Queue to see Queen paused for 'at least' six hours due to capacity issue

Entry to the queue to see the Queen lying in state has been paused for “at least” six hours.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said no more mourners could join the queue after Southwark Park reached capacity.

Thousands had been queuing over the second night to pay their final respects to Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

On Friday morning, the line running along the banks of the River Thames of those seeking to attend the late monarch’s lying-in-state at Westminster Hall reached 4.4 miles long.

Shortly before 6am the estimated queuing time was at least nine hours, but by 7am that had jumped to 11 hours as it extended to Bermondsey Beach.

King Charles III, the Princess Royal, the Duke of York and the Earl of Wessex will mount a 15-minute vigil around the Queen’s coffin as it lies in state at 7.30pm on Friday.

The queue was to remain open to members of the public for 24 hours a day until 6.30am on the day of the Queen’s funeral on Monday, September 19.

As many as 750,000 people are anticipated to travel to the capital to pay their respects.

Airport-style security and tight restrictions on what can be taken to Westminster Hall are in place.

The Queen’s coffin is being guarded at all hours by units from the Sovereign’s Bodyguard, the Household Division or Yeoman Wards of the Tower of London.

While the soldiers rotate every 20 minutes, the hours of remaining completely still while standing are six-hours in length.

Metropolitan Police officers, volunteers and stewards are managing the queue while toilets and water fountains are provided at various points along the route.

King Charles III led the Royal Family during a procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall on Wednesday.

At 8am on Monday, the doors of Westminster Abbey will open in preparation for the funeral congregation with more than 2,000 guests, including dignitaries from around the world, expected to attend.

The King will once again lead his family in marching behind the Queen’s coffin when it is moved, at 10.44am, from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey for the Queen’s funeral service.

He will walk with the Princess Royal, the Duke of York and the Earl of Wessex and behind the quartet will be the Queen’s grandsons Peter Phillips, the Duke of Sussex and the Prince of Wales.

A national two minute silence will be held as the service ends shortly before noon.

Then the King and members of the Royal Family will walk behind the Queen’s coffin to Wellington Arch when it leaves Westminster Abbey after the funeral.

The Queen will be reunited with the Duke of Edinburgh in King George VI’s chapel in Windsor Castle when she is buried in a private service at 7.30pm.