The government has launched a live ‘watch queue’ to give people an idea of how long they will have to wait to pay their respects to the Queen as she is in state. Thousands have flocked to London for the chance to see Her Majesty’s coffin ahead of Monday’s funeral, with mourners queuing overnight into Friday. Officials are bracing for a queue that could stretch up to ten miles, from the Palace of Westminster to Southwark Park, near Bermondsey. The tracker, created by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and posted on YouTube showed the queue was almost 4.4 miles long at 8am on Friday, reaching Bermondsey beach. Alongside live queue updates, the exact location where the queue ends is given a three-word tag, which users can plug into the third-party What 3 Words app to locate the end of the queue on a map.
read more
But some mourners initially said it meant the government’s tracker showed them locations as far away as California, North Carolina and Slough. According to the Telegraph, this was because the three words were originally typed manually, leading to some errors in the locations. Now they are reportedly done automatically to avoid mistakes. Official guidelines have warned those wanting to pay their respects could be waiting for hours with little chance of a break.
Queen Elizabeth II – Thousands line up to see the Queen Lying in State Members of the public queuing at Victoria Tower Gardens, London PA Members of the public queuing at Victoria Tower Gardens, London PA Members of the public queuing at Victoria Tower Gardens, London PA The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby talks to people near the end of the queue to see Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin outside the Palace of Westminster PA The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby talks to people near the end of the queue to see Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin outside the Palace of Westminster PA The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby talks to people near the end of the queue to see Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin outside the Palace of Westminster PA The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby talks to people near the end of the queue to see Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin outside the Palace of Westminster PA Members of the public queuing on the South Bank Jeremy Selwyn Members of the public queuing on the South Bank Jeremy Selwyn Members of the public queuing on the South Bank Jeremy Selwyn Members of the public queuing on the South Bank PA Members of the public queuing on the South Bank PA Members of the public queuing on the South Bank PA Members of the public queuing on the South Bank PA Members of the public queuing on the South Bank PA Members of the public queuing on Lambeth Bridge, PA People line up to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II during the layover at Westminster Hall in London, AP People line up to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II during the layover at Westminster Hall in London, AP People line up to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II during the layover at Westminster Hall in London, AP People line up to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II during the layover at Westminster Hall in London, AP People line up to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II during the layover at Westminster Hall in London, AP People line up to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II during the layover at Westminster Hall in London, AP People line up to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II during the layover at Westminster Hall in London, AP People line up to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II during the layover at Westminster Hall in London, AP People line up to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II during the layover at Westminster Hall in London, AP People line up to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II during the layover at Westminster Hall in London, AP People line up to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II during the layover at Westminster Hall in London, AP Visitors are required to go through airport-style security before entering Westminster Hall, and only small bags are allowed inside. Public toilets, drinking water and first aid stations are provided at designated locations along the queue route and police may conduct safety checks along the route. The guidance advises that mourners should dress appropriately to show respect for the late Queen and be silent in Westminster Hall. Phones must also be switched off. For those unable to pay their respects in person, broadcasters including the BBC are running a 24-hour stream from the Queen’s Palace of Westminster, which runs until 6.30am on Monday.
