Britain weeps for its Queen: Thousands wait all night to pay respects but queue may have to close early

15 September 2022, 06:10 | Updated: 15 September 2022, 06:20

Thousands of people queued all night to file past the Queen’s coffin in Westminster Hall, with many shedding tears for Her Majesty.

Ancient Westminster Hall was filled by a mood of quiet respect and emotion as mourners passed by - some who had been queueing for days.

Thousands have filed past the coffin so far, queuing for close to nine hours, but concerns are growing the queue could be closed as early as Saturday night.

The planned queue route, of almost seven miles, will be extended by another three miles with airport-style zigzag lines in parks to accommodate the huge numbers of people trying to pay their respects.

Read more: Her Majesty’s coffin to rest for four days as cries of ‘God Save the King’ ring out

Read more: Meghan and Harry's children 'to be Prince and Princess but will not have HRH titles'

The queue will be closed to new entrants at some point over this weekend, when officials decide no-one else will be able to make it in time to see the Queen ahead of the end of the lying-in-state period at 6.30am on Monday.

Inside the hall itself, some nodded and bowed at the coffin, others stood briefly in quiet contemplation, and others meanwhile were seen crying and comforting each other as they were overwhelmed by their grief.

It is expected tens of thousands more people will file past the coffin after the Queen’s lying in state began at 5pm yesterday.

The King, his siblings and children and other Royals followed the Queen’s coffin in a 40-minute procession as it travelled from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall yesterday.

Members of the public can pay their respects to the late monarch's coffin for 24 hours a day at Westminster Hall, with queues along Lambeth Bridge and Albert Embankment continuing to flow all night.

Chorus greets coffin of Queen Elizabeth II as it is brought into Westminster Hall

The coffin is guarded at all hours by units from the Sovereign's Bodyguard, the Household Division or Yeoman Warders of the Tower of London.

Metropolitan Police officers, volunteers and stewards are managing the queue while toilets and water fountains are provided at various points along the route.

People waiting in line are being given a coloured and numbered wristband to manage the queue.

It is the first night people can pay their respects to the Queen after the ancient hall opened at 5pm on Wednesday.

Earlier in the afternoon, the King led the royal family in a public display of homage by walking behind the Queen's coffin during a procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, where it will lie in state until the state funeral on Monday.

Charles then returned to his Highgrove home in Gloucestershire on Wednesday evening.

He will have a private day of reflection on Thursday and is not expected to attend any public events.

In the detailed planning for the aftermath of the Queen's death - known as "London Bridge" - a day was set aside at this point for the new monarch to have some time away from public duties.

The period will allow the King to pause, but it is understood he will be working in preparation for his new role and will already be receiving his red boxes of state papers.

Elsewhere, King's Counsel will take part in wreath laying after the death of the Queen.

Senior barristers, now known as KCs instead of QCs after the proclamation of the King, have been invited to dress in robes and court mourning attire.

They will then gather outside the Old Bailey before walking to Gray's Inn Chapel for the ceremony.

The Princess Royal, accompanied by her husband Sir Tim Laurence, will visit Glasgow City Chambers to meet representatives of organisations of which the Queen was patron.