Queen's lying-in-state: Mourners start queuing to pay their respects
People have begun claiming their spot to see the Queen lying in state at Westminster Hall - 48 hours early.
Vanessa Nathakumaran, from Harrow, was the first person to arrive on the south side of Lambeth Bridge, just after 12:00 BST on Monday.
The 56-year-old said she was "really happy" to be the first person in the queue after stewards told her where the line was set to start.
Barriers are being put in place along the route where crowds will wait.
People will be able to see the Queen lying in state from 17:00 on Wednesday until 06:30 on Monday, the day of her funeral.
Ms Nathakumaran, who is staying at a hotel in Lambeth so she does not miss the opportunity to pay her respects, said she was "really surprised as I was only just finding out the way and the layout, and in the end I found out from the stewards this is going to be the start.
"I thought I'll stay from now on, I don't want to miss my chance."
She added: "Our part is to say a last goodbye, which is sad but I wanted to make sure I would be part of it.
"I started queuing up from today as I heard the queue is going to be very long, they're expecting about three quarters of a million people will be coming at some point."
Sixty five-year-old Anne, who did not want to give her surname, joined her two hours later, after she found out where the queue was when she saw Ms Nanthakumaran on the news.
Having left her Cardiff home at 03:00, she said waiting for days to pay her respects was "nothing to me".
Decked out with a Welsh flag and chair, Anne has plenty of letters from the Queen and royal magazines to keep her company over the coming days.
As for food, she said she would be ordering a Deliveroo straight to her in the queue or "shall ring Scott's (seafood restaurant in Mayfair) and say 'hello, this is a Welsh lady living by Lambeth Bridge, could you deliver me some fish?'"
Security staff and stewards are lined up at regular intervals along the queue route, which stretches from Parliament's tourist entrance at Cromwell Green down Millbank, past the Lords and Victoria Tower Gardens, across Lambeth Bridge and loops back north on the other side of the river past the Covid Memorial Wall.
Portaloos and crowd control infrastructure, such as barriers and temporary flooring, have been set up inside Victoria Tower Gardens, which is likely to be the peak of the queue before it leads into Cornwall Gardens.
Wristbands will be handed out to allow people to leave the queue for short amounts of time.
Things to remember for queueing:
- Wear suitable clothing for the weather conditions - which you can check here
- Food and drinks (although these will need to be disposed of before you reach the security point)
- Drinks can only be in clear bottles
- Portable mobile phone charger
- Essential medication or equipment that you need to keep with you
- Non-foldable chairs are not allowed, nor will coolers, hampers, sleeping bags and other camping equipment
- Flowers or other tribute items cannot be taken in
Away from the queue, mourners laying flowers in Green Park were deciding whether to join the queue.
Amy Christophers, from Cornwall, said the warning that it could take 30 hours to see the coffin might put her off.
"I love most things about Britain but queuing is one of the things I don't like," she added.
However, her friend Jerri Lee, from Essex, said that would not put her off as "the Queen is worth 30 hours".
Nicola, from Midway Towns, said she had a plan to avoid a lengthy stay: "I reckon drive up in the middle of the night, join the queue then. I reckon it will go down so you're not queuing as long."
Catherine, from south-east London, said: "The Queen was our Queen, but my grandparents were huge royalists so if they were here today, they would definitely do it so you're kind of doing it for the past generations as she was their Queen as well.
"It's brought the people in my family who are deceased, my grandparents, alive again because I feel as if they're here paying their respects through me."
During the lying-in-state period, the Queen's closed coffin will rest on a raised platform called a catafalque inside Westminster Hall, in the Houses of Parliament.
The coffin will be draped in the Royal Standard with the orb and sceptre placed on top. Each corner of the platform will be guarded around the clock by a vigil of soldiers from units from the Sovereign's Bodyguard, the Household Division, or Yeoman Warders of the Tower of London.
Ahead of the lying-in-state, a ceremonial procession will take place on Wednesday afternoon which will see the coffin travel from Buckingham Palace to Westminster.
Members of the public can watch the procession in person at ceremonial viewing areas along the processional route, or at a screening site in Hyde Park.
