Queen Elizabeth II, the UK’s oldest and longest-serving monarch, died last week at the age of 96, ending a historic 70-year reign. She has been mourned by people all over the world — and some are really going the extra mile to bid farewell to the late queen.
Queen Elizabeth’s send-off was always going to be an event of enormous scale. In accordance with royal custom, the UK has been undergoing an official 10-day mourning period leading up to her funeral on Monday.
At the time of her death Elizabeth II was the oldest and longest-serving head of state in the world, and one of the most famous women on Earth, so her funeral will surely be one of the most-attended and most-watched in history, attended by politicians and dignitaries from around the world.
And in the days leading up to her funeral, thousands of UK citizens have been lining up for miles to pay respects at her coffin as the Queen lies in state at Westminster Hall, braving wait times of up to 30 hours.
The queue is a testament to the huge outpouring of public mourning for Queen Elizabeth II. Thousands of people have lined up to pay respects at her coffin since she began laying in state on Wednesday — even though the slow-moving line demands over a day of waiting.
“Queues could be up to 30 hours as we are obviously expecting and planning for unprecedented demand,” said Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan according to the Mirror.
Yet thousands of people have still been lining up, despite warnings of a grueling wait. The queue stretches from Southwark Park to Westminster Hall, and according to BBC can reach up to 10 miles long.