Meet the monarchists who went to see the Queen on her 90th birthday

'I have been here since Monday 4pm – I got here early to avoid the rush'

The Queen's fans were notable for their numbers - and loyalty (Photos by Adam Lusher)

When Her Majesty turns 90, not even The Independent – with its dubious tendency towards indifference bordering on republicanism - wants to miss the Queen’s Right Royal Birthday Walkabout.

So we mingled with the crowds outside Windsor Castle. This is what we saw.

John Loughrey, 61, from Wansworth, south London (With his toy British Bulldog ‘Windsor’) (Adam Lusher)

“I’m known as Princess Diana Superfan. I was the first one in the crowd for her wedding, camped out for four days. I was at the inquest. I’m mentioned in the court transcripts. The judge told the members of the jury: ‘Only you and I, and the gentleman with Diana and Dodi written on his forehead have been here for every word of evidence.’

“I camped out two weeks for the birth of Princess Charlotte, eight days for Prince George. I was the first one here too. I have been here since Monday 4pm – I got here early to avoid the rush.

“Three nights sleeping on the benches: I was absolutely frozen. I brought this £140 sleeping bag, and the first time I went to get in it, the zip came off in my hand. It became an open plan sleeping bag.

“But I carried on, because I was thinking of celebrating the Queen’s 90th birthday.

“Ghandi, Nelson Mandela, President Obama, she’s better than all of them: because she’s got the knowledge. Not just 90 years of knowledge, 2,000 years of knowledge. It’s handed down from monarch to monarch. And our kings and queens go back 2,000 years, to before 1066, to the first queen – what was her name? – Boudicea.

“Anyone who reads that will see it makes sense.”

Margaret Tyler, 72, a retired receptionist, from Wembley, north London (Adam Lusher)

“I’ve got 10,000 items of Royal memorabilia, in four rooms including the Royal Bedroom, which is all red, white and blue. People can stay there. I run a little B and B. We stay up half the night talking about the Royal Family, and then they can go off to sleep in the Royal bedroom.

“There’s also the Jubilee Room, for the Queen’s jubilees – Silver, Gold and Diamond.

“I got here [for the noon walkabout] at 7am. I would have crawled here if necessary. She’s a star. We don’t see everything the Royal Family does. The Queen works all the time, hosting all those dinners for people from abroad, with her charm and grace. There’s no-one else who could host those dinners!

“We’re calling the Corgi on the sponge cake Susan, after the Queen’s first corgi.

“I just want her to have it, to thank her. For everything.

“It doesn’t seem enough really – she works so hard - but it’s something.”

Terry Hutt, 81, a retired carpenter from Weston-super-Mare, Somerset (Adam Lusher)

“I can’t afford a hotel, so I arrived at 5pm on Monday and slept on the benches.

“I have supported the Royal Family since I was four years old. We were bombed out of our home on the Holloway Road, north London, in the Blitz. The [then] King and Queen came round to reassure us that they weren’t leaving the country. That’s how I got in with the Royal Family.

“The Queen has never put a foot wrong. She brings a lot of people happiness. She is loyal. She gives a lot of support. I hope to be there for her 100th birthday.”

Bruce Simpson, 54, a gardener, from East Horsley, Surrey (Adam Lusher)

“One of the big reasons I am here is because she sent my late grandfather Frank a card on his 100th birthday, and his 105th. Oh, he was absolutely thrilled and delighted. It was a tremendous honour. So the least I could do was to come here in person and wish her a happy 90th birthday.

“It would be amazing to meet her today. She’s an amazing lady. She’s served our country for 64 years. She is the mother and grandmother of the nation. I think there is a great affection towards her from the people.

“She’s up there with Mandela and Ghandi, and – maybe because I am a proud Englishman – I would say she surpasses them. But I am a bit biased.”

Tony Appleton, 80, Chelmsford Town Crier (attending in an unofficial capacity) (Adam Lusher)

“I’ve made up a little song for her:

“Ninety, 90, 90 years old today,

“Our most loved monarch,

“We wish you a happy birthday

“Oh yea! Oh yea! Oh yea!

“I was a Gunner in the Navy. I met her, after the Coronation in 1953, as part of the Spithead Review. She inspected us on the training ship Implacable.

“I was 17. Oh, can you imagine! A boy sailor meeting the Queen!

“She’s an icon for this country; an icon we can look up to and respect. I call her a world leader. Internationally, she’s the top.”

Judy Daley, 50, from Cardiff, with King Charles Spaniel Camilla, seven (Adam Lusher)

“Yes, Camilla has met the Camilla, at the Welsh Assembly five years ago. The Duchess of Cornwall was awfully kind to us, lovely, charming. We got a lovely photograph of Camilla and Camilla meeting. It was on Have I Got News For You.

“I wouldn’t have missed this for the world. My sister Anne, Camilla and I left Cardiff at 3am this morning and arrived at about 5am.

“It’s just going to be a wonderful day, enjoying the celebration. It’s just wonderful to see the Queen and the Guardsmen. Our father was in the Irish Guards.

“The Queen is a remarkable, formidable lady and one I admire greatly: she’s an absolutely top leader. Everybody knows our Queen.”

Chito Salarza-Grant, 51, an artist from Battersea Park, London (Adam Lusher)

“I am the hat man of London. I spent a week making this hat. It’s got happy birthday in lights, her stamps and – of course! - a corgi on the front.

“There is no queen like her in the world. She is the longest reigning, she eclipses every other monarch. Her nearest rival is her great-great grandmother, Queen Victoria.

“I like her. She’s part of our daily life. God Save the Queen!”

[Later, after waiting two hours to see the Queen.]

“Did you see her?! I didn’t see her. The crowd was too big. But it doesn’t matter. It’s the thought that counts.”