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Queen's coffin 'disturbance' sees man arrested hours after King Charles III, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward stand vigil — as it happened

UK police arrest a man after he allegedly rushes the coffin inside Westminster Hall, hours after King Charles III and his siblings held a vigil there.

This blog has now closed, look back over how the day unfolded. 

Key events

To leave a comment on the blog, please log in or sign up for an ABC account.

Live updates

By Dannielle Maguire

We're going to leave it here

It's just ticked past 5am in London, where the queue to see Queen Elizabeth II lying in state has a wait time of at least 24 hours.

That's about an hour less than it was in my last update, but still quite a long time.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is asking people not to travel to join the queue and check back for updates later in the morning.

We're going to wrap up the blog for now, but the ABC's coverage will be continuing throughout the weekend.

Thank you for joining us.

By Dannielle Maguire

China's Vice-President to attend state funeral

Chinese Vice-President Wang Qishan will attend Queen Elizabeth II's funeral, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs says. 

A few days ago, the seven British MPs urged Britian's Foreign Secretary to withdraw an invitation to China's President Xi Jinping to attend the Queen's funeral, citing human rights abuses and the mistreatment of Uyghurs.

By Dannielle Maguire

Japanese royals head for the UK for state funeral

Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako are travelling to the UK for Queen Elizabeth II's funeral.

Traditionally, a Japanese emperor stays away from funerals, whether at home or abroad, because of a cultural belief based in the Shinto religion that considers death impure.

 The decision for Naruhito to attend the queen's funeral underscores the importance and the deep bond between the royal families.

The Emperor and Empress are pictured with Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko, who went to Haneda airport along with British Ambassador to Japan Julia Longbottom to send them off.

The Emperor and Empress are expected to return to Japan on September 20. 

Associated Press

By Dannielle Maguire

Minute's silence for Queen Elizabeth II at football matches

Nottingham Forest, Fulham, Aston Villa and Southampton players and supporters observed a minute's silence before kick-off on Friday night.

They were the first Premier League matches played after the Queen's death.

All games in the matchday 7 weekend were immediately postponed on the news of the monarch's passing.

By Dannielle Maguire

More photos of Prince William and Princess Catherine meeting Australian troops

Commonwealth troops from Australia, Canada and New Zealand stationed at the Pirbright Army Barracks  are training for Queen Elizabeth II's state funeral.

Yesterday, the Prince and Princess of Wales paid the troops an unofficial visit to personally thank them for being part of the proceedings.

Here's some more photos from their trip to the barracks:

By Dannielle Maguire

Australian Monarchist League backs Prince William and Princess Catherine's proposed tour

Yesterday Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said there had been early talks about the Prince and Princess of Wales coming to Australia for an official tour next year.

The Australian Monarchist League has put out a statement in favour of a royal visit.

Here's the organisation's chair Philip Benwell:

"Their Royal Highnesses last visited Australia in 2014 and had planned to visit in 2020 but this had to be cancelled due to the pandemic.

"The visit was to enable them to pay particular tribute to bushfire-affected communities as they, along with the Queen and other members of the royal family, were exceptionally distressed at the death toll, widespread ecological damage, and destruction of homes as a result of Australia’s bushfire crisis as they were for the later widespread and traumatic floods.

"The proposed visit for 2023 will provide an opportunity for them to empathise with Australians still affected both by earlier bushfires and the more recent devastating floods.

"A royal tour of this nature not only embodies the love that the Crown and the royal family have for Australia but affords Australians an opportunity to visibly express their support for the system of constitutional monarchy which so many deeply value as a protection of their freedoms and democracy."

By Dannielle Maguire

How long is the queue now?

It's after 3.30am in London right now.

About two hours ago, the UK's Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said the wait time in the queue was at least 25 hours.

The department has told people not to travel to join the queue, telling them to check back for updates in the morning.

The sun doesn't rise for another three hours, but I'm guessing there will be a few Londoners rising to secure themselves a spot in the line before it closes ahead of Queen Elizabeth II's state funeral.

By Dannielle Maguire

What are the rules about food and drink in the queue?

Flasks and water bottles are banned, with the exception of clear water bottles.

And those clear bottles have to be emptied before people enter the security search point at the Palace of Westminster.

Here's what the website says:

Any food or liquids must be consumed in the queue or disposed of before you enter the security search point at the Palace of Westminster.

Thankfully, people are able to have a cuppa while they wait in line:

By Dannielle Maguire

How's the queue looking?

Here are some of the more recent images from the Associated Press:

By Dannielle Maguire

What's the dress code for seeing Queen Elizabeth II lying in state?

Here's what it says on the UK government website:

"Dress appropriately for the occasion to pay your respects at the Lying-in-State.

"Do not wear clothes with political or offensive slogans."

The website encourages people to dress for the weather conditions:

"This might include warm, protective clothing or an umbrella in cold or wet weather, or sunscreen if you might need it."

By Dannielle Maguire

Witness describes arrest at Westminster Hall

Earlier, we reported that a man had been arrested for trying to get "run up" to Queen Elizabeth II's coffin.

The live television feed was briefly switched to an outside shot during the incident, so we don't have any footage of it.

But here's how Tracey Holland, who was in Westminster Hall with her niece at the time, described the situation:

Man detained after running up to the Queen's coffin

By Dannielle Maguire

A cautionary tale for King Charles, whose legendary sense of entitlement is being closely watched

"I doubt the British public will have much patience with any new monarch who settles a little too luxuriously into the wealthy trappings of the Crown," writes Virginia Trioli.

By Dannielle Maguire

The queue is now at 'near total capacity'

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is now asking people not to travel to join the queue.

By Dannielle Maguire

David Beckham queued up for 12 hours to see Queen Elizabeth II lying in state

The former English football team captain lined up like everyone else.

Beckham told ITV News he joined the queue at about 2am yesterday.

Here's what he had to say about the experience after leaving Westminster Hall:

"It's very, very emotional.

"The silence ... the feeling in the room is very hard to explain.

"We're all there saying thanks to her majesty for being kind, for being caring and for being reassuring.

"Throughout the years, you know, she's been our Queen

"The legacy that she is she has left is incredible.''

By Dannielle Maguire

Man stopped by police after roller blading ahead of King Charles III's car

Here's some pictures from earlier on Friday evening, local time.

Reuters reports a man on roller blades got in the way of the King's car, with the royal's convoy pausing briefly while police tackled the man to the ground.

In video filmed by an onlooker, the man can be heard saying:

"I didn't know mate.

"I was going f---ing fast ... the road was open."

He was handcuffed and wheeled away by police.

It's unclear if he was charged.

By Kate Ainsworth

Key Event

Pope Francis won't attend the Queen's funeral

The Vatican has confirmed Pope Francis will not be attending the Queen's funeral at Westminster Abbey on Monday, September 19.

Archbishop Paul Gallagher, a Liverpool-born priest will be flown from Rome to represent him at the service instead.

Pope Francis is the fifth pope the Queen met during her reign as monarch.

By Dannielle Maguire

Police arrested man 'within two seconds'

Mourners watched in shock as a man tried to touch the Queen's coffin, according to onlookers.

Here's what happened, according to witness Tracey Holland:

"Some person decided they were going to push my seven-year-old niece out the way, run up to the coffin, lift up the standard and try to do I don't know what.

"[She] was grabbed out the way and the police had him within two seconds."

The Metropolitan Police said that at about 10pm officers from the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command detained a man in Westminster Hall following a disturbance.

Associated Press

By Dannielle Maguire

Key Event

UK media are reporting a man has been arrested for allegedly rushing at Queen Elizabeth II's coffin

ITV's Royal Editor Chris Ship says a man "rushed the Queen's coffin" at about 10pm local time, but was quickly removed from Westminster Hall by police.

By Kate Ainsworth

Watch: The King and Queen Consort in Wales

The translation for the caption reads: "Thank you for your words of support and sympathy."

By Dannielle Maguire

Prince William and Princess Catherine meeting with Australian troops

The Prince and Princess of Wales met with Australian, New Zealand and Canadian troops at the Army Training Centre Pirbright in Guildford earlier on Friday.

They were deployed to the UK to take part Queen Elizabeth II's funeral on Monday.

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