King does the rounds at 14-hour queue
● King Charles shook hands and spoke to well-wishers queuing for hours in central London yesterday to file past the coffin of his mother, Queen Elizabeth, after thanking emergency workers who are helping stage the late monarch’s funeral.
To cheers of “hip, hip, hurrah” and shouts of “God save the King”, Charles walked alongside part of the queue waiting to see the queen’s lying-in-state, asking those lining up how long they had been there and whether they were warm enough.
His son and heir, Prince William, also chatted to the crowds wanting to honour the queen, who died aged 96 on September 8.
People continued to flock to central London, where hundreds of thousands have filed past the coffin in a solemn stream to pay their respects to Britain’s longestreigning monarch.
London’s police force said the funeral tomorrow will be the biggest security operation it has ever undertaken, as prime ministers, presidents and royals attend.
Police said one man had been detained and arrested. Witnesses said he “ran up to the queen’s coffin”. Footage showed a man being pinned to the ground by police officers and taken away.
Britain’s culture ministry said the waiting time to reach the historic Westminster Hall where the queen’s body is lying in state — with her oak coffin on a purple-clad catafalque, draped in the Royal Standard and with the bejewelled Imperial State Crown on top — was up to 14 hours.
In the silent hall, some mourners wept, while soldiers and veterans saluted their former commander-in-chief. Others fell to their knees.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese were among the dignitaries to pay their respects.
The state funeral — to be attended by nearly 100 presidents and heads of government — is likely to be one of the biggest ceremonial events ever held in Britain.
Soldiers took part in rehearsals in Windsor, where the queen’s coffin will be taken after the funeral at Westminster Abbey. Marching bands and Grenadier Guards in tall bearskin hats paraded down the High Street.
William and his brother Harry, who have grown apart in recent years after Harry moved to the US, were due to stand guard at the coffin in military uniform.
Harry served two tours of duty with the British Army in Afghanistan but so far has appeared in processions in morning suits after he lost his honorary military titles when he stepped back from public royal duties.
The brothers were to be joined by their cousins — Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall, the children of Princess Anne, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, the children of Prince Andrew, and Louise and James, the children of Prince Edward.