Thousands of mourners lined up overnight to pass Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin in the Westminster Chambers of Parliament on Thursday as King Charles III spent a day in private to reflect on his first week on the throne. The queue to see the Queen lie in state grew throughout the day and stretched for seven kilometers past Tower Bridge. The line ran along the south bank of the River Thames and then over a bridge to Parliament. Thousands in line didn’t mind the hours of waiting. “I’m glad there was a queue because that gave us time to see what was in front of us, prepared us and absorbed the whole atmosphere,” said health professional Nimisha Maroo. “I wouldn’t like it if I had to rush through.” Buckingham Palace released details of the Queen’s funeral on Monday, the first state funeral held in Britain since the death of Winston Churchill in 1965. Royals and heads of state from around the world will be among 2,000 people attending at the service of Westminster Abbey. which will be followed later in the day by a smaller committal service at Windsor Castle. At the end of the day, the Queen will be buried in a private family service in Windsor alongside her late husband Prince Philip, who died last year. After a day of high ceremony and much emotion on Wednesday, as the Queen was carried in a somber procession from Buckingham Palace, the King spent the day working and in “private reflection” at his Highgrove residence in western England. Charles has had phone calls with US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron and is speaking to a host of world leaders — many of whom will be in London on Monday for the Queen’s funeral. Crown Prince William and his wife Kate visited the royal family’s Sandringham estate in eastern England to see some of the tributes left by well-wishers. The couple walked slowly along metal barriers as they received bouquets from the public and chatted with well-wishers. Other members of the royal family poured out across the UK to thank people for their support, with the Queen’s son Prince Edward and his wife Sophie visiting Manchester and his sister Princess Anne in Glasgow. On Wednesday, the Queen left Buckingham Palace for the last time, carried in a carriage and greeted by cannons and the tolls of Big Ben, in a solemn procession through London’s flag-draped streets to Westminster Hall. Charles, his brothers and sons marched behind the coffin, which was topped by a wreath of white roses and her crown resting on a purple velvet cushion. The military procession marked Elizabeth’s seven decades as head of state, as the process of national mourning shifted to the high avenues and historic landmarks of the UK capital. The 900-year-old Westminster Hall is now at the center of events as the Queen is in state until Monday. The mass mourning event is a huge logistical undertaking, with a 16km designated route with first aid stations and more than 500 portable toilets. There are 1,000 stewards and marshals working at any one time, and 30 religious leaders from a range of faiths to stop and speak to those in line. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, the spiritual leader of the Church of England, wore a high-visibility vest emblazoned with the words “Faith Team” as he addressed mourners. Welby, who led a service for the royal family when Elizabeth’s coffin arrived at Westminster Hall, paid tribute to the Queen as “someone you could trust completely, utterly and completely, whose wisdom was remarkable”. Thousands have already paid their respects, passing the coffin draped in the royal standard and topped by a diamond-encrusted crown. People old and young, dressed in dark suits or jeans and trainers, walked in a steady stream through the historic hall, where Guy Fawkes and Charles I were tried, where kings and queens hosted magnificent medieval banquets and where past monarchs had lie down . After passing the coffin, most of the mourners paused to look back before exiting the great oak doors of the hall. Some wiped away tears. others bowed their heads or bowed. One sank to a knee and gave a farewell kiss. Keith Smart, an engineer and British Army veteran, wiped away tears as he left the room. He waited more than 10 hours for the chance to say goodbye. “Everyone in the crowd was well behaved. There was no malice, everyone was a friend. It was fantastic,” he said. “And then, to get into that room and see that, I just broke in. I didn’t bend — I knelt on the floor, on my knees, bowed my head to the queen.” The late night silence was broken when one of the guards standing vigil around the casket collapsed and fell in front of a raised platform. The man, his chest festooned with medals, could be seen on live broadcasts of the Queen’s coffin lying in a state of swaying on his feet before falling forward to the floor. Two police officers rushed to his aid. Crowds have lined the route of the Queen’s coffin as it was carried on its long journey from Scotland — where the monarch died on September 8, aged 96 — to London. On Tuesday night, thousands braved London’s typical drizzle as the hearse, interior lights illuminating the coffin, drove slowly from an air base to Buckingham Palace. Earlier, in Edinburgh, around 33,000 people passed silently by her coffin within 24 hours at St. Peter’s Cathedral. Giles.
