Middlesbrough mum texted daughter 'we must go to London tonight'

Shelby and Joyce Dawson made their first trip to London by coach to pay their respects to the Queen

A mother and daughter made a "spur-of-the-moment" decision to travel to London for the first time and join the queue to see the Queen lying in state.

Joyce and Shelby Dawson caught the midnight coach from Middlesbrough and joined at 08:00 BST on Wednesday.

Ms Dawson said she felt "inspired" to make the journey after watching the first people queuing up on TV.

"I said 'we must go to London, we have to join this queue and be part of this historic moment'."

They joined thousands of others who have descended on the capital to pay tribute to Her Majesty, who is lying in state at Westminster Hall until Monday, ahead of her funeral.

The last member of the Royal Family to lie in state at Westminster was the Queen Mother in 2002, when more than 200,000 people queued to file past her coffin and pay their respects.

The queue, which takes in the views of the Houses of Parliament, was already growing on Wednesday morning

Crowds have been warned they face a possible 30-hour wait as mourners stretch along the South Bank of the Thames.

"It's our first time, it's a bit daunting," Ms Dawson, 54, told BBC Radio Tees.

"Everyone is just chatting to everybody, it's so friendly, the atmosphere is so amazing.

"People are talking about the Queen's life and all the amazing things she has done, it's just fantastic to be here.

"When you have been watching the TV from how Elizabeth became Queen, it was such a sad time and she has done such an amazing job, an absolutely amazing woman."

Queen Elizabeth II is lying in state in Westminster Hall

Ms Dawson said they queued for about 11 hours to see the coffin.

"Walking into the place of rest was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, it was so serene," she said.

After paying their respects, the pair visited Buckingham Palace to look at all "the beautiful flowers and such amazing messages" before returning home.

"It's so surreal, I can''t believe it," Ms Dawson said.

"The King will do amazing, he'll just follow in his mother's footsteps."

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