In February 1952, more than 300,000 people came to Westminster Hall to view the coffin of King George VI. Colourised film described by The Independent shows thousands of formally dressed mourners queued near Lambeth Pier. The King died on 6 February, and his funeral took place at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, on 15 February. The footage includes both the line for the lying in state and crowds beside the later procession; those are different forms of gathering and should not be merged. The confirmed queue was the ordered approach to Westminster Hall, where members of the public filed past the coffin. Seventy years later, mourners for Elizabeth II followed much the same route. The comparison reveals how royal mourning repeatedly mapped itself onto London as a line leading toward one hall.