King Charles III and Prince William
They surprise people waiting in line
Prince William speaks to the waiting crowd.
© imago/i Images
King Charles III and Prince William paid a visit to the waiting crowd outside Westminster Hall and thanked them.
Thousands of people are currently queuing in London to say goodbye to Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) one last time. Some wait for hours to get to the coffin in Westminster Hall. To sweeten the long wait, King Charles III. (73) and his son Prince William (40) paid a surprise visit to the crowd of people waiting on Saturday morning (September 17) on the Lambeth Bridge over the Thames.
Together they greeted the waiting crowd, shook hands and thanked the people, some of whom had been queuing since the night. The two were greeted by cheers and shouts of “God Save the King”.
The Queen ‘never would have believed it’
“It means a lot to me that you’re here,” said Prince William according to the British “Daily Mail” to the crowd. In addition, he said as can be seen in a video, his grandmother would “never believe” how many people lined up to visit her coffin. “Honestly, she wouldn’t believe that.”
Later in the evening, the mourners can catch another glimpse of Prince William: Together with brother Prince Harry (38) and other grandchildren of the late Queen, the Prince of Wales holds a 15-minute wake on the coffin in Westminster Hall on Saturday evening – like on Friday evening already the new king and his three siblings.
People have until 6:30 a.m. Monday morning (local time) to visit the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Hall. Then the “lying-in-state” ends and the coffin is prepared for the state funeral, which begins in the morning.