Queen lying in state queue closed as wait time reaches 14 hours

16 September 2022, 10:44 | Updated: 16 September 2022, 10:49

Footage shows Southwark Park after queue to see Queen lying in state is paused for 'at least six hours'

The queue to see the Queen lying in state has been paused for at least six hours after hitting capacity in Southwark Park.

People are being warned not to join the queue to see the Queen lying in state as entry has now been closed.

With tens of thousands of mourners hoping to pay their respects, Southwark Park has now reached capacity, with an estimated waiting time of around 14 hours.

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In a tweet, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said: “Southwark Park has reached capacity. Entry will be paused for at least 6 hours. We are sorry for any inconvenience.

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“Please do not attempt to join the queue until it reopens. Check back for further updates.”

This means the queue won’t be open again until around 16:00 at the very earliest.

The line was four miles long overnight and by 8.15am this morning it had reached 4.9 miles (7.9km).

Firefighters are giving out bottles of water along the route while volunteers, stewards, police lined the route.

People have travelled from around the country, with some setting off from Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh.

Those who have made it to the front of the queue have said it was ‘breath-taking’ in Westminster Hall and ‘you could hear a pin drop’.

According to Metro.co.uk, nurse and mum-of-three Melanie Pickman, 50, left her home in Wales at 11am yesterday.

After making it to the queue at 3pm, she said: “My sons think I’m mad because I have come to London to stand in a queue which some people say could be 30 hours long.

“I just thought that I needed to come. We will never see this again. She served our country for such a long time. We owe it to her to show our respect.

“She may be the Queen but she is also somebody’s mum, aunty and granny. I just think she is part of us as well. We have been lucky to have her.”