The queue to view Queen Elizabeth II lying-in-state has been closed to new entrants. People have been urged by the government not to attempt to join the queue. But anyone already in the queue in London with a wristband as it reached final capacity was assured they would be admitted to Westminster Hall.
The lying-in-state will have lasted for four-and-a-half days when it ends at 06:30 BST on Monday. By then, hundreds of thousands of people will have filed past the Queen’s coffin at Westminster Hall to pay their respects. At its peak, people were waiting for more than 24 hours in a long line that snaked through central London for almost seven miles, ending in a three-mile zigzag in Southwark Park. Mother and daughter Christine and Sarah Rogers, who had travelled from Woodbridge in Suffolk, were the final two people to be handed wristbands to join the queue.
The crowds behind them burst into applause as they were told they would be the last people allowed to enter Westminster Hall. Sarah said: “It means a lot to come and pay our respects because she’s been a constant in my life. Just go there and say thank you… it means a lot.”
Several hundred people have turned away, including Vidur and Natasha Pabari from Chigwell. Vidur said it was “heartbreaking” to miss out, while Natasha said: “We will have to pay our respects another way.” Earlier on Sunday, organisers urged people not to travel to avoid disappointment in case they missed the cut-off time, before announcing the queue was closed shortly after 22:40. In a statement, the Department of Culture said: “The queue to attend Her Majesty The Queen’s Lying-in-State is at final capacity and is now closed to new entrants. “Please do not attempt to join the queue. Stewards will manage those already nearby.”
