Queue for queen’s coffin ‘paused’ Friday as wait hits 14 hours
LONDON
A surging tide of people — ranging from London retirees to former England soccer captain David Beckham — have lined up to file past Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin as it lies in state at Parliament, so many that authorities on Friday had to call a temporary halt to more people joining the miles-long queue.
A live tracker of the queue to get into historic Westminster Hall said it was “at capacity” and entry was being “paused” for six hours as waiting times reached 14 hours and the line stretched 5 miles (8 kilometers) from Parliament to Southwark Park in south London and then around the park. There was even an informal queue of people waiting to join the official one.
King Charles III and his siblings will be standing vigil around the flag-draped coffin on Friday evening.
Beckham was spotted in the line of mourners near Britain’s Houses of Parliament at lunchtime Friday. He’s believed to have joined the queue at 2 a.m. and to have lined up for more than 10 hours with thousands of others.
Wearing a white shirt and black tie, he bowed briefly to the coffin before moving out of Westminster Hall.
He told British broadcaster ITV, “we can all see, with the love that has been shown, how special she is and how special she was and the legacy that she leaves behind.”
“It’s a sad day, but it’s a day for us to remember the incredible legacy that she’s left,” he added.
Helena Larsen, 76, arrived just too late at the park.
“We have literally got here and they have shut it in front of us,” she said, adding that she would likely hang around the area until the gates were reopened.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said viewing the queen’s coffin lying in state was an unforgettable experience.
“You’re in Westminster Hall in her presence, with a crown on top of her coffin, and it’s incredibly emotional,” he told The Associated Press.
Meanwhile, a delegation of Chinese officials reportedly was barred from visiting the historic hall in the Houses of Parliament where the late queen’s coffin is lying, as geopolitics cast a shadow over the solemn pageantry surrounding the monarch’s death.
The Chinese ambassador to the U.K. has been banned from Parliament for a year after Beijing sanctioned seven British legislators last year for speaking out against China’s treatment of its Uyghur minority in the far-west Xinjiang region.
The office of House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle declined to comment Friday on a report by American news outlet Politico saying the Chinese delegation would not be allowed into Westminster Hall. Prime Minister Liz Truss’s office also declined to comment.
In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said she had not seen the Politico report but that as host of the queen’s funeral, the U.K. government should “follow the diplomatic protocols and proper manners to receive guests.”
A Chinese delegation is expected to attend the queen’s Monday funeral, which is in Westminster Abbey church and not Parliament. Organizers of the funeral have not published a guest list and it was unclear who from China might attend.