Thousands of police, hundreds of British soldiers and an army of officials made final preparations on Sunday for the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II — a spectacular display of national mourning that will also be the largest gathering of world leaders in years. US President Joe Biden and other world leaders have flown to London for the funeral, which has been attended by around 500 members of the royal family, heads of state and government from around the world. As the dignitaries poured out, the clock ticked down for those seeking a place in the biggest queue any of them had ever seen to pass the Queen’s coffin as it lies in state at Westminster Hall. The mile-long queue is expected to close to new arrivals later on Sunday so everyone in the queue can see the coffin before Monday morning when it is taken to Westminster Abbey for the Queen’s funeral. Family by family, thousands of people continued to line up around the clock, braving frigid temperatures overnight and waits of up to 17 hours in a line that stretched more than 5 miles (8 kilometers). Lauren Wilson, a 36-year-old student, was in the much shorter queue for people with mobility issues. He said he wanted to personally experience the coffin in state. “The world is in such a strange place and then this happened. It feels more important,” he said. He worried that the pomp surrounding Elizabeth’s death would deprive the queen’s relatives of the opportunity to come to terms with their loss. “The family is not allowed to grieve. I find it very heartbreaking,” she said. The Queen’s eight grandchildren, led by Crown Prince William, circled the coffin and stood with bowed heads during a silent vigil on Saturday night. Among the foreign leaders in London was New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who told the BBC she was humbled to represent her nation at the funeral and watch the national outpouring of grief and respect for the late queen. “What I’ll take away from this season is just the beauty of the audience response, the kindness you see from audience members, the patience, the camaraderie. This was, for me, the most moving tribute of all. , was the public response of the British people,” he said. King Charles III hosted a reception for heads of state and other leaders on Sunday evening at Buckingham Palace. People across the UK will also stop on Sunday afternoon for a minute’s silence across the country to remember the Queen, who died on September 8 aged 96 after 70 years on the throne. Monday has been declared a public holiday and the funeral will be broadcast to a huge television audience around the world and shown to crowds in parks and public spaces across the country. Police officers from across the country will be on duty as part of the biggest one-day police operation in London’s history. Crowds also gathered on Sunday near Windsor Castle, where the Queen will be laid to rest in a private family ceremony on Monday evening. “I think it was amazing,” said Anna Pettigrew, a 55-year-old teacher. “It was very moving and I think it was a very fitting tribute to a wonderful queen.” Camilla, the new queen consort, paid tribute to the queen in a video message, saying the monarch had “carved her own role” as a “lone woman” on a male-dominated world stage. “I will always remember her smile. That smile is unforgettable,” said Camilla, who is married to Charles. Prince Andrew paid tribute to his mother, saying he would forever appreciate “your love for a son, your compassion, your care, your trust”. “I will miss your knowledge, advice and humor,” he said. Andrew, the third of the Queen’s four children, was relieved of official royal duties and stripped of his honorary military titles because of his friendship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. After the Queen’s four children — Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward — held a vigil around her coffin on Friday, it was the grandchildren’s turn on Saturday. Charles’ sons William and Prince Harry were joined by Anne’s children Zara Tyndall and Peter Phillips. Andreas’ daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenia. and Edward’s two children — Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn. William stood with his head bent at the head of the coffin and Harry at the feet. Both princes, who are army veterans, were in uniform. The crowd continued to pass slowly, silently. “You could see they were thinking a lot about their grandmother, the Queen,” said Ian Mockett, a civil engineer from Oxford in southern England. “It was good to see them all together as a set of grandchildren, given the things that have happened over the last few years.” Ahead of the vigil, Beatrice and Eugenie released a statement praising their ‘beloved grandmother’. “We, like many, thought you would be here forever. And we all miss you terribly. You were our matriarch, our guide, our loving hand on our back, guiding us through this world. You taught us so much and we will cherish these lessons and memories forever,” the sisters wrote. The silence at Westminster Hall was briefly broken on Friday when a man fell into a coffin. London police announced on Sunday that 28-year-old Mohammed Khan from London has been charged with conduct intended to “cause alarm, annoyance or distress”. He will appear in court on Monday. The lie-in continues until early Monday morning, when the Queen’s coffin will be carried in a gun carriage pulled by 142 Royal Navy sailors to nearby Westminster Abbey for the funeral, the finale of 10 days of national mourning for Britain’s longest reigning monarch. monarch. After Monday’s service at the abbey, the late Queen’s coffin will be carried through the historic heart of London in the state carriage. It will then be taken by hearse to Windsor, where the Queen will be buried alongside her late husband Prince Philip, who died last year aged 99.
