. By modern standards, most employment was relatively secure. Even if lots of people were excluded from this dream, and many lives would subsequently take a turn into insecurity and uncertainty, the postwar era inculcated enough faith in the UK’s institutions to keep the monarchy safely beyond criticism.

And now? The social attitudes that defined that period, and lingered into the 1990s – a strange mixture of solidarity and deference, and a widely shared optimism about the future – seem very quaint. If you are in your late teens, just about all of your memories will be of the endless turbulence that followed the financial crash of 2008. Your most visceral experience of politics will have been the opposite of consensus and harmony: the seething polarisation triggered by Brexit. For many of those aged under 40, homeownership is a distant dream, and hopes of job security seem slim. Meanwhile, perhaps because society and the economy have been in such a state of flux, space has at last been opened to talk about things that 20th-century Britain stubbornly kept under wraps: empire, systemic racism, the plain fact that so many of the institutions we are still encouraged to revere are rooted in some of the most appalling aspects of this country’s history.

The result of that change is a kingdom with two distinct sets of voices: one that reflects Britain’s tendency to conservatism and tradition, and another that sounds altogether more irreverent and questioning . In all the coverage of the Queen’s passing, the first has been dominant: how could it be otherwise? But as the period of mourning recedes, and a new monarch tries to adapt fantastically challenging realities, that may not hold for long. The post-Elizabethan age, in other words, is going to be very interesting indeed.

John Harris is a Guardian columnist

Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a letter of up to 300 words to be considered for publication, email it to us at [email protected]

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The four-word code that signalled the end of a long reign

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When Queen Elizabeth died on September 8, 2022, a phone call was immediately placed from her private secretary, Sir Edward Young, to British Prime Minister Liz Truss. When Truss picked up the phone, Young uttered one sentence to her. He said, "London Bridge is down."

That was code. It meant the Queen had died. That sentence started a monumental chain of events.

After the Prime Minister was notified, news alerts were sent out to 15 governments where Queen Elizabeth II served as head of state. Including Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Then the other 38 nations in the commonwealth were notified. A newsflash was sent to media organizations around the world. An unofficial transition of power quickly took place, with Charles becoming the oldest King in British history.

The Prime Minister and King Charles then issued statements regarding the Queen's passing and the "Official Notification" of the Queen's death was pinned to the gates of Buckingham Palace. With that, "Operation London Bridge" kicked into gear. That is the code for the succession rules and funeral plans that have long been in place for the Queen's passing.

Code names for the funeral plans of royal family members in the 20th and 21st centuries have all used the names of prominent bridges in the United Kingdom.

Operation Tay Bridge was the code used for the Queen Mother.

Operation Forth Bridge was used for Prince Philip's passing.

And Operation Menai Bridge will be the code for King Charles' funeral plans.

Newsrooms were well-prepared for the Queen's death. Pre-written obituaries were published immediately. After the announcement of the monarch's death, the BBC's logo immediately went to black and all anchors changed into black suits and ties. Then the network displayed a photo of the Queen and the national anthem was played.

The BBC also fired up its "Radio Alert Transmission System," or RATS for short. It is a Cold War-era alarm. While many of the BBC's staff was aware of it, they had never seen it in action. This alarm goes off in all BBC newsrooms in the event of a high-profile royal death. It beeps like an alarm clock.

In Britain's commercial radio stations, a blue light flashes, indicating either the death of a Royal or a national catastrophe. All major news outfits have had "Death Rehearsals" for decades, where staff practices formal procedures in the event of a Royal passing. It's taken quite seriously. As one high ranking BBC editor once said to a protegee, "There's a fine tradition in the BBC of someone losing their job at a time like this. Make sure it isn't you."

From that point on, all regular programming is suspended and constant news coverage of the Queen's passing takes over. With that, the UK, along with many Commonwealth countries around the world, mourn her passing and get set to implement the many changes that accompany the death of a Queen.

The death of Queen Elizabeth II has wide-ranging implications, including in the world of marketing. The Queen has been a constant draw for UK tourism for over 70 years. The Royal family generates billions for the UK economy. And over 800 companies have been granted a Royal Warrant of Appointment – a kind of seal of approval from the Royal Family.

These 800 companies do business with the Royals and displaying the Royal Coat of Arms in their marketing is a powerful way to generate revenue. But now that the Queen has passed, over 600 of those Royal Warrants are about to be cancelled. Unless King Charles deems otherwise.

For more on How The Queen's Death Affects Marketing and other stories from Under the Influence , click or tap the play button above to hear the full episode. Find more episodes on the CBC Listen app or subscribe to the podcast .

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