London mourners face miles-long queue to see queen’s coffin
People look at the floral tributes in Green Park, following the death of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, near Buckingham Palace in London, Britain September 13, 2022. REUTERS
LONDON — Mourners wanting to pay their
respects to Queen Elizabeth in London may have to queue for up
to 7.5 kilometers (4.5 miles), the government said on Tuesday as
it set out arrangements for her lying-in-state.
Around 750,000 people are expected to file past Elizabeth’s
coffin inside parliament’s Westminster Hall from 5 p.m. (1600
GMT) on Wednesday. The queen died last week, aged 96, at
Balmoral Castle in Scotland.
The outpouring of sadness triggered by her death has already
drawn large crowds in Scotland, where she lay for 24 hours in St
Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh. Around 33,000 people paid their
respects during that period.
The London memorial, lasting almost five days and ending on
the morning of her funeral, is a much larger
occasion.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime event to honor a
once-in-a-lifetime woman,” said Andrew Israels-Swenson, from
Minnesota, who said his 82-year-old British mother asked him to
attend to “represent the family.”
He and around a dozen others formed a queue earlier on
Tuesday to be among the first to see the coffin, which will be
placed on a decorated platform inside a centuries-old hall in
the British Parliament that bears plaques on the floor marking
where her forebears have also lay in state.
“Please respect the dignity of this event and behave
appropriately. You should remain silent while inside the Palace
of Westminster,” government-issued guidance said, also asking
well-wishers not to film or photograph inside parliament.
The hundreds of thousands predicted to join the line will be
asked to queue along the southern bank of the River Thames,
winding past landmarks including the giant London Eye ferris
wheel and a reconstruction of Shakespeare’s Globe theater.
Upon joining the queue, mourners will be given a wristband
allowing them to briefly leave the queue to use a toilet or get
food and drink.
Volunteers, stewards and police will line the route, with
cafes, theater and other venues opening their doors to provide
refreshments. The British Film institute will have an outdoor
screen broadcasting footage of the queen and her reign.
“Antisocial or inappropriate behavior (including
queue-jumping, excessive consumption of alcohol or drunken
behavior) will not be tolerated and you will be removed from
the queue,” the government guidance said.
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