Crowds of thousands will turn out on Tuesday as Queen Elizabeth II ’s coffin continues on its final journey to London.
The oak casket will land at RAF Northolt after flying 400 miles from Edinburgh Airport.
And fans will line the streets for the 15-mile journey to Buckingham Palace, where Her Late Majesty will rest for the evening as staff pay their respects.
At 2.22pm on Wednesday, the coffin will be taken on a gun carriage of The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery to the Palace of Westminster.
Accompanied by the sound of minute guns fired from Hyde Park by The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery, the cortege will make a trip past London landmarks.
It will travel via Queen’s Gardens, The Mall, Horse Guards and Horse Guards Arch, Whitehall, Parliament Street, Parliament Square and New Palace Yard.
The Queen will lie in state until 6.30am on the day of her state funeral on Monday.
Over a little less than five days, a million people are expected to visit Westminster Hall to pay their respects.
Queues could reach as long as five miles, while mourners are being warned to expect a wait of up to 30 hours.
Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan used a WhatsApp message to MPs to reveal the latest estimates.
Formal details of the queue – which will be open for 24 hours a day – will only be made public at 10pm tonight.
But some patriotic mourners dashed to London yesterday – more than two days before lines officially open at 5pm tomorrow.
Vanessa Nathakumaran, 56, from Harrow, arrived at noon yesterday.
The administrative assistant, who grew up in Sri Lanka before moving to the UK in the 1980s, said her great uncle, Sir Vaithilingam Duraiswamy, was knighted by King George VI.
Her daughter, Praveena, was an air cadet and once met the Queen.
Vanessa said she became interested in the Royal Family while working in London.
She added: “She was very devoted. She has done a service to our country, Britain, and also internationally and the Commonwealth.
“I respect her way of kindness, how she treats everyone equally, the religions and the communities. She sees everyone as equal.
“I really, really want to be part of it. I don’t want to miss it in case they control the crowds if (the queue) gets too long.”
Ms Nathakumaran is planning to have her daughters bring warm clothes and glucose bars to keep her energy up during the wait.
Her Late Majesty will be accompanied by the Princess Royal and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, on her journey from Scotland this evening.
At Edinburgh Airport, her coffin will be conveyed on to an RAF C-17 by a bearer party, while The Royal Regiment of Scotland forms a guard of honour.
At RAF Northolt, The Queen’s Colour Squadron will convey the coffin to the state hearse, where it will travel to Buckingham Palace via the A40, Eastbourne Terrace, Lancaster Gate, Bayswater Road, Marble Arch, Park Lane, Hyde Park Corner and Constitution Hill.
Transport bosses warn London will experience “unprecedented travel demand”. Tube stations will have to temporarily close to avoid overcrowding and passengers are urged to avoid Green Park station.
Network Rail, Transport for London and the Rail Delivery Group said: “As Her Majesty’s coffin travels to London to lie in state, it is expected that we will see unprecedented travel demand in the capital, especially from Wednesday, September 14.”
A service will run on the Elizabeth line between Paddington and Abbey Wood on Sunday to ease pressure on the network.
That part of the line, which was opened by the Queen in May, is usually closed on Sundays.
Meanwhile, large numbers are expected to line the streets in Belfast and Royal Hillsborough as the King and Queen Consort visit Northern Ireland today.
