Parliament prepares for Queen to lie in state at Westminster Hall
Parliamentary authorities are preparing for the Queen to lie in state at Westminster Hall from Wednesday, with an expected 500,000 people set to pay their respects.
The Queen’s coffin will lie in state in parliament’s oldest building for four days as a part of the period of national mourning.
Parts of the parliamentary estate will be closed down for the duration of the four days and security put on high alert for the historic occasion.
Big Ben will toll at 2.22pm as the Queen’s coffin begins its procession down the Mall which is expected to be packed with up to 1m people.
The coffin will be draped in purple and a service of prayer will be led by the Archbishop of Canterbury at Westminster Hall, with members of the Royal Family in attendance.
An estimated 200,000 came to see the Queen Mother lie in state at Westminster Hall in 2002.
Buckingham Palace is expecting at least 500,000 people to file through Westminster Hall next week to see the Queen’s coffin.
Tributes from MPs to the Queen finished last night, with leader of the House of Commons Penny Mordaunt giving the closing statement.
Mordaunt said the fact the Queen “met her new Prime Minister in person and was prepared to take a Privy Council 24 hours before her death illustrates the depth of her devotion to duty”.
“She lived and died in the services of the nation as her father did and his father before him,” Mordaunt said.
The Queen’s funeral on Monday 19 September is already being described as one of the largest diplomatic gatherings of the century, with hundreds of current and former world leaders set to attend.
US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are among those expected to attend.
Senior members of Royal Families from across Europe are also expected to be there at Westminster Abbey.