The official queue to Westminster Hall was closed after arriving at 9.50am, with officials saying it will not reopen for at least six hours. Despite this, mourners continued to turn up at Southwark Park, where they were placed in a pen. The entrance to Southwark Park has also been closed Before it closed, the queue had reached 4.9 miles and the waiting time was estimated at 14 hours. Margaret Wallwork, 76, from Newcastle, arrived in London this morning and was placed in the pen. She says she will wait as long as necessary to pay her respects to the queen. “She’s been the queen for as long as I can remember. She’s my queen and she’s served this country very well and she’s a wonderful lady,” he says. “I just want to come down and pay my respects – she’s our matriarch. “He’s someone I really admire.” Image: Margaret Wallwork, from Newcastle, says she will wait as long as necessary to pay her respects to the Queen Despite the estimated waiting time of 14 hours, Ms Wallwork said: “We’re hoping it’s not because we’ve booked an 8.30pm train today back to Newcastle. “If we can’t get on the train later tonight if we have to. “I’m so far away, it would be a shame to go back. I’ll wait.” Paul Banks, 72, from London, said he would wait in the pen for as long as needed as “this will only happen once in my life”. “It’s very well organized as there are lots of stopping points and toilets so everything is organised,” he said. “If someone faints, someone will be there to pick them up.” He added: “I only live five miles away but most of the journey was walking to get in the queue. “It’s an extremely long line right now.” Also in the pen was Annie Slater, 40, from Peterborough. He said: “I came here today because I wanted to pay my respects to the Queen. “Her strength is inspiring to me and to have a woman running our monarchy has been incredible and I feel very passionate about it. “When I heard he died it was like he was part of the family. “When someone in your family dies, you go through the grief alone, whereas the grief we are going through now is with the nation. “It’s a shared sadness that I don’t think we’ll see again.” On the wait ahead of her, she said: “The Queen did 96 years so I could do 14 hours.”
