The first person has arrived to queue for the Queen’s lying in state in Westminster Hall – more than 48 hours before the line opens – as she revealed she’d asked her daughter to bring her glucose bars to keep her energy up.
Vanessa Nathakumaran, 56, from Harrow, appeared at midday today to the south of Lambeth bridge, where the entrance to the queue is expected to be set up.
Ms Nathakumaran, who is staying at a hotel in Lambeth so she does not miss the opportunity to pay her respects, said she began ‘admiring the royal family’ from the age of 10 and has ‘a huge respect for them’.
The administrative assistant, who grew up in Sri Lanka before moving to the UK to study in the 1980s, said her great uncle, Sir Vaithilingam Duraiswamy, was knighted by King George VI for services to Sri Lanka, then called Ceylon.
Her daughter, Praveena Nanthakumaran, met the Queen as an air cadet, she added. ‘I’m really proud that our family got involved in some of the Queen’s life and the start of her reign,’ she said.
Ms Nathakumaran said that when she started working in London, she became ‘so interested in English culture and this royal family and the governments and all that that I always pay my respects’.
On why she wants to see the Queen lying in state, she said: ‘Because she has done a good service. She was very devoted. She has done a service to our country, Britain and also international and the Commonwealth.
‘I do respect her way of kindness, how she treats everyone equal, the religions and the communities. She sees everyone as equal.’
Ms Nathakumaran said she is going to call her daughters to change her bag and bring warmer clothes and glucose bars to prepare for the long days and cold nights.
She said the Queen died on the seven-month anniversary or her husband’s death in February, describing it as ‘a personal connection to our family’.
‘It was very sad,’ she said.
Crowd barriers and portable toilets have been set up in Westminster before the majority of people start arriving to queue for up to 30 hours to see the Queen lying in state.
Her Majesty’s coffin is currently in the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh and is being taken later to the nearby St Giles’ Cathedral, where her family, and a congregation drawn from all areas of Scottish society, will attend a service of thanksgiving for her life.
The coffin is arriving in London tomorrow and will be taken to Westminster Hall, near the Houses of Parliament, on Wednesday.
From 5pm, members of the public will be able to file in to pay their respects to the late monarch for four days, before Her Majesty’s state funeral in Westminster Abbey next Monday.
Crowd barriers and portable toilets have been set up in Westminster before ordinary Britons start queuing for up to 30 hours to see the Queen lying in state
Her Majesty’s coffin is currently in the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh and is being taken later to the nearby St Giles’ Cathedral, where her family, and a congregation drawn from all areas of Scottish society, will attend a service of thanksgiving for her life. Above: Pallbearers carry the coffin from its hearse into Holyroodhouse yesterday
Whilst more than 300,000 people came to see King George VI lying in state in Westminster Hall in 1952 – and 200,000 saw the Queen Mother’s coffin in 2002 – Whitehall chiefs are reportedly expecting a figure closer to a million mourners this time around.
The figure would rival the estimated one million mourners who flooded the capital for the funeral of Princess Diana in 1997.
Portable toilets and crowd control infrastructure such as barriers and flooring have been now set up in Victoria Tower Gardens. Full details of the route will be published at 10pm on Tuesday.
However, the five-mile route is expected to begin at Southwark Park south of the Thames, with mourners following the line of the river down past Parliament to Lambeth Bridge, where they will cross back on themselves by walking back up to Westminster.
People will not be allowed to camp and will be given numbered wristbands to indicate their place in the queue so they are able to leave and come back, it is understood.
Fascinating past of Westminster Hall where the Queen will lie in state: Built in 1097 by son of William the Conqueror, it has hosted trials of Charles I and Guy Fawkes, Henry VIII’s coronation banquet and even Tudor TENNIS matches
For nearly a thousands years, Westminster Hall has stood as a beacon of the British state.
It was commissioned by King William II, the son of William the Conqueror, and was built in 1097.
It has hosted the trials of Guy Fawkes, King Charles I and churchman Thomas More, who was executed by Henry VIII.
Henry’s coronation banquet – in 1509 – was also held there.
In 1920, two leather tennis balls dating from Henry’s time on the throne were found by workmen in the hall’s rafters.
The discovery raised the tantalising prospect that Henry himself may have played what was then known as Real Tennis in the hall.
The infamous king is known to have enjoyed the sport at Hampton Court, his palace in Richmond.
Westminster Hall also been the setting for speeches by Charles De Gaulle, Nelson Mandela, Pope Benedict VI, and the then US President Barack Obama in 2011.
The hall survived a devastating fire in the 19th Century that destroyed most of the rest of the Palace of Westminster.
In 2002, the Queen Mother’s coffin lay in state there and an estimated 200,000 people filed in to pay their respects.
The body of King George VI also lay there for three days in 1952, with around 300,000 filing past.
It was originally built as a banqueting hall and then became England’s main administrative centre from the 12th Century onwards.
As well as occasional speeches from foreign leaders, the hall now hosts parliamentary discussions and is a common walk-through for MPs and others entering Parliament.
<!—-> AdvertisementThere is expected to be airport-style security, complete with bag checks and metal detectors, in the car park of the House of Lords in front of Parliament, according to The Times.
Because the line will be moving constantly, it won’t be possible for well-wishers to sit down for longer than a few seconds at a time. Along with the portable toilets, water stations are already being set up.
Anyone with luggage will reportedly have to stop and leave their bags in a park near Lambeth Palace.
As many as 10,000 police officers will be deployed in London, with officers on alert for both potential terrorism and activists such as environmental protesters.
Up to 1,500 soldiers will also be available to help stewards control crowds. According to The Times, the queue will be closed if there are too many people.
Guidelines for how people should behave and what they should wear have been issued by the Government. Mourners have been told to remain silent inside the Palace of Westminster.
It urges people to ‘dress appropriately for the occasion to pay your respects’. Clothes with ‘political or offensive slogans’ are banned.
‘Please respect the dignity of this event and behave appropriately. You should remain silent while inside the Palace of Westminster’, it adds.
A source told the Daily Mail: ‘It is like trying to organise something on a similar scale to the London Olympics in a matter of days.’
Once Her Majesty’s coffin arrives in London, it will be taken first to Buckingham Palace. Tens of thousands of well-wishers are then expected to line the streets as the coffin makes the journey to Westminster Hall.
The procession will travel via The Mall, Horse Guards Parade, Whitehall and Parliament Square. The ceremony will be screened live in Hyde Park, with a viewing area opening at 11am on Wednesday.
King Charles, the Queen Consort and other members of the Royal Family will witness the arrival of the coffin.
Units from the Sovereign’s Bodyguard, the Household Division, or Yeoman Warders of the Tower of London will guard the coffin day and night.
It was yesterday carried by hearse in a procession from Balmoral Castle to Edinburgh. This evening King Charles and his brothers Prince Andrew and Prince Edward will form a guard of honour around the coffin at the four corners of a raised platform known as a catafalque.
In the moving tribute, which is known as the Vigil Of The Princes, they will take the places of guardsmen from the Royal Company of Archers for about an hour.
Wearing ceremonial uniform, each will face outwards with their heads bowed in respect.
Charles and other senior royals performed the tradition when the Queen Mother died.
They will do so again when the Queen reaches the Palace of Westminster.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said today that commuters may want to ‘change their working patterns accordingly’ because London will be ‘extremely busy’ for the Queen’s lying in state.
They said: ‘At this point we can’t be more specific on numbers. We do expect it to be extremely busy.
‘I think for the Queen Mother it was around 200,000 people (who attended), we expect (it) to be far more than that for this lying in state. But at this point, but we can’t be more specific into exact numbers.’
On whether commuters should work from home this week if they normally travel into the capital from outside London, he said some people ‘may wish to change their working patterns accordingly’, but acknowledged ‘not everyone will have that ability’.
Asked if there will be any facilities for people who physically cannot queue for 30 hours, he said: ‘Obviously we want everyone to be able to attend regardless of whether they have disabilities. Our focus is on ensuring they have the information needed to make the decision about what’s right for them.
‘There will be toilet facilities, there will be first aid available, there will be the ability for people obviously to go and use toilets and return to queues and things like that.’
Today, King Charles looked close to tears as Parliament sang ‘God Save the King’ after he addressed MPs and peers for the first time in Westminster Hall.
He had told them that he could feel the ‘weight of history’ on his shoulders, following their tributes to his ‘beloved mother’ the Queen.
Whilst more than 300,000 people came to see King George VI lying in state in Westminster Hall in 1952 – and 200,000 saw the Queen Mother’s coffin in 2002 – Whitehall chiefs are reportedly expecting a figure closer to a million mourners this time around. Above: Prince Charles is seen taking part in the ‘Vigil of the Princes’ next to the Queen Mother’s coffin in 2002
In just three days of King George VI’s coffin lying in Westminster Hall, more than 300,000 mourners came to pay their respects in scenes that were televised on the BBC
The Government has issued advice saying that only one small bag per person is allowed for those queuing to see Her Majesty’s coffin in Westminster Hall
The guidance adds that ‘prohibited items’ will be ‘confiscated and will not be returned’. Only clear water bottles are allowed and they will need to be emptied before entering the security search point. Any food has to be consumed before entering the search point
People started to camp on The Mall today ahead of the Queen’s coffin being taken from Buckingham Palace on Wednesday afternoon by procession on a Gun Carriage of The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery to Westminster Hall
In a historic speech where he vowed to follow his mother’s selfless duty, His Majesty also looked moved as the Lord Speaker and the Commons Speaker expressed their condolences and said: ‘Deep as our grief is, we know yours is deeper.’
The King stood at a gilded lectern to speak to the crowd assembled in Westminster Hall and thanked the hundreds of politicians and peers, including Liz Truss, Sir Keir Starmer and Boris Johnson, for their tributes his mother.
Charles said the late Queen had ‘set an example of selfless duty which, with God’s help and your counsels, I am resolved faithfully to follow.’
In his short, poignant speech, Charles quoted Shakespeare in his tribute to his ‘beloved mother’ as he addressed Parliament for the first time since becoming monarch, saying of the Queen: ‘As Shakespeare said of the earlier Queen Elizabeth, she was a pattern to all princes living.’
He said: ‘As I stand before you today, I cannot help but feel the weight of history which surrounds us and which reminds us of the vital parliamentary traditions to which members of both Houses dedicate yourselves with such personal commitment, for the betterment of us all.’
He added: ‘I am deeply grateful for addresses of condolence, which so touchingly encompass what late sovereign beloved mother meant to us all’.
The hundreds of dignitaries then stood for the national anthem, which moved the new King to tears on a day where he will be seen in public with the Queen’s coffin for the first time in Scotland this afternoo
The King told MPs and peers assembled in Westminster Hall that he was ‘resolved faithfully to follow’ the example of his mother, the Queen.
King Charles III was visibly emotional as MPs and peers sang the national anthem following tributes to his mother
Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle gives a tribute to the Queen on behalf of MPs as King Charles and the Queen Consort listen
MPs and peers are seen packed into Westminster Hall today to see King Charles address them for the first time as the new monarch
He concluded his first formal address to Parliament as King by saying: ‘We gather today in remembrance of the remarkable span of the Queen’s dedicated service to her nations and peoples.
‘While very young, Her late Majesty pledged herself to serve her country and her people and to maintain the precious principles of constitutional government which lie at the heart of our nation.
‘This vow she kept with unsurpassed devotion. She set an example of selfless duty which, with God’s help and your counsels, I am resolved faithfully to follow.’
There were wild cheers and cries of ‘God Save the King’ as the monarch drove from Clarence House down The Mall for the historic moment before MPs and peers bowed and curtseyed as he walked slowly to his throne with Queen Consort, Camilla.
Liz Truss and her predecessor Boris Johnson were also in Westminster Hall this morning along with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and hundreds of politicians.
Original Article
