PEOPLE hoping to view the late Queen Elizabeth's coffin will have to wait for six hours before they can even join the queue, the UK Government has said.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said that Southwark Park, where the planned queue route terminates, was at capacity.
The call was made to prevent new people joining as the official estimate for queuing time reached at least 14 hours.
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN'S LYING-IN-STATE QUEUE UPDATE, 09:50 AM, 16 Sept Southwark Park has reached capacity. Entry will be paused for at least 6 hours. We are sorry for any inconvenience. Please do not attempt to join the queue until it re-opens. Check back for further updates pic.twitter.com/XMpyhOrme7
— Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (@DCMS) September 16, 2022
DCMS wrote on Twitter: "HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN'S LYING-IN-STATE QUEUE UPDATE, 09:50 AM, 16 Sept
"Southwark Park has reached capacity. Entry will be paused for at least 6 hours. We are sorry for any inconvenience.
"Please do not attempt to join the queue until it re-opens."
The queue is currently just under five miles long, according to the DCMS live tracker which advises people on which point to join the wait to view the late monarch's casket.
The long queue has already seen people taken to hospital. Some 291 people along the route of the queue and nearby in London were given medical assistance on Wednesday, with 17 needing hospital treatment, London Ambulance Service (LAS) said.
The news comes ahead of a day which is expected to see King Charles and his family members stand vigil at the Queen's coffin, as Scottish Secretary Alister Jack did on Thursday.
A decision has been made – reportedly at the King's request – to allow Prince Harry to wear his military uniform during the vigil.
Charles also requested that the Queen’s eight grandchildren be allowed to participate – standing around their grandmother for 15 minutes as a mark of respect – something they were reportedly all keen to do.
Harry, who saw action on the front line during two tours of duty in Afghanistan, has been denied the chance to wear his military uniform, as he publicly mourns, because he is no longer a working royal.
Despite being a former Army officer, he has been in civilian dress for official events, including walking behind his grandmother’s coffin on Wednesday when it was carried to Westminster Hall for lying in state.
An exception had been made for the disgraced Duke of York, who is no longer a working royal but will wear his military uniform as a “special mark of respect” for the Queen when he stands guard around her coffin during a vigil with his siblings on Friday evening.
The royal source told PA that the Prince of Wales will stand at the head and the Duke of Sussex at the foot. At the King’s request, they will both be in uniform. The other grandchildren will be in morning coat and dark formal dress with decorations.
William will be flanked by his cousins Zara Tindall and Peter Philips, while Harry will be with Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, with Lady Louise and Viscount Severn at the centre of the coffin.
