Millions may miss out on seeing Queen lying in state as queues set to stretch back 5 MILES
MOURNERS face a 30-hour queue to file past the Queen’s coffin – prompting fears thousands will miss the chance to pay their respects.
A million people could descend on the Palace of Westminster during the fourand-a-half day period of Her Majesty’s lying in state.
Members of the public will be able to walk around her coffin in Westminster Hall – but the line could stretch back an incredible five miles.
Families were warned to consider if children would be able to stand in a queue for such a long time before deciding whether to bring them to take part in the historic scene.
Officials are preparing for 3,000 people an hour to file past the coffin, meaning about 328,000 in total over the 109 hours between tomorrow and Monday. But this could be a fraction of the numbers travelling to London hoping to pay their respects, meaning large numbers of mourners could be disappointed.
The Government also risks a backlash after it emerged MPs and Parliamentary staff will get priority for themselves and a guest.
The unprecedented demand has sparked a huge logistical operation, with Whitehall insiders fearing that London could actually become ‘full’ for the first time. The Government has urged people to work from home if they can.
Yesterday Operation Feather – the exercise for managing the queues – was under way with portable toilets and water stations being set up along the route.
The Culture Secretary, Michelle Donelan, told MPs yesterday: ‘Queues could be up to 30 hours as we are obviously expecting and planning for unprecedented demand.’
It means someone who started queuing tomorrow evening may not get to the front of the queue until Friday morning. And as the line will, in theory, be continuously moving – albeit at snail’s pace – it will not be possible for well-wishers to sit down for longer than a few moments at a time, or sleep.
Folding chairs and camping equipment are banned, the Government said. Official advice states: ‘You will need to stand for many hours, possibly overnight, with very little opportunity to sit down, as the queue will keep moving. Please consider this before you decide to attend or bring children with you.’
The Queen’s coffin will borne by gun carriage from Buckingham Palace on Wednesday afternoon. Members of the public will be admitted day and night, from 5pm on Wednesday until 6.30am on day of the Queen’s state funeral, Monday September 19. There is expected to be airport-style security, complete with bag checks and metal detectors, in the car park of the House of Lords in front of Parliament.
Only small bags will be allowed. Anyone carrying larger luggage will be required to stop to leave it at bag drop – which will mean another queue. Those queuing are likely to be given numbered wristbands to indicate their place in the line so they are able to leave and come back for comfort breaks or to buy food.
Guidelines for how they should behave and what they should wear have been issued by the Government.
Mourners have been told to ‘respect the dignity of this event and behave appropriately’ including remaining silent inside the Palace of Westminster and to ‘dress appropriately for the occasion to pay your respects’. Clothes with ‘political or offensive slogans’ are banned. As many as 10,000 police officers will be deployed in London, with officers on alert for both potential terrorism and activists such as environmental protesters. Up to 1,500 soldiers will be available to control the crowds, with personnel from all three services.
Full details of the queuing arrangements are expected to be released at 10pm tonight. A source told the Mail: ‘It is like trying to organise something on a similar scale to the London Olympics in a matter of days.’
It is likely the queue will snake along the south bank of the Thames, past Tower Bridge, and as far as the start point of Southwark Park – a route some 4.9 miles long.
The Cabinet Office is preparing for the ‘very real possibility’ that London will become ‘full’ for the first time. Contingency plans are in place for rail operators, Network Rail and Transport for London to tell passengers not to attempt to travel to the capital.