Queen’s coffin lying in state in Westminster
(Picture: Getty Images)The final route of the Queen’s funeral procession should be lengthened to allow more people to pay their respects, MPs have said.
Several Tory MPs backed calls to extend the late Queen’s last journey to Windsor to accommodate greater numbers of mourners, amid fears some could miss out on the opportunity to see her lying in state in Westminster over lengthy queues.
One proposal being suggested is for the late monarch’s coffin to be taken up the entire three-mile long stretch of the Long Walk outside Windsor Castle before she is buried in St George’s Chapel.
Tory MP David Jones, a former Cabinet minister, told the Telegraph: “It looks very much as if not everybody who wants to go to the lying in state will be able to do so because there’s going to be overwhelming interest in it.
“What’s very clear from the last few days is the enormous affection that people have for The Queen and the fact that so many people are going to be missing her now that she’s gone.
“So I think that anything that gives as many people as possible the opportunity to pay their respects is a good idea. I certainly think it’s a good idea and I hope that they will consider it.”
Another former Conservative minister, who was not named, also told the paper they backed the idea as it could “relieve pressure” on mile-long queues in London.
“I do have sympathy with the argument that the route should be extended,” they said.
The plans for the procession route is based on the ones used for the Queen Mother in 2002, which was in turn built upon plans used in the state funeral of Winston Churchill and the Queen’s father, King George VI.
The route was agreed in advance between the Palace and the Government.
Huge crowds gathered to watch the Queen’s coffin being taken from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster in a solemn ceremony in which the King and other members of the royal family walked behind the coffin.
Her Majesty’s coffin is now lying in state at Westminster Hall until 6.30am Monday, the day of the funeral.
Mourners queued throughout the night for a chance to pay their respects, with the queue reaching three miles long on Thursday morning, stretching from Westminster to HMS Belfast.
