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Food confiscated from people waiting in line for the Queen to be in state is being donated to charity, PA Media reports:
People are not allowed to take food or drink inside the Palace of Westminster and these items will be confiscated.
The Felix Project said it hopes to collect more than two tons of food, mostly snacks, including potatoes, chocolate and cookies, and also accepts unwanted blankets.
With people waiting up to 24 hours to complete the five-mile walk from Southwark Park to Westminster Hall to pay their respects to the Queen, they will be coming with plenty of food to keep them going.
When they arrive at Victoria Tower Gardens, the food is confiscated before it is allowed to enter the Parliament Estate, and instead of being thrown away, all non-perishable and unopened packages are kept.
The Felix Project will distribute the items to the thousands of community groups it works with throughout the capital.
The charity’s chief executive, Charlotte Hill, said: “We are honored to be here to play a small part in this heartwarming event and to know that an extra layer of good is being done here.
Transport for London commissioner Andy Byford said today will be “probably one of the busiest days” the service has ever faced:
It’s hard to say exactly how many additional people [will travel]but we are preparing for potentially a million people in the footprint of the royal palaces and Hyde Park…
Yesterday, figures from Trainline showed that demand for services in London for today was 56% above the level recorded on the same day last week. Train companies including LNER and East Midlands Railway have warned that services into London will be very busy.
Archie Bland
Robert Madeley and Christopher Clowes arrived at 4am from “just as far as Regents Park” and Leicestershire, and are dressed in morning clothes with a box of flapjacks – “it’s what I would have wanted”, says Clowes.
Perhaps confused by their outfits, the police have already taken them to a restricted area before realizing their mistake. “The difficulty is that you always think there could be a better view 100 meters away,” says Madeley. “But I’m happy with where we are.”
Robert Madeley and Christopher Clowes arrived at 4am from “just as far as Regents Park” and Leicestershire, and are dressed in morning clothes with a box of flapjacks – “it’s what I would have wanted”, says Clowes. pic.twitter.com/6SjchwhVlE
— Archie Bland (@archiebland) September 19, 2022 Archie Bland
Close to a million people are expected to visit central London today. As you cross the city towards Westminster Abbey, the normal 5am sight of people going to work or coming home from a night out starts to give way to bored-looking administrators in tabards, signs of crowd control and middle-aged couples with folding chairs and sandwiches.
There are veterans in full badges, tourists with selfie sticks huddled under aluminum sheets, a dog in a bow tie, a woman in a black fascinator and a queue for the toilet at Westminster station that looms and go out into the street 430 hrs.
“I’ve been asleep for two hours,” says William Sidhu, gesturing to the phone booth he’s just stepped out of in Parliament Square. “I think I’ve lost my place.”
Updated at 06.13 BST
Updated at 05.51 BST
The Queen’s death has spawned a mixture of strange traditions and ceremonies not seen or heard since the death of the last reigning monarch, her father George VI in 1952.
Among the more unusual protocols will be presented at the committal service to be held at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle at 4pm on Monday, after the Queen’s coffin is driven there when the royal funeral at the Abbey ends of Westminster.
Windsor Castle, with St George’s Chapel on the far left. Photograph: Gregorio Borgia/AP
This involves the official “crown jeweler” removing the imperial crown from the coffin to symbolically separate the Queen from her crown. It also features Lord Chamberlain Baron Parker, former head of MI5, breaking his ‘wand of office’ and placing it in the coffin signifying the end of his service to the Queen.
PA Media reports:
During the service, which will be led by the Dean of Windsor, David Conner, the Imperial State Crown, orb and scepter will be lifted from the Queen’s coffin by the Crown Jeweler, separating the Queen from his crown for the last time, PA Media reports.
With the help of the boatmaster and a sergeant-at-arms, the crown jewels will be delivered to the dean who will place them on the high altar.
At the end of the last hymn, the King will step forward and place the Queen’s Company of the Grenadier Guards – a smaller version of the Royal Regimental Standard – on the coffin.
The Grenadier Guards are the senior regiments of the Foot Guards and the Queen was their Colonel-in-Chief.
Only one regimental royal standard is displayed during a monarch’s reign, and it served as the Queen’s company color throughout her lifetime.
At the same time, former MI5 spy chief Baron Parker, Lord Chamberlain and most senior official in the late Queen’s royal household, will ‘break’ his wand of office and will lie in the coffin
The ceremonial breaking of the white cane signifies the end of her service to the Queen as sovereign.
As the coffin is lowered into the royal vault, the dean will sing a psalm and the citation before the King of Arms of the League pronounces the Queen’s many styles and titles.
Last in line
A woman and her younger companion became the last to join the line-up to watch the Queen lie in state as an usher handed her a bracelet.
“You’re the last person in the queue,” he told her, according to footage shown on Sky News on Sunday night.
The woman said “Bless you” and was applauded by administrators and others waiting as she walked through the cordon to take her place.
Barriers were set up to control the queue near Tower Bridge after the last mourners passed through. Photograph: Nariman El-Mofty/AP
Her relief was mirrored by the groans of those right behind her who were rejected.
“I’m absolutely devastated,” said a disappointed mourner.
Updated at 05.29 BST
With the queue to view the Queen’s coffin in state now closed, the last mourners will pass through Westminster Hall in just under two hours.
The Council for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said after 10.30pm on Sunday night that the last people had been admitted to the queue.
Mourners line the south bank of the Thames as they wait to pay their respects at Westminster Hall on Sunday night. Photograph: Jack Dredd/REX/ShutterstockThe queue of Westminster Hall seen from the window of the Deanery of Southwark Cathedral. Picture: Jill Mead/The Guardian Mourners queue to pay their last respects to the Queen on Sunday night. Photograph: Jack Dredd/REX/Shutterstock
“The queue to attend Her Majesty the Queen in State is at capacity and is now closed to new entrants,” the department said.
“Please do not try to join the queue. The marshals will handle those who are already nearby. Thank you for your understanding.
what will happen today
Here’s a guide to today’s events. All times are BST.
06.30 h – The queen’s lie to the state will end
The lie in state, in which the Queen’s closed coffin has been on public view at Westminster Hall since Wednesday, will come to an end.
8:00 am – Westminster Abbey opens
Westminster Abbey will be opened to the congregation attending the Queen’s funeral. The funeral, which will be one of the biggest gatherings of heads of state and royalty the UK has hosted in decades, will include European royals and world leaders.
10.30 a.m. – Bringing the Queen’s coffin to the Abbey
The coffin will be carried by carriage from Westminster Hall to the Abbey, towed by 142 Royal Navy sailors. King Charles III, along with members of the royal family and members of the royal household, will follow the coffin.
10.52am – The procession arrives at Westminster Abbey
The procession will arrive at the West Gate of Westminster Abbey, and the pallbearers, which are made up of members of the Queen’s Guard, will carry the coffin from the gun carriage.
11 a.m. – The service begins
The service will begin and will be led by the Dean of Westminster, Dr David Hoyle. The sermon will be delivered by the Archbishop of Canterbury.
11.55 am The last message
The last post will be played, followed by a two-minute silence.
Noon: State funeral service ends
The national anthem will be played to close the state funeral. The coffin will then be taken to the state hearse.
12:15pm – Procession of the coffin to Wellington Arch
The procession, led by the King, will be made up of several gangs, each accompanied by a service band. These groups include representatives from the NHS, members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, as well as Commonwealth Armed Forces detachments. Guns will be fired every minute in Hyde Park by the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery, while Big Ben will chime every minute as the procession winds its way through the streets.
1:00 p.m. – Coffin placed in the state hearse
The procession will arrive at Wellington Arch and the pallbearer group will transfer the coffin to the hearse before the hearse departs for Windsor. There will also be a royal salute and the playing of the national anthem.
3.06 pm – Arrival in Windsor
The hearse will arrive in Windsor and join a procession along the Long Walk to Windsor Castle. They will be joined by the king and members of the royal family before moving to the chapel of Sant Jordi for the delivery service.
4pm – The commitment service begins
The delivery service begins in the chapel of Sant Jordi and is attended by about 800…