People warned of 'overnight' queues at Queen Elizabeth II's lying-in-state

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) – Mourners wishing to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth II during the lying-in-state in London have been warned to be ready to queue for hours and “possibly overnight.”

The queen’s closed coffin will be placed in the Palace of Westminster from 5 p.m. (1600GMT) on Wednesday until 6:30 a.m. (0530GMT) on Sept. 19, the day of her funeral, according to a government announcement.

“Please note that there will be a queue, which is expected to be very long. You will need to stand for many hours, possibly overnight, with very little opportunity to sit down as the queue will be continuously moving,” the statement said.

People will have to go through “airport-style” security checks before entering Westminster Hall.

There will be also be large police presence in the area.

People will be able to bring one small bag per person into the palace, while “clear water bottles are permitted, but must be emptied of their contents before you enter the security search point.”

The government guidance also asks people to “respect the dignity of the event,” dress appropriately, and turn mobile phones off before entering the palace.

Filming, taking photographs, and using mobile phones or other handheld devices is prohibited.

Elizabeth died at the Balmoral estate in Aberdeenshire, Scotland last Thursday at the age of 96.

Her coffin was brought to the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh on Sunday, and will be placed in St. Giles Cathedral in the Scottish capital with a procession attended by King Charles III and royal family members.

It will be flown to London on Tuesday and taken to Buckingham Palace before the procession to the Westminster the next day.

The last lying-in-state was held for the queen’s mother, Queen Elizabeth, who died in 2002 at the age of 104. More than 200,000 people paid their respects during the event.​​​​​​​