They came in their thousands. Millions. Crowds of untold number zeroing in on Buckingham Palace and Green Park.
The scene is simply unbelievable. It's being compared to the outpouring of grief after the death of Diana, but the floral tributes to Queen Elizabeth II are on an even greater scale.
Green park is supposed to be green. No flowers. According to myth, Queen Catherine demanded that the park remain flowerless after she caught King Charles II plucking blooms here for his mistress. Save for the occasional wild daffodil, it's remained without petal to this day.
No longer. The flowers are back (as a new Charles takes the throne). They are everywhere. Concentric circles of inflorescence engirdle every plane tree. Waves of colour propagate throughout the park.
Here and there can be spied a Paddington. The Queen's final weeks will forever be connected with the loveable bear, after the pair appeared in a sketch during her Platinum Jubilee. The Royal Parks have politely asked people not to leave marmalade sandwiches behind. It couldn't be more British.
The operation is well organised, with cordons and barriers, porta-toilets and police. Clearly, the plans have been in place for some time, but the rapid deployment of this barrier-and-bouquet village is still impressive. Volunteer marshals are everywhere, helping people find the official locations to leave tributes, and gently reminding folk to remove the plastic wraps from their flowers.
The queues to get near Buckingham Palace are now extensive and visitors are ushered towards Green Park instead. We paid a visit on Saturday and, after working our way through the crowds, managed to get close to the front. It will prove harder to do this over coming days.
Honestly, the inflorescence of Green Park the most astounding scenes we've witnessed in London, in almost 20 years of writing this site. It's even more staggering when we remember that the week of mourning is only just getting started.
Green Park could be redubbed Multicolour Park by the weekend.
