Mourners wishing to pay their final respects to the Queen have been warned they could encounter a 14-hour wait, amid claims that people have been fainting in the queue that now runs five miles in length.
Queues to see the late ruler as she lies in state doubled in length yesterday and is now snaking for five miles past Tower Bridge, after falling to two miles on Wednesday night.
Numerous more are expected to join the queue over the weekend, in a sign of the enormous need for people to say their final goodbye to the favoured monarch.
As thousands filed into the Palace of Westminster last night, Shadow Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner was among those paying a final homage to the Queen. She was standing solemnly with her hands clasped as mourners made their way past the catafalque.
It’s estimated the number of people set to make the pilgrimage could hit more than 350,000, with people from all over the globe expected to visit London to pay their respects, but well-wishers are now being warned that they must enter the queue by 12.30 am on Sunday in order to see the coffin, sources have asserted.
The Queen will lay in state until 6.30 am on Monday, the day of the state funeral.
It comes as parliamentary sources revealed they had stopped six well-wishers trying to smuggle their pets into Westminster Hall. The pet owners had evidently attempted to conceal their dogs under their coats as they entered the mourning area, it was claimed. Others have been seen bringing their babies to see the Queen lying in state.
Meanwhile, images show paramedics appearing to treat exhausted well-wishers, some who had queued throughout yesterday, to see the Queen lying in state.
It comes after a soldier guarding the coffin fainted during his stint. One mourner was seen falling as he walked down the stairs of the historic Westminster Hall towards the Queen’s coffin.
Ahead of what’s expected to be a peak point this weekend, more than 1.7 million people have gone online to view the Government’s live queue tracker on YouTube which shows the end of the line as people wait patiently to enter Westminster Hall to see the Queen’s coffin.
Pesach Neussbaum, who flew to the United Kingdom from Montreal, Canada, on Wednesday, described seeing the Queen’s coffin as a very special and memorable experience after queuing for almost six hours.
Personally, I don’t believe it’s a place for infants and it’s extremely unfair to them, and they wouldn’t recall the event anyhow. They wouldn’t know what was going on, and if they started crying then they would disturb the solemn calm in Westminster Hall where others are paying their respects, and I’m sure they would be much more comfortable tucked up at home in bed.
Personally, I would have lit a candle at home, said a prayer and been done with it, instead of queuing for that long because I have better things to do and hauling children and pets along is cruel.
This is more about ‘I was there moment’ than any sentiment people held for the Queen, although some people might just be going for that reason, queuing for hours on end, I’m sure most would have been going to demonstrate their gratitude to a woman who was not destined for the role of Queen but took it on and kept her promise to serve her country and its people until the day she passed away.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 