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People who queue day before Queen's coffin procession 'may be moved on', say police

Ellen Manning
Updated ·3-min read
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - SEPTEMBER 12: People queue to view the late Queen Elizabeth IIs coffin at St Giles Cathedral on September 12, 2022 in Edinburgh, Scotland. King Charles III joins the procession accompanying Her Majesty The Queen's coffin from the Palace of Holyroodhouse along the Royal Mile to St Giles Cathedral. The King and The Queen Consort, accompanied by other Members of the Royal Family also attend a Service of Prayer and Reflection for the Life of The Queen where it lies in rest for 24 hours before being transferred by air to London. (Photo by Peter Summers/Getty Images)
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to queue to see the Queen's coffin in London, as they did in Edinburgh. (PA)

People who try to camp out so they can catch a glimpse of the Queen's coffin as it is taken through London may be "moved on" by police, the government has warned.

Thousands of people are already flocking to London ahead of the Queen's coffin procession on Wednesday 14 September.

The procession will see the monarch's coffin taken from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster, where it will lie in state until her funeral on Monday 19 September.

Racheal Axford (right) and Natalie Farley sit in a tent on The Mall near Buckingham Palace, London, where well-wishers are already camping out for the best spots to view the Platinum Jubilee celebrations. Picture date: Wednesday June 1, 2022.
People often camp out to secure a spot for historic royal occasions but have been warned they may be moved on. (Getty)

Read more: King Charles and Queen Consort meet crowds in Northern Ireland during historic visit

The procession takes the coffin along The Mall, Horse Guards Road, across Horse Guards Parade and onto Whitehall to Parliament Square and into the Palace of Westminster.

People will be able to watch the procession from set viewing points, as well as on large screens in Hyde Park and on live TV.

The public have been warned to expect huge queues as people flock to the capital for the procession, as well as to see the Queen's coffin as it lies in state in Westminster Hall.

Some people already started queuing for a spot to watch the procession days before it was due to take place.

*PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS PHOTOGRAPH WAS TAKEN THROUGH THE WINDOW OF A BUS* Thousands of people, from pensioners to babies in pushchairs, braved the early morning chill outside the Palace of Westminster, central London. * ... to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, who will lie-in-state until her funeral at Westminster Abbey. A mile-long queue had formed in Victoria Tower Gardens in time for the reopening of Westminster Hall. The 11th century hall, where the Queen Mother's coffin was taken in a procession full of pomp and pageantry through central London, closed at 6am after officials extended opening times because of the surge of public interest.
An estimated 200,000 people queued to see the Queen Mother's coffin as she lay in state in 2002, with even more expected to queue through the capital to see the Queen. (PA)

But government guidance on where people can watch from and what they can and can't do includes the instruction: "Please do not wait or camp in advance of the processional day", adding: "If you camp before this time you may be asked to move on."

As well as the procession, hundreds of thousands of people are expected to pay their respects to the Queen as she lies in state from Wednesday until her funeral on Monday.

After the death of the Queen Mother in 2002, around 200,000 are estimated to have attended to pay their respects as she lay in state for three days in Westminster Hall, and even more are expected to attend the capital for Queen Elizabeth II.

A map of the route the queue will take shows how it will snake through London, extending for miles due to the sheer number of people expected to attend.

Tens of thousands of people queued up to pay their respects to the Queen in Edinburgh, where her coffin lay before it was flown to London ahead of her funeral.

They included Elizabeth Sabey, 43, who visited Queen Elizabeth’s casket in Edinburgh seven times before it left for RAF Northolt, saying she was inspired by the monarch's strong Christian faith.