Dignitaries, heads of state, and others who want to pay their final respects to Queen Elizabeth II are converging on London to pay their final respects.

Each person has their own way of grieving a loss. One woman decided to bring the ashes of her grandmother, who she says "loved the Queen."

"I brought my nan with me today, her ashes. She loved the queen," she said.

The BBC spoke to many people out and about London who laid flowers and shed tears and talked about memories of Queen Elizabeth II over the years.

"So, we brought her with us, yeah she loved the Queen, absolutely loved the Queen," the woman said as she wore a somber, mostly black outfit.

She said, in age, that her grandmother and the Queen were just a year apart.

People from all walks of life and many countries spoke about how they felt the Queen was a unifying spirit and entered their lives with meaning.

Another woman said, "It's the end of an era, 70 years, it'll never happen again. She was the calm amongst the storms, but you always knew she'd be a constant presence."