Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to line-up to see the Queen lying in state in Westminster Hall this week.
The public will be able to process by Elizabeth’s coffin, which will be on a raised platform known as a catafalque, from Wednesday (September 14) until Monday (September 19), the day of her funeral.
The last time a member of the royal family lay in state was the Queen Mother after her death in 2002 at the age of 101.
Around 200,000 people are said to have taken an opportunity to see the Queen Mother's coffin in the days before her requiem service, a number that is expected to be far eclipsed by her daughter.
What is lying in state?
Lying in state describes the formal occasion in which a coffin is placed on view to allow the public to pay their respects to the deceased before the funeral ceremony, according to the Gov.uk website.
It is an honour bestowed upon the sovereign due to their role as head of state.
It has also been afforded to the current or past queen consort, such as the Queen Mother, and sometimes former prime ministers.
There have been many notable occasions of lying in state which have taken place in Westminster Hall — a medieval hall at the heart of the Houses of Parliament — a few days before the funeral ceremony.
These include:
- 1898 - William Gladstone (a former prime minister)
- 1910 - King Edward VII
- 1936 - King George V
- 1952 - King George VI
- 1953 - Queen Mary (Elizabeth II’s grandmother)
- 1965 - Sir Winston Churchill
- 2002 - Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother
What happened during the Queen Mother’s lying in state?
The Queen Mother died in her sleep at the Royal Lodge in Windsor — with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth, by her bedside — on March 30, 2002.
She passed after suffering from a heavy chest cold for the previous four months and entered the history books as one of the longest-lived members of any royal family.
For her lying in state, a wreath of camellias from the green-fingered royal’s own garden were placed on top of her flag-draped coffin.
Like Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin will be, the Queen Mother’s casket was draped in the royal standard and placed on a high stand in Westminster Hall.
For three days from April 5, 2002, members of the household cavalry and other branches of the armed forces stood guard at the four corners of the catafalque while an estimated 200,000 people filed by to pay their respects.
The hall was open 23 hours a day to allow the crowds time to see the coffin.
At one point, her four grandsons — the-now King Charles, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward and Viscount Linley — mounted the guard as a mark of respect.
It was an honour similar to the so-called “Vigil of the Princes” at the lying in state of King George V, the Queen Mother’s father-in-law.
Charles, who was then the Prince of Wales, is said to have gone back again privately while she lay in state to pay one last visit to his maternal grandmother.
The King was said to have been very close to his grandmother while she was alive.
The Queen Mother’s funeral was held at Westminster Abbey on April 9, 2002, with more than one million people filling the area around the cathedral.
Ministers believe around 750,000 people will want to see the Queen lying in state, with people expected to form five-mile long queues to see the deceased sovereign.
