The first person has arrived to queue for the Queen’s lying in state in London – more than 48 hours before the line opens.
Infrastructure is being set up and security staff are preparing for millions of people to wait to pay their respects to the late monarch, whose coffin will be placed in Westminster Hall from 5pm on Wednesday until the morning of Monday September 19.
Full details will be released at 10pm on Tuesday. Officials expect queues to see the Queen’s lying in state could last 12 hours and stretch for miles as rail firms warn trains will be “extremely busy”.
Vanessa Nathakumaran, 56, from Harrow, appeared at 12pm on Monday to the south of Lambeth bridge, where the entrance to the queue is expected to be set up.
Ms Nathakumaran, who is staying at a hotel in Lambeth so she does not miss the opportunity to pay her respects, told the PA news agency she began “admiring the royal family” from the age of 10 and has “a huge respect for them”.
The administrative assistant, who grew up in Sri Lanka before moving to the UK to study in the 1980s, said her great uncle, Sir Vaithilingam Duraiswamy, was knighted by King George VI for services to Sri Lanka, then called Ceylon.
Her daughter, Praveena Nanthakumaran, met the Queen as an air cadet, she added.
“I’m really proud that our family got involved in some of the Queen’s life and the start of her reign,” she said.
Ms Nathakumaran said that when she started working in London, she became “so interested in English culture and this royal family and the governments and all that that I always pay my respects”.
On why she wants to see the Queen lying in state, she said: “Because she has done a good service. She was very devoted. She has done a service to our country, Britain and also international and the Commonwealth.
“I do respect her way of kindness, how she treats everyone equal, the religions and the communities. She sees everyone as equal.”
On why she arrived so early, she said: “I really, really want to be part of it.
“I don’t want to miss it in case… they said they are probably going to control the crowds if (the queue) gets too long.”
On preparing for the long nights and days ahead, Ms Nathakumaran said she is going to call her daughters to change her bag and bring warmer clothes and glucose bars to keep her energy up.
She said the Queen died on the seven-month anniversary or her husband’s death in February, describing it as “a personal connection to our family”.
“It was very sad,” she said.
Security staff and stewards are lined up at regular intervals along the expected queue route, which stretches from Parliament’s tourist entrance at Cromwell Green down Millbank, past the Lords and Victoria Tower Gardens, across Lambeth Bridge and loops back north on the other side of the river past the Covid Memorial Wall.
Metropolitan Police officers, as well as Welsh police officers, are manning the expected route, parts of which are already lined with barriers.
Portaloos and crowd control infrastructure such as barriers and temporary flooring have been set up inside Victoria Tower Gardens, which is likely to be the pinnacle of the queue before it leads into Cornwall Gardens.
A marquee and armed police could be seen at the entrance to Cornwall Gardens, with several police and emergency service vehicles parked across the road.
Security staff by Victoria Tower Gardens told the PA news agency crowds are expected to swell ahead of Wednesday afternoon.
They said the queue is likely to snake for miles, potentially all the way along the river to Tower Bridge.
However, it is not clear if the queue will stretch along South Bank after Westminster Bridge or down through the streets of Lambeth.
People will not be allowed to camp and will be given numbered wristbands to indicate their place in the queue so they are able to leave and come back, security staff said.
On Monday morning, pedestrians were walking freely up and down the route.
The atmosphere has been calm as dozens of broadcasters set up cameras to film along the south side of the river with the Palace of Westminster in the background.
People will be able to queue 24 hours a day until 6.30am on Monday for the Queen’s lying in state.
Commuters may want to “change their working patterns accordingly” as London will be “extremely busy” for the Queen’s lying in state, No 10 said.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “At this point we can’t be more specific on numbers. We do expect it to be extremely busy.
“I think for the Queen Mother it was around 200,000 people (who attended), we expect (it) to be far more than that for this lying in state. But at this point, but we can’t be more specific into exact numbers.”
On whether commuters should work from home this week if they normally travel into the capital from outside London, he said some people “may wish to change their working patterns accordingly”, but acknowledged “not everyone will have that ability”.
Asked if there will be any facilities for people who physically cannot queue for 30 hours, he said: “Obviously we want everyone to be able to attend regardless of whether they have disabilities. Our focus is on ensuring they have the information needed to make the decision about what’s right for them.
“There will be toilet facilities, there will be first aid available, there will be the ability for people obviously to go and use toilets and return to queues and things like that.”
Whitehall chiefs in charge of logistics for the historic five-night vigil have estimated mourner numbers could be close to that which turned up to view Pope John Paul II, according to The Sun.
A million mourners filed past the late pope when he lay in state in Rome in 2005.
While Westminster Hall will be open 24 hours a day for four days for crowds to view the Queen’s coffin, “insiders” reportedly told the paper people may have to wait up to 12 hours in a three-mile-long queue.
The Rail Delivery Group has meanwhile warned those wanting to travel to Westminster Hall to expect services to London and all of its stations to be “extremely busy”.
The rail operator’s customer information director told the BBC people needed to plan carefully and allow plenty of time if planning to travel during the official mourning period.
Transport for London also warned that roads and public transport in central London will be very busy and has advised travellers to allow “plenty of extra time” for their journeys and to avoid driving where possible.
Andy Byford, London’s Transport Commissioner, told the national broadcaster: “We are working with our partners to keep our city moving smoothly and to ensure that everyone who is planning to attend the memorial events can do so safely.”
