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LONDON: Thousands of people spent London\u2019s coldest night in months huddled in line to view the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, and authorities warned Saturday that arriving mourners face a 24-hour wait.
\nPolice arrested a man after what the force described as a \u201cdisturbance\u201d Friday night in Parliament\u2019s Westminster Hall, where the queen\u2019s coffin is lying in state, draped in her Royal Standard and capped with a diamond-studded crown.
\nParliamentary authorities said someone got out of the queue and tried to approach the coffin on its platform. The Metropolitan Police force said a man was detained for a suspected public-order offense.
\nThe tide of people wanting to say goodbye to the queen has grown steadily since the public was first admitted to the hall on Wednesday. On Friday, authorities temporary halted letting more visitors join the end of the line, which snakes around Southwark Park some 5 miles (8 kilometers) from Parliament.
\nOvernight, volunteers distributed blankets and cups of tea to people in line as the temperature fell to 6 degrees Celsius.
\nPeople had myriad reasons for coming, from affection for the queen to a desire to be part of a historic moment.
\nSimon Hopkins, who traveled from his home in central England, likened it to \u201ca pilgrimage.\u201d
\n\u201c(It) is a bit strange, because that kind of goes against my grain,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve been kind of drawn into it.\u201d
\nMembers of the public kept silently streaming into Westminster Hall even as the queen\u2019s four children \u2014 King Charles III, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward \u2014 stood vigil around the flag-draped coffin for 15 minutes on Friday evening. A baby\u2019s cry was the only sound.
\nBefore the vigil, Edward said the royal family was \u201coverwhelmed by the tide of emotion that has engulfed us and the sheer number of people who have gone out of their way to express their own love, admiration and respect (for) our dear mama.\u201d
\nAll eight of Queen Elizabeth II\u2019s grandchildren are due to stand vigil beside her coffin on Saturday. Charles\u2019 sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, will attend along with Princess Anne\u2019s children, Zara Tindall and Peter Philips; Prince Andrew\u2019s daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie; and the two children of Prince Edward \u2013 Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn.
\nWilliam, who after his grandmother\u2019s death is now the heir to the throne, will stand at the head of the coffin and Harry at the foot. Both princes, who are military veterans, will be in uniform.
\nMost senior royals hold honorary military roles and have worn uniforms to commemorate the queen. Harry, who served in Afghanistan as a British army officer, wore civilian clothes during the procession of the queen\u2019s coffin from Buckingham Palace because he is no longer a working member of the royal family. He and his wife Meghan quit royal duties and moved to the United States in 2020.
\nThe king, however, has requested that both William and Harry wear their military uniforms at the Westminster Hall vigil.
\nPeople queuing to see the queen have been of all ages and come from all walks of life. Many bowed before the coffin or made a sign of the cross. Several veterans, their medals shining in the spotlights, offered sharp salutes. Some people wept. Many hugged one another as they stepped away, proud to have spent hours in line to offer a tribute, even if it lasted only a few moments.
\nOn Friday, the mourners included former England soccer captain David Beckham, who lined up for almost 12 hours to pay his respects. Wearing a white shirt and black tie, he bowed briefly to the coffin before moving out of Westminster Hall.
\n\u201cWe have been lucky as a nation to have had someone who has led us the way her majesty has led us, for the amount of time, with kindness, with caring and always reassurance,\u201d Beckham told reporters afterwards.
\nThe lying-in-state is due to continue until Monday morning, when the queen\u2019s coffin will be borne to nearby Westminster Abbey for a state funeral, the finale to 10 days of national mourning for Britain\u2019s longest-reigning monarch. Elizabeth, 96, died at her Balmoral Estate in Scotland on Sept. 8 after 70 years on the throne.
\nHundreds of heads of state, royals and political leaders from around the world are flying to London to attend the funeral, including US President Joe Biden and Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako.
\nAfter the service at the abbey, the late queen\u2019s coffin will be transported through the historic heart of London on a horse-drawn gun carriage. It will then be taken in a hearse to Windsor, where the queen will be interred alongside her late husband, Prince Philip, who died last year.
\nHundreds of troops from the British army, air force and navy took part in an early-morning rehearsal on Saturday for the final procession. As troops lined The Long Walk, a picturesque path leading to Windsor Castle, the thumping of drums echoed into the night as marching bands walked ahead of a hearse.
\nLondon police said the funeral will be the largest single policing event the force has ever handled, surpassing even the 2012 Summer Olympics and the Platinum Jubilee in June celebrating the queen\u2019s 70-year rein.
\n\u201cThe range of officers, police staff and all those supporting the operation is truly immense,\u201d said Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LONDON: Thousands of people spent London\u2019s coldest night in months huddled in line to view the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, and authorities warned Saturday that arriving mourners face a 24-hour wait. Police arrested a man after what the force described as a \u201cdisturbance\u201d Friday night in Parliament\u2019s Westminster Hall, where the queen\u2019s coffin is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":182704,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_10221280388112155_325455220908133":"","twitter_917774835383787521_917774835383787521":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182729"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=182729"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182729\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":182730,"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182729\/revisions\/182730"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/182704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=182729"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=182729"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wardoon.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=182729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}