Members of the public join the queue on the South Bank, as they wait to view Queen Elizabeth II lying in state ahead of her funeral on Monday.
(Picture: PA)Huge crowds lined the route from Buckingham Palace to Parliament from early on Wednesday to pay their final respects to Queen Elizabeth II.
Under pristine Union Flags bedecking The Mall, they gathered, turning into Horse Guards Road, down Whitehall and into Parliament Street.
In a spectacular display, the capital welcomed mourners into its historic heart to say a final farewell.
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to queue for hours, possibly for more than a day, to file past the Queen’s coffin in Parliament’s Westminster Hall.
The coffin was on Wednesday afternoon being borne in procession on a Gun Carriage of The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster, where the Queen will lie in state in the medieval hall until the morning of the state funeral on Monday.
The Imperial State Crown and a wreath of flowers were being placed on top of the coffin before the departure of the cortege at 2.22pm under the carefully rehearsed funeral plans.
The King was due to follow the coffin on foot, joined by his sons the Prince of Wales and Duke of Sussex, as well as the Duke of York, the Princess Royal and the Earl of Wessex.
Anne’s son Peter Phillips and her husband Vice-Admiral Sir Tim Laurence were also set to walk in 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 were travelling by car. A gun salute was due to be fired from Hyde Park during the 38-minute procession, with one round every minute. The procession was set to arrive at Westminster Hall at 3pm where the Archbishop of Canterbury, accompanied by the Dean of Westminster, was to lead a service lasting about 20 minutes.
A full rehearsal, involving thousands of soldiers, with seven black horses pulling the gun carriage, was held in the early hours of Tuesday.
The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery, The Household Cavalry, The Grenadier Guards, The Coldstream Guards, The Scots Guards, The Welsh Guards, The Royal Marines and The Honourable Artillery Company were all taking part in Wednesday’s ceremonies.
Among those preparing to pay tribute were pub landlord Jack Gibbons, 33, and his identical twin brother Sam, who began queuing overnight.
Mr Gibbons, who runs The Swan in Hampton Wick, said: “We had to come and pay our respects.
“Our family are huge fans of the royal family and the way the Queen dedicated her life to the country is an inspiration.”
Mareian Kaewthong, 51, originally from Thailand, travelled from her home in Wrexham, north Wales, on Tuesday afternoon and camped overnight to be one of the first in line to enter Westminster Hall.
“I wanted to come to pay respect to our Queen,” she said. “She is the greatest person I have ever known.”
An unprecedented security operation, involving thousands of police officers, was under way in central London to stop any disruption by protesters this week or terror attacks, and to protect presidents, prime ministers and other royalty flying to London to pay their final respects to the Queen.
“She is a legend,” said European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. “She was a constant throughout turbulent and transforming events in the last 70 years, stoic and steadfast in her service.”
The Queen, who was 96, passed away at Balmoral Castle in the Scottish Highlands last Thursday.From early this morning, an air of tranquillity hung over the Westminster area, with most cars, vans and lorries banned from the streets around Parliament. They were being meticulously cleaned, with sand also being laid in New Palace Yard for the horses pulling the gun carriage. Heathrow Airport said flights were being delayed so that they do not disturb this afternoon’s procession.
The lying-in-state in Westminster Hall was opening to the public at 5pm and will be accessible 24 hours a day, though brief periods of closure are possible.
The Queen’s coffin will be raised on a catafalque and draped in the Royal Standard, with the Orb and Sceptre on top. It will be guarded at all hours by units from the Sovereign’s Bodyguard, the Household Division or Yeoman Warders of the Tower of London.
The Queen Mother was the last member of the royal family to lie in state in the hall, when over 200,000 people queued to view her coffin in 2002.
Metropolitan Police officers will be joined by volunteers and stewards to manage the queue, while toilets and water fountains are provided at various points along the route. A wristband system will be used to manage the queue, with those waiting in line given a coloured and numbered wristband.Senior royals could also pay their own moving tribute, standing guard at some stage around the coffin — the tradition known as the Vigil of the Princes.
The lying-in-state will end early on Monday, before the Queen’s funeral in Westminster Abbey.
After the state funeral, the coffin will be taken again in procession from the abbey to Wellington Arch before travelling to Windsor where it will travel in procession to St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, for a committal service at the Queen’s final resting place.
On Tuesday evening, there were poignant scenes when the coffin was brought back to London by plane and taken to Buckingham Palace. As the hearse began its journey from Northolt in west London, people stood silently by the road, some stopping their cars in the fast lane, to watch it go past.
