Overwhelming amount of flowers, cards for Queen Elizabeth II being left outside Windsor Castle
WINDSOR, England -- There are too many flowers and cards to count being left for Queen Elizabeth II outside Windsor Castle, and castle staff are trying to keep up with the sheer volume of it all.
Ten-year-old Charlie Remedios brought a card that he wrote himself to the gates of Windsor Castle with flowers after school Monday.
The card reads, "Dear Queen Elizabeth, I'm really devastated by your death. Please read this in heaven."
"He's quite tearful a lot of the time, watching the stuff on TV," said Charlie's dad, Antony Remedios.
At 98 years old, decorated veteran Wally Bishop brought his grandson to lay flowers for the queen, whose coronation he can still remember.
"She was always there for us, always there for us. It's so sad that she passed away now," he told CBS2's Ali Bauman.
Castle staff say each card that's left here will be kept safely for the royal family to read.
"We here as British citizens, most of us see her as part of our family, and we just wanted to make sure that we paid our respect. We made some cards," London resident Mahavir Ladva said.
To make room for all the bouquets at Windsor Castle, crews move them inside the gates at night. Over the weekend, it took them six hours just to move one day's worth of flowers.
"I've lived in Windsor for 40 years, and the queen has been my neighbor," Windsor resident Jean Hoot said.
Queen Elizabeth spent most of her weekends in Windsor before moving there full-time earlier this year.
Residents say her passing feels like the loss of a neighbor in a small town.
"I was walking in the Great Park a few years ago, and she was coming from chapel. She was driving along, and, as is her will, she drives quite fast and quite close, and you have to make way, really, and I said to the chap in front of me, I said, 'Is that who I think it is?'" Hoot said.
The queen was the only person in the United Kingdom allowed to drive without actually having a valid license.
The castle may be behind gates but Her Majesty is in the homes and in the hearts of her people.
As Charlie wrote in his card, "You never gave up. We still remember you."