A man was arrested in London on Friday night following a “disturbance” at Westminster Hall, where Queen Elizabeth II is lying in state, draped with the Royal Standard and crowned with a diamond-encrusted crown. Parliamentary authorities said that someone attempted to approach the queen’s casket on its platform after leaving the viewing line.
AFP reports that a live video broadcast of the mourning was momentarily interrupted at 10 p.m. when police seized the man, two hours after King Charles III and his three siblings stood vigil in the vast auditorium.
The Metropolitan Police stated that a man was apprehended for a suspected violation of public order.
Since Wednesday, when the public was first permitted to enter the hall, the number of people wishing to bid farewell to the queen has steadily risen. The end of the railway, which winds around Southwark Park almost 5 miles from Parliament, was temporarily closed to new tourists on Friday.
On September 17, 2022, members of the public pay their respects to the casket of Queen Elizabeth II as it lies in state in Westminster Hall at the Palace of Westminster in London. Marco Bertorello/Pool via Reuters
Overnight, as the temperature dropped to 43 degrees Fahrenheit, volunteers provided blankets and mugs of tea to those in line as the temperature dropped to 43 degrees Fahrenheit. Despite the weather, the mourners spoke of the comfort of a shared experience.
“The night was freezing, but we had lovely companions and made new acquaintances. “The camaraderie was fantastic,” remarked Chris Harman of London. “It was well worth the effort. I would do it repeatedly and repeatedly. I would traverse the entire globe for my queen.”
On Friday evening, the audience continued to enter Westminster Hall in silence as the queen’s four children — Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward — held vigil for 15 minutes around the flag-draped coffin. Only a baby’s wail could be heard.
Edward stated prior to the vigil that the royal family was “overwhelmed by the wave of emotion that has swept us and the sheer number of people who have gone out of their way to express their own love, admiration, and respect (for) our lovely mother.”
People in the line to see the queen have been of all ages and backgrounds. Many bowed or made the sign of the cross before the coffin. Several veterans saluted sharply, their medals gleaming in the sunlight. Some individuals wept. Others blew kisses with their lips. Many embraced one another as they departed, proud to have waited for hours to pay their respects, even if it lasted just seconds.
On Friday, the wait time reached a maximum of 24 hours. Former England soccer captain David Beckham was among the mourners; he waited in line for over 12 hours to pay his respects. Before leaving Westminster Hall, he bowed briefly before the coffin while wearing a white shirt and black tie.
Beckham told reporters, “We have been fortunate as a nation to have had someone who has led us the way Her Majesty has led us, for the length of time, with kindness, care, and constant reassurance.”
The queen’s coffin will be carried to neighboring Westminster Abbey on Monday morning for a state funeral, concluding ten days of national grief for Britain’s longest-serving monarch