Queue for queen’s coffin ‘paused’ as wait hits 14 hrs
The flood of grief from the death of Queen Elizabeth II forced the British government to call a temporarily halt to people joining a miles-long line to file past her coffin as it lay in state on Friday, hours before King Charles III and his siblings were to stand vigil in the historic Westminster Hall.
A live tracker of the queue 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 kilometres) from Parliament to Southwark Park in south London and then around the park.
Caroline Quilty of London said that she got to the line around 4 am on Friday.
"I think it is a moment in history, and if I did not come and celebrate it and see it and be part of it, I think I
would really regret it," she said.
After a day out of the public eye on Thursday, King Charles III was travelling to Wales on Friday on the final leg of his tour of the nations that make up the United Kingdom in the aftermath of the death of his mother last week after 70 years on the
throne. Charles, who for decades before his accession to the throne was the Prince of Wales, visits Llandaff in Cardiff for a service of prayer and reflection in honour of his late mother and will receive condolences from the Welsh parliament, the Senedd.
Charles returns to London later on Friday and will briefly stand vigil at his mother's coffin in the evening with his siblings, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward.
A day later, all eight of Queen Elizabeth II's grandchildren are expected to stand vigil beside her coffin for 15 minutes.
Charles' sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, will attend the vigil along with Princess Anne's children, Zara Tindall and Peter Philips; Prince Andrew's daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, and the children of Prince Edward - Lady Louise Windsor and Viscount Severn.
William, who after his grandmother's death and his father becoming king is now the heir to the throne, is set to stand at the head of the coffin and Harry at the foot. Both princes, who are military veterans, will be in uniform.