Members of the public in the queue on the South Bank near to Tower Bridge
(Picture: PA)The government has launched a live “queue tracker” to give people an idea how long they will have to wait to pay their respects to the Queen as she lies in state.
Tens of thousands have come to London for a chance to see Her Majesty’s coffin ahead of Monday’s funeral, with mourners queuing throughout the night.
On Friday morning, mourners were stopped from joining the queue entirely at around 11.35am at the entrance to Southwark Park due to overwhelming demand. Visitors were allowed to start queuing again later in the day.
Officials had been preparing for the queue could stretch as far as ten miles, from the Palace of Westminster to inside Southwark Park, near Bermondsey.
The tracker, created by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and posted on YouTube showed that the queue was at Southwick Park on Saturday, and the waiting time was 16 hours.
Alongside the live updates on the queue, a three word tag is given to the exact location where the queue finishes, which people can plug into third-party app What 3 Words to pinpoint the queue’s end on a map.
However, some mourners initially reported this meant the Government tracker showed them locations as far away as California, North Carolina, and Slough.
According to the Telegraph, this was because the three words were being typed out manually initially, leading to some mistakes in the locations. They are now reportedly being done automatically to avoid the errors.
Official guidance has warned those wanting to pay their respects that they could wait for hours with little chance to rest.
Visitors are being required to go through airport-style security ahead of entering Westminster Hall, and only small bags are being allowed inside.
Public toilets, drinking water and first aid stations are being provided at designated locations along the queue route, and police may conduct security searches along the route.
The guidance advises that mourners should dress appropriately to show respect to the late Queen, and to be silent within Westminster Hall. Phones should also be switched off.
For those unable to pay their respects in person, broadcasters including the BBC are running a 24 hour stream from inside the Palace of Westminster of the Queen’s lying in state, which lasts until 6.30am Monday.
