Mourners lining the streets of London to see the Queen’s coffin are facing the strong possibility of heavy rain.
Downpours are expected as the coffin is transported to Buckingham Palace on Tuesday.
But the Met Office said the rain was likely to give way to “settled, fine” conditions and sunny spells for the huge numbers expected to queue for the Queen’s lying in state.
A Met Office spokesperson said: “Everywhere south of the M4 is likely to see rain moving in today, potentially heavy rain later today and into the overnight period.
“After that, we start to see high pressure moving in through Wednesday and by the afternoon tomorrow we start seeing sunny spells developing across the whole of the UK.”
The “settled, fine, dry” conditions were expected to last until the beginning of next week.
“In terms of people being outside queueing, really the next 24 hours is likely to see the most unsettled weather before things start to calm down a bit with the high pressure moving in,” the spokesperson said.
Those in Belfast on Tuesday for the King and Queen Consort’s visit could expect largely dry conditions with sunny spells, the Met Office said.
Charles and Camilla flew to Northern Ireland to visit Hillsborough Castle, before scheduled engagements with Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris and party leaders, and to receive a message of condolence led by the Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
After a short reception at Hillsborough, the King and Queen Consort were travelling to St Anne’s Cathedral for a service of prayer and reflection.
The Princess Royal will accompany the Queen’s coffin when it is flown from Edinburgh to London by RAF aircraft to RAF Northolt on Tuesday evening. It will then be taken to rest at Buckingham Palace’s Bow Room.
The late monarch’s lying in state in Westminster Hall opens to the public at 5pm on Wednesday and will be open 24 hours a day until it closes at 6.30am on Monday September 19 – the day of the Queen’s funeral.
