Brits face 35-hour queue to visit Queen Elizabeth’s coffin at Westminster Palace

A map has revealed the incredible lengths mourning Brits are willing to go to in order to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth.

The Brits love a queue. And it’s just as well, as this insane map shows. Picture: Twitter/@JofArnold

Tens of thousands of Brits have flocked to London to pay a final farewell to their Queen, with mourners queuing up for 35 hours to visit the monarch’s coffin.

The Queen’s coffin is now lying in state at Westminster Hall, and just a few hours in, the queue is already estimated to be more than 8km long.

That equates to wait times of up to 35 hours, with the UK’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport now sharing updates on the queue length, including a map of the queue itself and weather updates for those in line.

If you’re British, this is the queue you’ve been training for all your life. The final boss of queues. pic.twitter.com/5auXopBfOr

— Jof (@JofArnold) September 13, 2022

The Queen died “peacefully” at Balmoral in Scotland late last week at the age of 96, and her coffin arrived at Westminster just a few hours ago, with the doors now open around the clock to allow the public to pay their respects.

Around 750,000 people are expected to join the queue, sparking fears many will miss out over the four-day mourning period ahead of the Queen’s funeral, which will be held on Monday.

According to the Times, several mourners have already passed out after waiting for hours, with authorities handing out foil blankets as temperatures plunged.

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Members of the public stand in the queue on September 14 to pay their last respects to Queen Elizabeth II. Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

The Queen died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8. Her funeral will be held on September 19. Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Earlier this week, security guard George Higgins, 61, queued for 11 hours to visit the Queen’s coffin as it lay at rest in St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh after finishing a night shift, and immediately started another shift after paying his respects, which he described to the publication as “the honour of my life”.

“It was very eerily quiet; you could hear a pin drop,” he said.

“Such a personal experience. It’s not every day you get to say farewell to the Queen.”

Images from Westminster show some mourners curtsying before the Queen’s coffin, with some being overwhelmed by emotion at the sombre occasion.

Prince William, the Prince of Wales, King Charles III, Princess Anne, Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex and Princess Anne’s husband Sir Timothy Laurence follow the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II during a procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall. Picture: Stefan Rousseau – WPA Pool/Getty Images

Meanwhile, the incredibly long lines have caused a sensation online, with countless people claiming it was the perfect demonstration of the UK’s infamous love of queues.

“I don’t particularly care either way about the Queen. But the queue? The Queue is a triumph of Britishness. It’s incredible,” one Twitter user posted, describing the orderliness and logistics as “the greatest thing that ever happened”, and the “mother lode of queues”.

The first members of the public have arrived to see Queen Elizabeth II Lying-In-State.

These people have spent two nights sleeping on the street to get to the front of the queue.

Black Rod greets mourners at the entrance to Westminster Hall. pic.twitter.com/GPMPqcZeip

— Royal Central (@RoyalCentral) September 14, 2022

It comes after the royal family put on a united display as they visited Westminster Hall for a service in the Queen’s honour overnight.

The royals – including Meghan Markle, who travelled to the service with Sophie, Countess of Wessex – and the Princess of Wales, who went with the Queen Consort, Camilla – appeared visibly grief-stricken as they stood together with bowed heads at the ceremony.

The Queen’s funeral service will be held on Monday, September 19 at 11am local time, which will be Monday night in Australia.

For people in NSW, Victoria, Queensland, the ACT and Tasmania, the funeral will start at 8pm.

In the Northern Territory and South Australia, it will begin at 7.30pm.

In Western Australia, the service will start at 6pm.

A one-off public holiday will be held on Thursday, September 22.

– with NCA NewsWire