Queen funeral latest: First members of the public pay their respects as queue nears 3 miles long

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1663171874People pay their respects to the Queen

Many nodded at the Queen’s coffin and bowed as they slowly and silently filed past in Westminster Hall.

Some took off their hats and stood, taking in the moment. Others were seen crying.

1663171628First people enter Westminster Hall

The first members of the public have entered Westminster Hall at the Houses of Parliament to pay their respects to the Queen.

They are the first of thousands who are waiting in a queue that is almost three miles long, stretching across the Southbank to Tower Bridge.

The Queen will lie in state until 6.30am on Monday morning, the day of her state funeral.

1663169784From the archives: Queue for King George V

A photograph of the long queue of pilgrims to Westminster Hall to pay homage to King George V has been released.

The line was some two miles long in London on January 2 in 1936.

AP1663169564Queue stretching to London Bridge

The queue to see the Queen lying in state has stretched 2.5 miles to London Bridge.

More than 4,000 people are waiting, with many prepared to wait all night to pay their respects.

In less than 30 minutes people at the front of the line will enter Westminster Hall.

PA1663169113TfL faces the biggest challenge in its history, boss says

Transport for London (TfL) is facing the “biggest event and challenge” in its history, its boss Andy Byford says.

More than one million people are expected to travel to London to pay their respects to the Queen.

More than 19,000 people started or finished journeys at Hyde Park Corner station on Tuesday, which was double the total on the same day last week.

Green Park has been made an exit only station to prevent overcrowding.

Across the Tube network as a whole, TfL recorded 2.99 million journeys on Tuesday, up 8 per cent compared with a week earlier.

1663168553Will everyone in queue see the Queen’s lying in state?

Thousands of people have taken their spots in the queue for the Queen’s lying in state as the public prepares to pay its last respects.

The line has the capacity to stretch back 10 miles, with no guarantee that everyone who joins it will get to file past the late monarch’s coffin in Westminster Hall.

To help avoid disappointment, it is understood that entry to the back of the queue may be closed early, although it is too early to estimate when that moment might come.

Numbers will be monitored towards the end of the lying in state period, which must be completed by 6.30am on September 19, to ensure as near as possible that those already waiting are able to complete their visit.

Entry to the line will also be paused for a time if the queuing infrastructure – stretching 6.9 miles from Victoria Tower Gardens to Southwark Park, with a further three miles within the park itself – reaches capacity.

There will be more than 1,000 volunteers, stewards, marshals and police officers on hand at any one time as people brave the wait on the banks of the Thames.

1663168155Pictured: Service at Westminster Hall

After the Queen’s coffin arrived at Westminster Hall just after 3pm, a short service of prayer and reflection was attended by the King and Queen Consort, his siblings, children and other members of the Royal Family.

Members of the public will file into Westminster Hall from 5pm.

POOL/AFP via Getty ImagesGetty ImagesGetty Images1663167624Lying in state guidance

For those hoping to see the Queen’s coffin at Westminster Hall, guidance has been released on how to join the queue, the route of the queue and what to bring.

The queue is already around 2.4 miles long, stretching all the way to Southwark Bridge.

More information can be found here.

PA.

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