Final day of Queen’s lying in state with national minute’s silence held later
The late monarch’s coffin will remain in Westminster Hall for the public to view until 6.30am on Monday, ahead of the state funeral.
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Your support makes all the difference.The final day of the Queen’s lying in state is set to take place, while a minute’s silence will be held later to mourn her death.
The late monarch’s coffin will remain in Westminster Hall for the public to view until 6.30am on Monday, ahead of the state funeral in Westminster Abbey, with Sunday likely to be the last chance to join the queue.
As of 5am, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s (DCMS) online tracker said the estimated queuing time was at least 12 hours – far shorter than the peak of more than 25 hours that was seen in the early hours of Saturday morning.
At 8pm, the country will observe a one-minute silence to remember the Queen, with people invited to mark the occasion privately at home, on their doorstep or street, or at community events and vigils.
It will come shortly after the Queen Consort pays a televised tribute to the late monarch, recalling her “wonderful blue eyes” and saying: “I will always remember her smile.”
Camilla, in pre-recorded words on the BBC, will speak of how Queen Elizabeth II was a “solitary woman” in a male-dominated world.
She will add: “I can’t remember anyone except the Queen being there.”
There will also be a service of reflection near Falkirk, Scotland at 7.30pm.
It will see 96 lanterns, one for each year of the late monarch’s life, lowered into the pool of reflection at the foot of the Queen Elizabeth II Canal, before wreaths are placed into the water.
Meanwhile, Liz Truss is to have an audience with King Charles III before attending his reception for visiting heads of state at Buckingham Palace.
The King and Queen Consort will host world leaders and official overseas guests at the palace, in what the King’s spokesman described as an “official state event”.
The Prime Minister will also meet Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau and Polish president Andrzej Duda in Downing Street.
It comes as world leaders travel to the UK ahead of Monday’s funeral service.
The DCMS has said the historic occasion will be shown on giant screens in various locations across the UK – from London’s Hyde Park to Coleraine Town Hall in Northern Ireland.
Around 125 cinemas will also be screening the event – along with Sky News, ITV and the BBC for people watching from home.
On Saturday evening, the Queen’s eight grandchildren together staged a heart-rending evening vigil around their beloved Granny’s coffin.
The Prince of Wales, at the head of the coffin, with his brother the Duke of Sussex at the foot, both in the Blues and Royals No 1 uniform, stood with their heads bowed in her honour in sombre silence in the vast Westminster Hall.
Future king William was flanked at the corners by his cousins Zara Tindall and Peter Philips.
Harry was between Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, with 18-year-old Lady Louise Windsor and Viscount Severn – the Queen’s youngest grandchild who is just 14 – at the middle on either side of the coffin.
The grandchildren, invited by the King, had wanted to pay their respects as their parents had done the evening before.
William and the King also went on a walkabout in the afternoon to greet mourners in the queue for the lying in state, after Charles was given a tour of the Metropolitan Police Service Special Operations Room.
Hundreds of people in line at Lambeth, south London, cheered and applauded, with William and Charles shaking scores of hands and the prince discussing how long people had waited and whether they were able to keep warm.
At Westminster Abbey, final preparations are being put in place ready for the funeral on Monday.