Region's royal exodus begins before dawn

Around a dozen people boarded the 04:48 from King's Lynn for the first leg of the journey to London.

Most were on their way to the capital to pay their respects.

Shaun Simpson and his wife Sarah on board the first train to London from King's Lynn on their way to the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II (Image: Chris Bishop)

"I'm not a royalist but what she's done, you've got to respect it," said company director Shaun Simpson, 55, from Lynn.

"She committed her life to us. We need the monarchy, it's about the only thing we've got left in the UK."

With wife Sarah, friends and family members, Mr Simpson was hoping to find a vantage point on The Mall to watch the procession from.

"I'm a bit nervous," said Mrs Simpson. "There's going to be loads and loads of people there. The security is going to be really, really tight."

Matthew and Jane Phillips, also from Lynn, were in the next carriage.

"It's something we're never going to see again in our lifetime," said College of West Anglia supervisor Mrs Phillips.

"We're just going to experience the day, the history of it, we just want to be part of the atmosphere.

"We know we're not going to get anywhere near it, we just want to go down there and enjoy the day."

Sisters Ellen Waters and Emma Webber from Lynn were also on the early train.

"We were brought up as royalists, we've always been strong supporters of the Royals," said Mrs Waters, 41.

"We were surprised how emotional we were. She's been our one constant, we've known her longer than family. We've been very touched by it."

Ms Webber, 43, added: "It was very emotional to hear the news when she died, despite her age it's still quite shocking.

"You feel drawn to be in London to pay your respects."

Teachers Rob Balls and Sara McLeod, who were travelling to London to experience history (Image: Chris Bishop)

Teachers Sara McLeod, from Norwich and Rob Balls, from Dereham, said they were travelling to be part of a world event.

"Coming from Canada I come from the Commonwealth," said Miss McLeod, 25. "I think there'll be a lot of Canadians there, there's a lot of Canadians living in the London area."

Mr Balls, 27, said: "We're going to experience history really, it will be nice to be part of it."

The side entrance used by the Queen when she caught the train to King's Lynn festooned with ribbons and flowers (Image: Chris Bishop)

The Queen would sometimes be seen at King's Lynn station, usually when she caught a scheduled train from London to King's Lynn to begin her Christmas break in Norfolk.

The monarch would alight from the train and leave via a side entrance, where a car would be waiting to take her to Sandringham.

As trains began to depart for London, carrying mourners to her funeral, the exit was festooned with ribbons and flowers.