The stream of people who want to say goodbye to their monarch at the Queen’s coffin continues. The eight grandchildren want to honor their deceased grandmother with a wake in the evening.
King Charles III and his son Prince William surprised those waiting in the kilometer-long queue for the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II on the banks of the Thames in London. Thousands of mourners stayed there for hours on Saturday to honor the queen – many of them overnight.
The authorities estimated the waiting time on Saturday afternoon at around 14 hours. Waiting times of more than 24 hours had previously been reported.
“God Save the King”
The crowd greeted Charles (73) and William (40) with applause, cheers and shouts of “God save the King”. “I hope you’re not too cold,” the new king said to a woman waiting in line, according to the BBC. Temperatures had hit single digits in London overnight. The BBC mentioned “The Queue” in its weather report on Saturday morning as its own location with seven degrees Celsius.
Rescue workers have warned mourners waiting in line about freezing temperatures. Last night paramedics had to treat three people because of the cold, one person had come to a clinic, a spokesman for the London Ambulance Service (LAS) told the BBC on Saturday. Temperatures had dropped to 5 degrees Celsius. By Friday evening, the LAS had provided medical care to a total of 710 people waiting. 82 people were taken to hospitals, 39 of them on Friday alone. It was often a matter of head injuries after circulatory collapses.
Grandchildren’s wake
The closed coffin of the Queen is laid out in the Westminster Hall of the British Parliament until Monday morning before the state funeral for the Queen, who sat on the throne for 70 years. Her eight grandchildren – including Princes William and Harry – will hold a 15-minute vigil on Saturday night.
Youtube live stream waiting time
On Friday evening, King Charles III. and his siblings – also for a quarter of an hour – took over the wake at the coffin. King Charles III (73), Princess Anne (72), Prince Andrew (62) and Prince Edward (58) positioned themselves in the evening – all in uniform – around the coffin, put their hands together and looked down.
The wake was reportedly the only occasion during the celebrations that Prince Andrew was allowed to wear a uniform. The Queen stripped her second son of his military ranks earlier this year for his involvement in the abuse scandal surrounding the late US multi-millionaire Jeffrey Epstein. At all other ceremonies he was dressed in civilian clothes.
The heir-apparent Prince William was to stand at the head of the wake and Prince Harry at the foot, palace sources told Britain’s PA news agency. Exceptionally, Harry is also allowed to wear a military uniform for the occasion. Although the 38-year-old served in Afghanistan, he is now otherwise denied this due to his retirement from the royal family.
New rules for Prince Harry
Harry then had to resign his military titles, and he too wore civilian clothes at the previous mourning ceremonies. However, after criticism that an exception was made for Andrew, the rules changed for Harry as well. He now lives in the United States with his wife Meghan and their children Archie and Lilibet.
The Queen’s other granddaughters will wear formal black suits or dresses at the wake, it said. The children of Queen’s daughter Princess Anne, Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips, should be at William’s side. Flanking Harry are Prince Andrew’s daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie. The Queen’s youngest grandsons, Lady Louise and Viscount Severn, Prince Edward’s children, positioned themselves in the middle of the coffin. The grandchildren are very anxious to pay their respects to the dead queen, it said.
Queen Elizabeth II died on Thursday, September 8th, at the age of 96 at her Scottish country estate, Balmoral Castle. Her coffin was brought to Scotland’s capital Edinburgh on Sunday and then to London on Tuesday evening. There, the closest family to Charles led him on Wednesday afternoon in a solemn procession from Buckingham Palace to Parliament, where he has been laid out ever since.
Countless people have taken the opportunity to pause at the coffin since Wednesday. On the night of Saturday, helpers distributed free tea, coffee and water as well as blankets, as eyewitnesses reported.
At least those waiting can probably leave their umbrellas at home at the weekend. The British weather service predicted sunny weather for Saturday with maximum temperatures of 17 degrees Celsius in the British capital. It should also remain dry on Sunday, and sunshine is expected for the state funeral on Monday. Then hundreds of monarchs, heads of state and government from all over the world are expected in London.
Procession past Buckingham Palace
After a service at Westminster Abbey, the coffin is taken in a procession to Wellington Arch, the route takes in The Mall and past Buckingham Palace. Such a ceremony has not taken place in Britain since the death of Winston Churchill in 1965, the BBC reported.
Among the guests is the Japanese Emperor Naruhito on his first trip abroad since ascending the throne in 2019. His participation is considered a special honor, as Japanese monarchs never actually attend funerals.
The actual burial will not take place in London, but in Windsor to the west. Several soldiers rehearsed there for the ceremony on Saturday night. The coffin is taken to Windsor in a hearse. The Queen is to receive her final resting place on Monday evening at a private funeral in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle – alongside her husband Prince Philip, who died last year.