Up to 1million mourners face a queue snaking up to 10 miles through London to catch a glimpse of the Queen’s coffin in Westminster Hall before Monday – with just 500 portaloos to share between them en route – as Downing Street said they would rely on self-policing when it comes anyone jumping the line or claiming to be disabled.
Well-wishers and royal fanatics have been waiting in line since Monday and were handed wristbands this afternoon to cement their spots as it was confirmed it is not guaranteed that everyone will get to see Her Majesty’s lying in state from 5pm tonight.
Almost 800 stewards and an army of hundreds of volunteers including up 120 scouts will man the line – but with up to 1million predicted to join over the next four days, organisers expect those in it to deal with people queue-jumping because the 10,000 police officers in London are needed elsewhere.
No proof of disability will be required to use the accessible queue for the Queen’s lying in state, it is understood, with marshals on hand along the route to make sure people are in the correct line.
It came as London may be ‘full’ for the first time over the next week with hotel rooms sold out and public transport rammed with 1million set to queue to see Her Majesty’s coffin and 1million more due in the capital on Monday as experts predicted policing the Queen‘s funeral is the most challenging peacetime event in British history.
The unprecedented demand has sparked a huge logistical operation involving the Met, MI5 and the Armed Forces with Whitehall insiders fearing that central London could actually be the busiest it has ever been.
The queuing infrastructure for the Queen’s lying in state is 10 miles in length. This includes 6.9 miles from Victoria Tower Gardens next to Parliament to Bermondsey, with a further 3 miles snaking inside Southwark Park in south-east London.
There will be an element of self-policing when it comes to people keeping their places in the queue for the Queen’s lying in state.
Those waiting in line will be given a coloured and numbered wristband, specific to each person, allowing them to leave for a reasonable amount of time. It is thought people will know those around them in the line and be supportive when others need to step out.
To help avoid disappointment, entry to the back of the line may be closed early, to ensure as near as possible that those already waiting are able to file past the late monarch’s coffin in Westminster Hall to pay their respects.
It is too early to estimate when this moment might come, but the total number of people in the queue will be monitored towards the end of the lying in state period, which must be completed by 6.30am on Monday September 19, the day of the Queen’s funeral.
Entry to the line will also be paused for a time if the queuing infrastructure cannot take any more people.
There will be more than 1,000 volunteers, stewards, marshals and police officers on hand at any one time as people queue for the Queen’s lying in state, it is understood.
There will be 779 professional stewards per shift, assisted by 100 civil service volunteer marshals, 40 adult scouts, and 30 members of the first aid nursing yeomanry, as well as Metropolitan Police officers.
There is further queue support from 10 members of the Red Cross, 30 multifaith pastors – co-ordinated by Lambeth Palace – and six Samaritans per shift.
There will also be two British Sign Language interpreters in the accessible queue.
Overall, there are 140 Red Cross volunteers from every nation in the UK, 120 from the Scouts, 170 from the Salvation Army, 180 from the Samaritans, 600 from St John Ambulance, and then the wider deployment of military personnel helping with the overall ceremonial events.
There are more than 500 Portaloos along the route.
On Monday at Westminster Abbey, Britain’s Royal Family, most of Europe’s royals and hundreds of heads of state including Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron and a cast of controversial statesmen including Jair Bolsonaro and Recep Tayyip Erdogan will need protection at the first full State Funeral that Britain has hosted since Winston Churchill died in 1965.
Transport for London commissioner Andy Byford said today that the capitals trains and buses will be rammed with ‘millions’ expected to travel to the area around Buckingham Palace for the Queen’s Laying-in-State and funeral. He has also warned people not to drive unless it is essential due to road closures.
Many hotels in Windsor and the capital have no rooms left because of bookings by mourners, tourists and police officers. This scarcity means windowless basement bedrooms are on sale for £300-a-night or more this weekend and into Monday.
Former Met counter-terrorism chief Nick Aldworth, who helped plan for London 2012, compared the state funeral next week to squeezing the ‘enormous’ threats the capital faced during a three-week Olympics into 48 hours.
Around 10,000 police officers will be on duty every day in London in the lead up to the Queen’s funeral – including patrols from South Wales and Scotland – up to 1,000 more than during the Olympics ten years ago. Up to 1,500 soldiers will be available to control the crowds, with personnel from all three services.
Mr Aldworth, who was also head of security for Parliament and the Queen Mother, said that Monday hold ‘a different quantum of risk’ that has never been seen before due to the five-mile queue predicted in London to enter Westminster Hall and the volume of mourners on the streets of Central London.
He said: ‘The difference between the Olympics and this event is the Olympics are spread over three weeks,’ adding the Queen’s funeral is ‘probably the same number of people, the same number of visiting dignitaries, compressed into a few days.’
Andy Byford believes it is ‘impossible’ to accurately predict crowd sizes that planning for the Queen’s lying in state and funeral.
Around 10,000 police officers will be on duty to keep the public and Royal Family safe this week and through Monday’s funeral. Security experts say that the events pose ‘enormous’ problems for the Met and the security services
Met Police Officers seen maintaining order while thousands of people wait on the route of the state hearse of Queen Elizabeth II to bid their final farewell to Her Majesty.
The growing queue in Lambeth to see Queen Elizabeth II lying in state from 5pm tonight for the next four days
Armed police officers patrol the Whitehall ahead of the procession to carry the body of Britain’s late Queen Elizabeth II this afternoon
Below the Union Flag at half mast, a police spotter surveys the crowd atop Buckingham Palace this morning
Members of the public join the queue on the South Bank, as they wait to view Queen Elizabeth II lying in state
Mounted police ride their horses on The Mall before a nighttime rehearsal for when the coffin will be moved from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall last night
The leaders of Russia, Belarus and Myanmar won’t get an invite to the Queen’s funeral but a number of controversial figures including Erdogan and Bolsonaro are coming to London and other world leaders are yet to confirm including President Xi
TfL is ‘used to dealing with big crowds’ and will take measures such as temporarily restricting access to the busiest Tube stations and directing passengers to other stations to ‘spread the load’, he said, adding people should not drive in Central London ‘if you can possibly avoid it’.
Hotels are full with Travelodge saying that rooms in Windsor and the West End have gone. Budget chains with windowless rooms are charging £300-a-night as tourists and police officers scramble for somewhere to stay.
Operation Feather – the exercise for managing the queues – is under way with portable toilets and water stations being set up along the route.
As many as 10,000 police officers will be deployed in London, with officers on alert for both potential terrorism and activists such as environmental protesters.
Metropolitan Police officers as well as Welsh police officers will be manning the expected route, parts of which are already lined with barriers.
Portable toilets, barriers and temporary flooring have been set up inside Victoria Tower Gardens.
It is likely the queue will snake along the south bank of the Thames, past Tower Bridge, and as far as the start point of Southwark Park – a route some 4.9 miles long.
Whilst more than 300,000 people came to see George VI lying in state in Westminster Hall in 1952 – and 200,000 saw the Queen Mother’s coffin in 2002 – Whitehall chiefs are reportedly expecting a figure closer to a million mourners this time around.
The figure would rival the estimated one million mourners who flooded the capital for the funeral of Princess Diana in 1997.
The Cabinet Office is preparing for the ‘very real possibility’ that London will become ‘full’ for the first time. Contingency plans are in place for rail operators, Network Rail and Transport for London to tell passengers not to attempt to travel to the capital.
The plan assumes that 750,000 people will want to pay their respects, but officials acknowledge that it could be significantly more. ‘There’s just no way of knowing,’ one said.
Downing Street is urging people to work from home that day. Commuters may want to ‘change their working patterns accordingly’, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said but acknowledged ‘not everyone will have that ability’. He added: ‘At this point, we can’t be more specific on numbers. We do expect it to be extremely busy.’
Asked if there will be any facilities for people who physically cannot queue for 30 hours, he said: ‘Obviously we want everyone to be able to attend regardless of whether they have disabilities. Our focus is on ensuring they have the information needed to make the decision about what’s right for them.
‘There will be toilet facilities, there will be first aid available, there will be the ability for people obviously to go and use toilets and return to queues and things like that.’
A police sniper and spotter watch the procession of the Queen’s coffin through Edinburgh yesterday
People queue in Green Park, heading towards Buckingham Palace. The Tube station, already one of London’s busiest, is exit only, causing congestion
Police are having to guard routes used by the King, senior royals and when Her Majesty’s coffin is being moved
Transport bosses warned London will experience ‘unprecedented travel demand’ in the coming days and travellers they should expect Tube stations to temporarily close to avoid overcrowding.
Planning journeys in advance using the latest information will be essential, according to a joint statement by Network Rail, Transport for London and industry body the Rail Delivery Group.
Hotel prices have rocketed in line with the strong demand.
A basic windowless basement room in Piccadilly Circus, central London, was available for £300 ($350) per night.
And another similar room was £315 per night near Paddington railway station.
The Snoozebox hotel in Stratford, east London, offering no-frills windowless rooms made out of shipping containers, has no availability until after the funeral.
‘Our hotels in central London and Windsor are literally sold out, and demand is… strong for our hotels situated near to a train or tube station throughout Greater London,’ according to budget hotel chain Travelodge.
Visitors are coming ‘from all corners of the UK and across the globe’ to pay respects to Britain’s longest-serving monarch, it added in a statement.
Available rooms are set to remain scarce ahead of the funeral, said industry body UK Hospitality.
‘We’re hearing from hotel operators in London that they’ve experienced a surge in bookings since last Thursday’s announcement of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,’ said UK Hospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls.
‘Demand is certain to remain high right up until next Monday’s state funeral.’
Accommodation is also under strain owing to block bookings for extra police and other key personnel for before, during and after the high-profile event.
TFL chief Andy Byford has said that the situation on public transport is being managed ‘minute by minute’ from a command centre alongside other agencies and Government departments.
London Underground stations near Buckingham Palace have seen a surge in passenger numbers since the Queen died on Thursday.
TfL figures show more than 19,000 people started or finished journeys at Hyde Park Corner station on Tuesday, which was double the total on the same day last week.
Green Park has been made an exit only station to prevent overcrowding.
Across the Tube network as a whole, TfL recorded 2.99 million journeys on Tuesday, up 8% compared with a week earlier.
Mr Byford said: ‘The most recent approximation or estimate is that there will be around potentially up to 750,000 people in the queue for lying in state, which is itself a huge number.
‘But then if you take the whole 10-day mourning period and the various events that happen during that – obviously some happened elsewhere – but even the London element of that, we are talking well north of a million people.
‘So this is huge. This is the biggest event and challenge that TfL has faced in its history, and we must rise to that challenge.
‘The Olympics was a huge logistical challenge and operational challenge for TfL, which the company executed in magnificent fashion. But this is different.
‘With something like the Olympics, you know what the events are, where they are, and you know what the numbers will be because it’s ticketed.
‘This is more challenging. It’s over a long period and although there are estimates, it is impossible to say with certainty how many people will turn up to the various elements, so we’ve assumed the highest possible number and we’re aligning our service to match that.’
A special service will run on the Elizabeth Line railway between Paddington and Abbey Wood on Sunday to ease the pressure on other parts of London’s transport network.
That section of the line – which was opened by the Queen in May – is usually closed on Sundays due to testing and software updates.
Mr Byford added: ‘We have recruited literally an army of people from across TfL.
‘We’ve cancelled non-essential meetings.
‘I’ve asked everyone to step up, I’ve asked everyone to volunteer, and the response has been fantastic.
‘We’ve dropped everything in order to pull out all the stops and send Her Majesty off in style with an excellent transport offering.
Brits form an orderly queue: Hymn-singing pensioners wrapped in tinfoil, veteran soldier who has been standing to attention overnight and crowds sustained with ‘pizza blessed by God’ – how ’48-hour Queen queues’ ‘bring out the best of British eccentricity’
Around 10,000 mourners have today formed an orderly queue set to stretch five miles across London and last 40 hours to pay their final respects to Britain’s longest-reigning monarch – including hymn-singing crowds of hungry campers eating ‘pizza blessed by God’ and military veterans who have kept themselves awake to avoid crumpling their clothes.
Up to a million people are expected to spend several days queueing to see the Queen‘s coffin, which will be lying in state in the Palace of Westminster from 5pm today until the funeral at Westminster Abbey and burial in Windsor on Monday, September 19.
Poncho-wearing royal fans wrapped in tinfoil have camped out in sleeping bags for two nights and sheltered under their brollies as the capital was soaked by downpours.
An estimated 10,000 people are queueing past Westminster Bridge towards Waterloo station to pay their respects to the late monarch, while around 5,000 mourners have already gathered on The Mall to catch a glimpse of the Royal Carriage carrying the Queen as King Charles III and his warring sons the Prince of Wales and Duke of Sussex lead the coffin’s solemn ceremonial procession from Buckingham Place to the Palace of Westminster at 2.22pm this afternoon.
Officials expect some 400,000 people, some of whom have flown into the UK from abroad, will view the coffin – more than the 300,000 who filed past her father King George VI as he lay in state at Westminster Hall in 1952. But with between 750,000 and a million expected to want to pay tribute, fears are growing that as many as 650,000 could miss out. Many others may struggle to get to London due to the enormous strain that transport networks are set to come under.
TfL bosses have warned the organisation is facing the ‘biggest event and challenge’ in its history, claiming that planning for the Queen’s lying in state and funeral is more complicated than the 2012 Olympics as it is ‘impossible’ to accurately predict crowd sizes.
Meanwhile Heathrow Airport has cancelled flights today to ensure the skies over London are silent during the procession.
At 4am this morning, the Archbishop of York entertained tired mourners camping along the Albert Embankment overlooking the Houses of Parliament entertained by singing hymns and even brought pizza which campers joked had probably been blessed – while a former soldier dressed impeccably in a bowler hat and polished shoes said he was keeping himself awake by rocking on his heels.
The queue begins on the Albert Embankment, along Belvedere Road, behind the London Eye. It will then cross Lambeth Bridge and travel along the South Bank past the National Theatre, Tate Modern and HMS Belfast. The back of the queue will be in Southwark Park, ending the near-five mile route. There will also be an ‘accessible queueing scheme’ set up from Tate Britain for those with disabilities, and licensing rules could be varied so that restaurants and cafes can open overnight.
The Queen has spent one final night at Buckingham Palace, her home of 70 years, where she was received by the entire Royal Family.
Her coffin will be taken to Westminster Hall this afternoon, where it will arrive at 3pm then lie in state from 5pm until 6.30am on Monday.
Mourners queue along the Thames opposite the Houses of Parliament to see the Queen’s coffin
Royal fans camped out overnight and sheltered under their brollies in central London
People gather on the day the coffin is transported from Buckingham Palace to the Houses of Parliament
Police on The Mall ahead of the ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II
A sorrowful King Charles III waves to the crowds as he is driven along The Mall to Buckingham Palace
At 2:22pm, a procession will take the late monarch from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall where she will lie in state. The King will follow the coffin on foot, joined by his sons the Prince of Wales and Duke of Sussex
The Queen’s coffin is due to leave Buckingham Palace this afternoon and head to Westminster Hall
Sydney-born royal fan Amanda Drake, 63, slept in a tent overnight as she joined a queue to see the Queen’s coffin
A man brushes his teeth in the queue on the banks of the Thames opposite the Houses of Parliament
A super-fan makes breakfast as he perches next to a bench along the Thames opposite the Houses of Parliament
Members of the public in Whitehall, central London, ahead of the ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall
People gather at The Mall on the day the coffin is transported from Buckingham Palace to the Houses of Parliament
Mourners camp out on The Mall ahead of the procession which will take the Queen to the Houses of Parliament
William Single, 19, from Coventry on The Mall ahead of the ceremonial procession of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall
Members of the Armed Forces in Whitehall ahead of the ceremonial procession
Royal fans sit along the banks of the River Thames opposite the Houses of Parliament to see the Queen’s coffin
Two women speak to each other in the queue along the bank of the Thames ahead of the Queen’s lying in state
Two women, one in a waterproof poncho, stand next to a small tent along the bank of the River Thames in the queue
A woman puts on makeup on Wednesday morning as she sits in the queue for the Queen’s lying in state
Details of how public can attend Queen’s lying-in-state at Westminster Hall
Where is the Queen’s coffin?
The Queen is spending one final night at Buckingham Palace, her home of 70 years. Her coffin was driven from RAF Northolt along the A40 after being flown from Edinburgh yesterday afternoon.
She was received by the whole Royal Family, including King Charles III, the Queen Consort, the Prince and Princess of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II arrives in the Royal Hearse at Buckingham Palace
When will the Queen’s coffin be moved to the Palace of Westminster?
At 2.22pm, a ceremonial procession will take place on Wednesday afternoon that will see The Queen’s coffin travel from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster for the Lying-in-State.
The King will lead the procession, and his feuding sons Princes William and Harry will join him, putting on a display of unity.
Members of the public can watch the procession in person at the ceremonial viewing areas along the processional route, or at a screening site in Hyde Park.
The coffin will then arrive at the Palace of Westminster at 3pm.
Members of the public can watch the procession in person at the ceremonial viewing areas along the processional route, or at a screening site in Hyde Park
When can I see the Queen lying-in-state?
Members of the public will be able to pay their respects to The Queen at the Lying-in-State at The Palace of Westminster in London from 5pm today until 6.30am on Monday, September 19.
At the Lying-in-State, The Queen’s closed coffin will rest on a raised platform, called a catafalque, in Westminster Hall and will be draped in the Royal Standard with the Orb and Sceptre placed on top. Each corner of the platform will be guarded around the clock by a vigil of units from the Sovereign’s Bodyguard, the Household Division, or Yeoman Warders of the Tower of London.
Those wishing to attend will be required to queue for many hours, possibly overnight. Large crowds are expected and people are encouraged to check ahead, plan accordingly and be prepared for long wait times.
What security will there be?
All those attending the Lying-in-State will go through airport-style security and there are tight restrictions on what you can take in, with only small bags permitted. Step-free access will be available for those who need it.
This graphic issued by the UK Government this week shows what items will be banned at Westminster Hall in London
Only bags smaller than 40cm x 30cm x 20cm will be allowed into Westminster Hall during the lying-in-state from today
What if I can’t get to London?
For those unable to travel, key moments of the ceremonial procession and the Lying-in-State will be broadcast on the BBC, Sky News and ITV.
Whitehall chiefs in charge of logistics for the historic five-night vigil have estimated mourner numbers could be close to the million people who turned up to view Pope John Paul II when he lay in state in Vatican City in 2005.
Government guidance says the queue is expected to be very long, with people standing for ‘many hours, possibly overnight’ and with very little opportunity to sit down.
People have been also warned off taking children to pay their respects, as the queue could become too arduous for them.
The Prime Minister’s spokesman said organisers on the ground will make a decision on any ‘cut-off point’ once they see the ‘scale of people who are attending’.
Mourners waiting to pay their respects to the late monarch will be given colour-coded wristbands in order to temporarily leave the queue to buy food and use the toilet. And stewards staffing the route have been advised to spot people who may be struggling, take them out of the queue for a ‘cup of tea’. They may then be allowed closer to the front, the paper reported.
Numerous people who have gathered along the bank of the River Thames are insisting on sticking out the poor weather conditions in order to pay their respects to the Queen.
Some brought no waterproof clothing as they stood in the rain, while others donned plastic ponchos.
The veteran told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘I’m dressed like this because I served Her Majesty… 22 years in the Army. I figure the least I could do after 70 years is give her another day of my life, so come down here and pay my respects. I did spend a good couple of hours, maybe a little more attention to deal, knowing I’d be seeing Her Majesty again, put my medals on.
‘I’d crumble my clothes if I was to [go to sleep]. It’s an old trick, literally just rocking back and forth on your heels, sips of water… and then crack on’.
The first mourners in the queue to see the Queen lying in state are Royal super-fans Vanessa, Annie and Grace, who arrived three days ago on Monday morning. The trio follow the Royal family around the country to various events and met the Queen several times. They have been bedding down since the start of the week in sleeping bags on the floor and on benches close to the southern side of Lambeth. However, since yesterday they now have a gazebo under which to shelter from the September drizzle.
First to arrive and first in the queue is Vanessa Nathakumaran from Southwark, who got to the spot at 11.30am on Monday.
She said: ‘I don’t how I’ll feel when I see the coffin, I think it’ll be quite overwhelming. The Queen has been the nation’s rock – and that of the Commonwealth – for the last 70 years and now we have a King. It’s a very historic moment in time.
‘I have a Royal link, my great uncle, Sir Waithilingam Duraiswamy, was knighted by King George VI and attended his coronation. I want to pass on my respects to Elizabeth II and in my own personal, private way tell her what she’s meant to me and my family over the years.’
Her friend Annie Daley arrived five minutes later at 11.35am on Monday from her home in Cardiff. Annie said she last spoke to the Queen six years ago during a walkabout near Windsor Castle for her 90th birthday celebrations.
She added: ‘We had a 9 balloon and a 0 balloon attached to some railings but the 9 flew away despite us scrambling to try and save it. I managed to find another one from somewhere and as she greeted us later she said ”I was watching all the fuss, thank you for getting my 9 back”. She was Irreplaceable, a woman of substance who was reliable, dependent and strong.’
Grace Gothard arrived at 4.30pm on Monday and said: ‘I first knew of the Queen when I was a young child in Ghana. I know that when I see her coffin, it’s going to bring on a wave of emotion. My own mother died ten years ago and you never forget. So I will also be grieving for her as well as the Queen.’
Grace added: ‘The Queen was a good woman, who did a lot of good for Commonwealth and she will be missed so much.’
At 8am this morning the queue to see the Queen lying in State was nearly a mile long, winding down alongside the Thames to Westminster Bridge. Annie joked: ‘It’ll go on for miles and miles later today, that’s why we got here early. Preparation is the key to success.’
Also camping the night was Marian Kaewthont, 51, who made a huge 165-mile journey to be in London from her home in Wrexham. She arrived outside Lambeth Palace to the queue to see the Queen lying in state yesterday at 1pm.
She set her tent up at 8pm and as she emerged this morning told MailOnline: ‘I just had to be here because the Queen is the greatest woman I’ve ever known. She has done so much for the UK and for the Commonwealth and served on the throne right up until she died even though she must have been gravelly ill.
‘That’s why I’ve made the long journey from North Wales because she deserves for people to line the streets and give her a good send-off.’
Ms Kaewthont said she grabbed some food from her cupboard before she left. She added: ‘It’s been ok overnight, there are a few people who brought tents and others who slept in chairs. The weather wasn’t too bad luckily.’
Michael Darvill, 85, had camped out since 2pm yesterday with daughter Mandy Desmond, 55. They camped out previously in the Mall when Charles and Diana married in 1981.
Mr Darvill from Ascot, Berkshire, said: ‘It’s not been too bad. The afternoon yesterday was quite pleasant but as the evening wore on, there was a little bit of drizzle.’
The pair had slept on camping chairs huddled under a Union flag umbrella. Mr Darvill added: ‘I remember as a young man being among the crowds in London and watching as Winston Churchill’s cortèges rolled past.
‘That for me that is the only comparable event to this. I think this is bigger and has attracted people from around the world. The Queen committed most of her life to service of this country and this is just a small way of saying ”thank you for all you’ve done”.’
Former member of the Balmoral Guard Duncan Rasor, who met the Queen while serving in Scotland, wore his military medals and Glengarry headdress as he queued for the lying in state.