Millions may miss the opportunity to honour the Queen in person, it was told last night.
From today until her burial on Monday, mourners will have the opportunity to say goodbye to the queen as she lays in state at Westminster Hall.
However, they will have to join a line that might extend up to five miles in length and take 35 hours to go forward.
Up to a million mourners are anticipated to visit her casket in the heart of London.
However, according to authorities, just 400,000 will be permitted to do so, suggesting that more than half may be disappointedly turned away.
To increase the number of people who can line the road, requests were made yesterday to stretch the Queen’s last trip to her ultimate resting place at Windsor Castle.
Officials from Whitehall said there are measures in place to give vulnerable persons in line for the lying-in-state priority so that as many people as possible may have an opportunity to say farewell.
Experts, including a former advisor to Downing Street, cautioned that having people wait for an extended period of time—especially the elderly—risked harming them.
Yesterday, a 75-year-old grandpa waiting in line gave way first.
With millions anticipated to swarm to London in the coming days, the plans for the monarch’s funeral have come under close examination. The RAF brought the Queen back to London last night from Edinburgh.
However, even fewer people were able to see the spectacle since plans to transfer her casket via the Royal Train were abandoned.
For anyone wishing to line up outside the Queen’s casket in Westminster Hall at the Palace of Westminster, the government issued information yesterday night.
Ministers have issued a warning that the lengthy line along the Thames may run between 17 and 35 hours with no chance for rest or a seat.
Families have been encouraged to think about how well the kids can handle things. To help the stewards, over 1,500 troops, sailors, and airmen have been called up.
It is wonderful that so many people want to show their respect to Her Majesty, said Jonathan Haslam, the communications director at No. 10 under Sir John Major. Some people won’t, however, be able to do it in person.
“The planners failed to take reality into account. Who said, “That’s absurd, we need a better response,” when someone stated, “People may be queuing for 30 hours”? ‘
I’ve got serious worries about the health of individuals of my generation and even younger ones, he said on Times Radio.
‘Good individuals could be harming themselves by standing in lengthy lines. Both the King and Her Majesty would not have preferred that. There are only methods to effectively move as many people through Westminster Hall as feasible.
Using the technology we have, rationally-allocated number-timed tickets would be a smart step forward. We could be sleepwalking into a pretty challenging scenario, I worry.
Around 53 hours before the commencement of the lying-in-state at 5 p.m. today, mourners started forming a line along the Lambeth Bridge embankment at noon on Monday.
David Carlson, 75, one of the first to arrive, gave way in the downpour yesterday. The former soldier, a resident of South London’s Wandsworth, refused to give up his position and pledged to enter Westminster Hall today “if it’s the last thing I do.”
In typical British fashion, the line has developed a carnival-like vibe. Final night, the Archbishop of York led a singsong in which he joined in, saying that “The Queen’s last gift was to bring us all together” and praising the resilience of the bereaved as “an inspiration.”
Many people want to see the historic occasion and the lying-in-state, according to Dame Esther Rantzen, founder of the Silver Line organisation. But I worry that those who are frail would not be able to view the late Queen’s casket.
A timed-ticket system would have been a great idea since the lengthy lines might be a serious issue.
Whitehall authorities have emphasised that those who are physically unable to wait in line, such as the old and fragile, would be given priority.
Stewards would be instructed to ‘proactively’ identify them and make sure they get help, according to a government source. They explained: “They would remove them from the line, have them sit down, check on them, and then see if they can be advanced in the line to make it easier for them.
For the first time, a special access queue with timed access will be available for those whose circumstances prevent them from waiting in line for a lengthy time.
Models created by officials were based on projections that 3,000 people could pass through Westminster Hall per hour. However, one source said that this was “on the conservative side” and might ultimately be much higher.
500 portable restrooms have been obtained by the government and will be placed beside the line. There will also be some public building openings.
Although a source conceded that these would initially be “rough and ready estimates,” officials also want to publish anticipated queue times.
Although Downing Street denied that there would be a visiting limit, they did admit that some people who wanted to pay their respects in person could be let down.
“We do want everyone who wants to see her to be able to do so, but we recognise there is a limited amount of time and a huge number of people who desire to do so,” the PM’s spokesperson said.
The casket will take a “processional route” to Hyde Park Corner after the state funeral on Monday before transferring to a vehicle to go to Windsor Castle for the ultimate committal. Extension of the route has been requested so that more people may see Her Majesty’s last voyage.