Queen’s Coffin Lies in State With Mourners Facing 30-Hour Queue

(Bloomberg) -- Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin arrived in Westminster Hall to begin four days of lying in state, as members of the public wishing to pay their respects were warned they could face a queue of as long as 30 hours to do so.

Most Read from Bloomberg

• Putin’s Options Narrow After Ukraine Scores Battlefield Rout

• Ray Dalio Does the Math: Rates at 4.5% Would Sink Stocks by 20%

• Ethereum Finishes Long-Awaited Energy-Saving ‘Merge’ Upgrade

• NY Judge Who Doesn’t Tolerate ‘Nonsense’ May Be Named Special Master in Trump Case

• Terra Co-Founder Do Kwon Faces Arrest Warrant in South Korea

Crowds lined the route to see the coffin on its short journey from Buckingham Palace down Pall Mall, Horse Guards Parade and Whitehall on Wednesday, as King Charles III followed on foot. He was joined by his sons, Princes William and Harry, and other members of the royal family.

It was the second time in less than a week that William and Harry have been seen side by side after the death of the grandmother, following a reported rift between the two brothers.

Inside Westminster Hall, the oldest part of Parliament, the coffin was placed on a raised platform ready for members of the public to visit.

With hundreds of thousands of people expected, the government set up a queue route from Southwark Park, along the river Thames on the South Bank, across Lambeth Bridge and into the Palace of Westminster.

Including all the zig-zags at both ends, the line could stretch a total of 10 miles and take over a day at its busiest. The queue may be closed at some point to ensure those waiting are guaranteed to see the lying in state before it closes at 6:30 a.m. on Monday, the day of the Queen’s funeral.

“We do expect it to be extremely busy,” the prime minister’s spokesman Max Blain said when asked about the logistical challenges and whether people could realistically queue for so long. “Our focus is on ensuring they have the information needed to make the decision about what’s right for them.”

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

• The Ethereum Merge Ups the Stakes—and Reshapes the Crypto Universe

• Chinese Manufacturers Get Around US Tariffs With Some Help From Mexico

• It’s White-Collar Jobs That Are at Risk in the Next Recession

• A Dubious Truck, a Whistleblower Army, and Inept Spies: Inside the Very Weird Nikola Saga

©2022 Bloomberg L.P.