(LONDON) Access to the queue to see the coffin of Elizabeth II was suspended Friday in London, due to the large crowd, said the government.
Posted at 7:28
Initially, he announced that this suspension should last “at least six hours”.
“The slots for the afternoon have been filled,” he then clarified. “Do not try to join the queue before it reopens”.
Before this announcement, the waiting time had risen to 2 p.m., people waiting night and day for miles to be able to gather briefly in front of the sovereign’s coffin on display in Westminster Hall.
Midday Friday, a sign posted where people enter the queue read: “Entry to the queue to view Her Majesty’s coffin is temporarily suspended.” The waiting time from here is at least 14 hours”.
Thousands of people, some from very far away, had joined the queue again in the morning.
The 24-hour coffin viewing is scheduled until 6:30 a.m. (1:30 a.m. EDT) Monday, before the funeral service at Westminster Abbey at 11 a.m. (6 a.m. EDT).