The Queen’s Lying-in-State opens to public as thousands of mourners line up

It’s a big day for royal fans in London wishing to pay their respects to Her Majesty.

Westminster Hall will open its doors to the general public for the late monarch’s Lying-in-State, where mourners will be able to walk past the late Queen’s coffin.

Ahead of the grand 5 p.m. opening, the coffin will finally make its way to its final destination ahead of Her Majesty’s state funeral on Monday.

The coffin will be carried out of Buckingham Palace at 2:22 p.m. local time for the 38-minute journey to Westminster Hall.

King Charles III will lead the procession and will be joined by his sons the Prince of Wales and Duke of Sussex, as well as Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, and Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex.

Her Majesty’s Lying-in-State will open to the public at 5 p.m. for those wishing to walk past the late monarch’s coffin.

Mourners can expect to wait over 30 hours in line — and should expect to stand the whole time. 

The government is expecting at least 750,000 mourners, more than three times the amount who came to see the Queen Mother after she died two decades ago.

The Palace of Westminster will be open 24 hours a day and will close at 6:30 a.m. on Sept. 19.

Though the public won’t actually see the Queen’s body, they will get a chance to walk near the royal’s closed coffin, which will be covered by the flag called the Royal Standard.

Due to the high volume of people expected to attend, there will be guards placed in each corner of the platform.

Mourners will be asked to pass the coffin without stopping to ensure the line is moving swiftly throughout the day and night.

There will be an airport-style security clearance upon entering, according to the UK government’s website.

Signs were put up along the line’s route Tuesday telling mourners they must have a wristband to enter the queue, and port-a-potties were placed along the route. 

It seems as though the queue to get into Westminster Hall isn’t the only queue London is facing this week.

London’s Heathrow Airport is experiencing some major disruptions, particularly between 1:50 p.m. and 3:40 p.m. to ensure total silence as the ceremonial procession takes place at 2:22 p.m, the airport said in a tweet.

“We anticipate further changes to the Heathrow operation on Mon 19 Sept, when Her Majesty’s funeral is due to take place,” it added.