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King Charles greets the crowd
Photo: PHIL NOBLE / REUTERS
King Charles and Prince William visited the people in London who want to say goodbye to the Queen and are waiting for many hours.
As reported by the BBC, among others, the two surprisingly appeared in the queue and shook people's hands behind a barrier.
The new king and his son appeared near Lambeth Palace on the south bank of the Thames on Saturday lunchtime.
The crowd greeted them with applause, cheers and shouts of "God save the King".
"I hope you're not too cold," the new king said to a woman waiting in line, according to the BBC.
Temperatures had hit single digits in London overnight.
A security guard warned those waiting to "put away their phones, shake hands, and enjoy the moment."
The people of Great Britain have another opportunity this weekend to say goodbye to their monarch with a visit to the coffin.
Queen Elizabeth II's coffin lay in state in Westminster Hall until Monday morning before the state funeral begins.
The rush is great: thousands of mourners stayed in London to pay their respects to the queen.
At times it was said that the waiting time was 24 hours.
"Please do not travel to queue," wrote the government in a live ticker.
The wait has now dropped to 14 hours.
The route runs several kilometers from the British Parliament, where the closed coffin of the Queen is laid out, along the Thames to Southwark Park.
On the night of Saturday, helpers distributed free tea, coffee and water as well as blankets, as eyewitnesses reported.
At London's Waterloo station, an empty train is available at night as a staging post for those who can't get home.
jpz/AP/dpa