Thousands of people have taken their spots in the queue for the Queen’s lying in state as the public prepares to pay its last respects. The line has the capacity to stretch back 10 miles, with no guarantee that everyone who joins it will get to file past the late monarch’s coffin in Westminster Hall.
Nevertheless, people are turning out in droves for the opportunity to say a personal farewell ahead of the Queen’s funeral on Monday. Doors are set to open at 5pm on Wednesday, but by 2pm the line already stretched far past Westminster Bridge and beyond County Hall.
To help avoid disappointment, it is understood that entry to the back of the queue may be closed early, although it is too early to estimate when that moment might come. Numbers will be monitored towards the end of the lying in state period, which must be completed by 6.30am on September 19, to ensure as near as possible that those already waiting are able complete their visit.
Entry to the line will also be paused for a time if the queuing infrastructure – stretching 6.9 miles from Victoria Tower Gardens to Southwark Park, with a further three miles within the park itself – reaches capacity. There will be more than 1,000 volunteers, stewards, marshals and police officers on hand at any one time as people brave the wait on the banks of the Thames.
This includes 779 professional stewards per shift, assisted by 100 civil service volunteer marshals, 40 adult scouts, and 30 members of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry charity, as well as Metropolitan Police officers. There will be a separate accessible route running from the Tate Britain for people less able to wait for a long period of time, with timed entry slots issued for a line along Millbank to the Palace of Westminster.
No proof of disability will be required to use this route, with marshals on hand to make sure people are in the correct line and two British Sign Language interpreters to help.
It is understood there will be an element of self-policing when it comes to people keeping their places in line.
Those waiting in the queue are being given a coloured and numbered wristband, specific to each person, allowing them to leave for a brief time.
It is thought people will know those around them and be supportive when others need to step out. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is running a live queue tracker to pinpoint the end of the line which can be viewed HERE.
