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Queen's lying-in-state: Mourners ordered not to stop at coffin after queuing for hours

Nadine Batchelor-Hunt
·Political Correspondent, Yahoo News UK
Updated ·2-min read
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - SEPTEMBER 12: The Crown of Scotland sits atop the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II during a Service of Prayer and Reflection for her life at St Giles' Cathedral on September 12, 2022 in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo Jane Barlow - WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Mourner's will have to file steadily past the Queen's coffin in Westminster Hall and will not be allowed to stop. (PA)

The government has said mourners will not be able to stop to pay their respects after they have queued to see the Queen lying-in-state.

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to travel to London to visit the Queen's coffin in Westminster Hall before the funeral on Monday morning.

The public viewing opens at 5pm on Wednesday, and will be open 24 hours a day until 6.30am on Monday September 19 – the day of the Queen’s funeral.

Whitehall officials have worked out a 10-mile route for mourners to queue, with warnings they could wait up to 30 hours before they see the coffin.

Security will be tight, with visitors warned they will have to pass through airport-style security.

However, once mourners are through security and in Westminster Hall they will not be able to stop and will be told they must file past in a constant queue before exiting the Hall.

Crowds gather along The Mall ahead of the ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, London. Picture date: Wednesday September 14, 2022.
Crowds gather along The Mall ahead of the ceremonial procession of the coffin of the Queen to Westminster Hall. (PA)

The system will be similar to that in Edinburgh, where mourners queued overnight to walk through St Giles' Cathedral earlier this week to pay their respects.

The queue route will stretch from Victoria Tower Gardens, across Lambeth Bridge, down to Westminster Bridge - before veering down Belvedere Road, through Jubilee Gardens, to South Bank, and along to the Tate.

The Queen's coffin arrived at Westminster Hall on Wednesday afternoon, where a solemn, 20-minute service was held upon its arrival.

Queen's lying in state: route of queue. Updated following additional information from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Embargoed to 2200 Tuesday September 13. See story DEATH Queen. Infographic PA Graphics. An editable version of this graphic is available if required. Please contact graphics@pamediagroup.com.
Queen's lying in state: route of queue. Updated following additional information from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Embargoed to 2200 Tuesday September 13. See story DEATH Queen. Infographic PA Graphics. An editable version of this graphic is available if required. Please contact graphics@pamediagroup.com.

The service was led by the Archbishop of Canterbury who was accompanied by the Dean of Westminster.

The procession left the palace at 2.22pm and arrived at Westminster Hall at 3pm.

Read more: When was the last state funeral in the UK and who was it for?

The King, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex followed the coffin on foot as it made its journey to parliament for the lying in state.

The Duke of York, the Princess Royal and the Earl of Wessex walked behind them.

Princess Anne's son, Peter Phillips, and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, also joined the procession - as well as the Duke of Gloucester and the Earl of Snowdon.

The Queen Consort, the Princess of Wales, the Countess of Wessex, and the Duchess of Sussex travelled by car.

Watch: Public queue for late Queen's vigil in Edinburgh