Members of the public will be able to visit the Queen’s coffin at Westminster Hall to pay their respects. Crowds had already gathered early on Wednesday morning to watch the procession and a line had begun to form as people waited to file past the Queen’s coffin. The doors of the ancient hall on the banks of the River Thames were due to open to the public from 5pm local time. The coffin carrying Queen Elizabeth II makes its way along The Mall during the procession for the State of Queen Elizabeth II on September 14, 2022 in London, England. LEON NEAL/Getty Images Of the crowd, Sharon Stapleton, told CBS News that she “met a lot of interesting different people that you wouldn’t normally meet — all together and united in their grief for the Queen and excited to be able to come by and see her lie in state.” “It was a long night. It was raining, very wet, a little cold,” added Stapleton, who said she started waiting in line at 9 p.m. Tuesday night. “But it’s worth every minute.” Britain’s King Charles III, left, William, Prince of Wales, far left, and Prince Harry, right, walk behind the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II during a procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall in London, September 14, 2022. Daniel Leal/AP Senior members of the royal family joined the procession – about a 40-minute walk – from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, including new monarch King Charles III, Princess Anne, Prince Edward and Prince Andrew. William, Prince of Wales and Harry, Duke of Sussex marched in line behind the Queen’s children. The procession included the tolling of Big Ben, the iconic clock tower in Parliament Square, and a gun salute in nearby Hyde Park. As the march passed, the assembled crowd erupted into applause at various points along the route. A short service began after the coffin arrived at Westminster Hall, conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, and attended by the royal family – including Catherine, Princess of Wales and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. The coffin will rest on a raised platform which will be guarded 24 hours a day for the entire four-day state period stay by members of various British military regiments on royal protection duty.
