VIDEO – Ex-soldier on death of Queen Elizabeth II: ‘For 23 years she was my commander-in-chief’

But for one onlooker, Eddie Fleming of Newtownabbey, she was something greater still: she was his boss... technically speaking.

As the ceremonial supreme commander of the UK military, it was to her that Mr Fleming pledged his service when he joined the army as a teenager.

He was one of the earliest people queueing along Arthur Street/Chichester Street, about an hour-and-a-half before the convoy carrying King Charles III passed by.

Asked why he had decided to come and wait, he told the News Letter: “It’s one of the only opportunities I’ll probably get to see him. It’s part of history, and I think it was important.”

The 61-year-old former Warrant Officer Class One soldier (who served in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps and then the Royal Logistics Corps) went on to add: “I was very sad to hear of the passing of Her Majesty.

“My previous career was in the forces – I did 23 years in the forces, having the Queen as our Commander-in-Chief.

“I took my [oath of] allegiance to the Queen back in 1977, when I went in as a boy soldier.

“So really I wanted to pay my respects to the Queen. It’s an honour to have served for her.”

As to how he feels King Charles III will take to his new role, Mr Fleming said: “He’ll have his own challenges ahead.

“I think one of the hardest things probably will be stepping back from the work that he’s done, to take more of an overview – because he’s obviously very passionate about conservation and all of that kind of stuff, so I think that’ll be his biggest challenge.”