London: This is how you can check how many hours you will have to wait to see the Queen's coffin

Huge queues continued for the second night outside Westminster Abbey.

Some people had to wait 14 hours to enter the hall and pass the Queen's coffin.

The government has set up a website that monitors the queue and shows how many hours on average one has to wait to enter

Tali Goldstein

16/09/2022

Friday, September 16, 2022, 10:06 a.m. Updated: 10:27 a.m.

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People continued to stand in huge queues outside Westminster Abbey tonight (Friday) waiting to enter the hall where Queen Elizabeth II's coffin is located.

According to a website established by the British government, which monitors the queue and the average waiting time, at this time one has to wait about eight hours to enter the hall.

Yesterday there was a huge queue, which in the UK is already known as "the queue", crushed into the church, and people had to wait sometimes 14-30 hours to enter the hall.

The British government has created a monitoring website that shows in real time the length of the queue and the average time to enter the church at any given moment.

The situation is expected to continue until early Monday morning - the day of the funeral.

According to estimates, about 750 thousand people are expected to pass by the palace - the longest line in history.

However, entry was denied yesterday to a Chinese government delegation that wanted to pass by the coffin, according to a BBC report.

The reason for the ban: Chinese sanctions on five MPs and five other British citizens, including asset freezes and travel bans, because they accused Beijing of crimes against China's Uyghur minority.

The British government banned China's ambassador from parliament in response, and has now banned the delegation from entering the hall.

On video: A two-day queue - British residents and tourists wait to pass the Queen's coffin (Reuters)

Lines outside the church (Photo: GettyImages)

Preparations in Britain for the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on September 19 are in full swing.

Full details have not been released yet.

The day will begin with a prayer at Westminster, after which a motorcade will pass around London before a final family service at the chapel at Windsor Castle.

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to take to the streets to watch the procession, and huge screens will be set up in the royal parks to broadcast the events.

Today was declared a bank holiday in the country.

The funeral is expected to be held at Westminster Church at 11 a.m. local time (1 p.m. Israel time).

A king's funeral has not been held in the church since the 18th century (although the Queen Mother was buried there in 2002).

In the same place, the wedding of the Queen with Prince Philip was held 75 years ago, and there a prayer of thanksgiving was held for the prince after his death last year.

The hall can hold 2,000 people - and will be full of family members, around 500 international leaders, politicians, monarchs from other countries, public figures and people who have worked with the Queen.

The day will begin with the carrying of the coffin from the hall to the church on top of the gun carriage which will be pulled by a company of sailors of the Royal Navy.

The trailer was last seen in 1979 at the funeral of Prince Philip's uncle, Lord Mountbatten.

King Charles and other family members are expected to follow the coffin.

The funeral will be conducted by David Hoyle, Dean of Westminster, with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, officiating.

Prime Minister Liz Truss will be invited to read prayer verses.

After that, the coffin leaves the hall in a foot convoy and will pass by the corner of Hyde Park, where it will be placed in a hearse and will drive to Windsor.

The last journey of the coffin will be on the road that leads to Windsor Castle.

The King and family members will join the motorcade before the casket is taken to St George's Church for prayers.

St. George's Church is the church usually chosen by the royal family for events such as weddings, christenings and funerals.

Harry and Meghan got married there, as well as Prince Philip's funeral was held.

The coffin descends into the burial chamber before being buried in St. George's Chapel, alongside King George VI, Queen Elizabeth's father;

the queen mother;

her sister Margaret;

and her husband Prince Philip.

The Queen will be buried in Balmoral (Photo: Reuters)

The Queen's Cabinet in Scotland (Photo: Reuters)

The procession on the day of the Queen's funeral, on September 19, is expected to be one of the largest in the country and poses enormous security challenges to the authorities.

Royalty, presidents and leaders from all over the world will attend the funeral.

French President Emmanuel Macron is the latest so far to confirm participation.

The President of the United States, Joe Biden, spoke with King Charles yesterday "and conveyed to him the great admiration of the American people for the Queen".

The London "Times" reported that British Prime Minister Liz Truss will have a private conversation with Biden and other leaders on the sidelines of the funeral.

A quarter of the 2,000 seats in Westminster Abbey are reserved for heads of state and their spouses.

Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron and Japan's Emperor Naruhito are among the more famous leaders to attend.

The President of India (and not Prime Minister Narendra Modi) will also attend the funeral.

Some leaders chose to pass the invitation to a lower level of foreign ministers.

Turkey said it would be represented by the foreign minister and not President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Foreign leaders will fly to London at the end of the week.

The British Foreign Office asked the leaders to arrive on commercial flights to avoid overcrowding, but Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced that he would use the government's private plane and bring with him at least four leaders from island nations in the Pacific Ocean.

Details of Biden's arrival have not yet been released, but he is expected to use his own means of transportation as well as a security team.

In addition, Biden will not have to travel on a bus that will be dedicated to driving the leaders to Westminster Abbey.

On Sunday, the King will hold a reception at Buckingham Palace.

Afterwards, Foreign Secretary James Calverley will host them at nearby Church House.

The royal family will make their way to Windsor for the funeral.

Leaders scheduled to address the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, September 20, including Biden, will fly from Britain on Monday to New York. It is not yet clear whether representatives from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, which are all ruled by royal families with close ties to Britain, will arrive. Saudi King Salman is not expected to attend - and if the kingdom decides to send a representative, it will be his son Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince. The rulers of Syria, Venezuela, Afghanistan, Russia, Belarus, and Myanmar have not been invited. The leaders of North Korea, Iran, and Nicaragua have been asked to send ambassador-level representatives. .

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