Waiting time in queue to pay respects to Queen Lying in State stretches to 19 hours
ITV News reporter Rebecca Barry take stock of the miles-long queue leading to Westminster Hall
Entrance to the queue to pay tribute to the Queen's as she Lies in State has resumed - with expected waiting times at one point hitting 24 hours.
Earlier, the queue had been paused for “at least” six hours as it reached capacity, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DMCS) said.
Queuing times were lasting as long as a full day and overnight temperatures will be cold, the government's official queue tracker has warned.
Later into Friday evening, the queue wait time time had reduced to just over 19 hours.
The queue to reach the Queen’s coffin was almost five miles long when it was paused on Friday morning, tailing back from Westminster all the way to Southwark Park.
A crowd formed around the entrance as people begged to be let in.
However, Downing Street have said the queue system is going to plan.
A Number 10 spokeswoman directed questions to the DCMS, but it was "the case that what DCMS have done is they've temporarily paused the queue for at least six hours after it reached maximum capacity".
"That has always been part of our planning and that is to make sure as many people as possible in the queue can enter the Palace of Westminster."
ITV Correspondent Chloe Keedy has been speaking to those queuing to see The Queen:
"Just before 10am it was announced that Southwark Park had ‘reached capacity’ and that entrance to the queue would be paused for ‘at least six hours’.
"By midday they had put a physical barrier at the entrance to this section of the park to stop people from joining it.
"But then, of course, a queue started forming. A queue for the queue.
"The barrier was reopened at around 12.30pm - allowing hundreds of extra people to join the main queue.
"I’m told this was to stop them from blocking the main road just outside the entrance to Southwark Park.
"The message from organisers, meanwhile, remains clear. The queue is officially ‘paused’ until at least 4pm this afternoon, and people are asked not to try and join it until there is another update."
Watch ITV News' continuous live coverage of mourners queuing to pay their respects to the Queen Lying in State in Westminster Hall
Mourners who are currently in the queue face around an 14-hour wait before they will get the chance to enter Westminster Hall and pay their respects.
In a tweet, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said: “Southwark Park has reached capacity. Entry will be paused for at least 6 hours. We are sorry for any inconvenience.
“Please do not attempt to join the queue until it reopens.
ITV News reporter Neil Connery has been speaking to people in the queue at Victoria Tower Gardens
“Check back for further updates.”A warning has also issued about long wait times at the "very busy" accessible queue.
The DCMS said that the time slots for Friday afternoon had filled up, adding: "Please consider this before making your way to the accessible queue."
Earlier there was some confusion as hundreds of people continued to file through the gate into the park, with one attendant saying they had yet to receive an order to bar entry.
David Beckham was among those spotted queuing to see the Queen Lying in State
Well-wishers who have already paid their respects said there was “breath-taking” serenity awaiting them in Westminster Hall where “you could hear a pin drop” in the silence.
Eight of the Queen’s grandchildren will stand vigil beside her coffin in Westminster Hall for 15 minutes on Saturday night, royal sources have confirmed.
The Prince of Wales will stand at the head, the Duke of Sussex at the foot. At the King’s request, they will both be in uniform.
An aerial view of the queue
Mary Buttimer, 59 from Greenwich, and Martin Clark, 65, from Kent, have become firm friends in the queue.
Standing near London Bridge station, London, the pair have been in the queue for an hour and a half.
Mary said she had joined the queue to pay her respects to the Queen.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say I’m a royalist, but I just thought it was a respectful thing I could do, to acknowledge her years of service,” she said.
Martin said they had started near Bermondsey station.
“We are in, we have got to see it through now,” he said.
Well-wishers have continued to pace slowly past the Queen’s coffin since Wednesday, their footsteps muffled by a carpet laid throughout the ancient hall.
Some bowed as they approached the late Queen, others made the sign of the cross, others still simply paused.
As a metallic tapping echoed through the chamber, the crowd paused to observe the changing of the guard.
Outside, the queue continued unabated under floodlights, with a small army of stewards on hand throughout the night and an intricate system of fences and barriers erected around Westminster to guide those coming to pay tribute.
Three central London Tube stations will be closed for most of the morning on Monday – the day of the Queen’s funeral at Westminster Abbey – to avoid overcrowding.
Transport for London (TfL) announced that passengers will be prevented from starting or ending journeys at Westminster, St James’s Park and Hyde Park Corner stations.
The transport body said it “will aim to reopen stations” after the funeral to help people leaving the Westminster area.
Green Park station will be exit-only between 10am and 8pm.
Many buses in central London will be diverted due to road closures.
TfL also announced that buses will pull over “if it is safe and practical to do so” and switch their engines off during the one-minute silence on Sunday at 8pm and the two-minute silence at around 11.55am on Monday.
The remarkable life of the Queen remembered in our latest episode of What You Need To Know