Queen Elizabeth live briefing: Crowds pay their respects to queen as she lies in state in Westminster Hall

Updated September 14, 2022 at 3:38 p.m. EDT|Published September 14, 2022 at 1:05 a.m. EDT
Queen Elizabeth II's coffin traveled in a military procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall on Sept. 14, where she will lie in state. (Video: The Washington Post)
5 min

LONDON — Crowds shuffled into London’s Westminster Hall on Wednesday, the first of thousands of people expected to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth II as she lies in state. A military procession through London took her coffin to the hall from Buckingham Palace earlier in the day, the latest leg of a 500-mile ceremonial journey that brought the British monarch from Scotland, where she died, and will go on to take her to her final resting place in Windsor, just outside the capital.

Key developments

  • Hundreds of troops and military horses rehearsed for days to ensure the event ran smoothly along streets crowded with mourners. The procession included members of the royal family and senior staff, who walked in silence — to the beat of muffled drums — led by King Charles III.
  • The royal family gathered for prayers at Buckingham Palace before accompanying the coffin on its journey via gun carriage to Westminster Hall. The queen’s funeral processions involved more than 1,000 years of monarchical tradition and pageantry: Here’s a rundown of the symbolism.
  • The line to view the queen was almost three miles long shortly after Westminster Hall was opened to visitors. The queue went across the Thames River, along the South Bank and reached Tower Bridge, though it has since shrunk. In true British fashion, the line is carefully managed, with stewards, wristbands and toilets along the way. The U.K. Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is running a livestream showing the length of the line and its location.
  • Police detained and arrested anti-monarchy protesters at royal events in England and Scotland in recent days, alarming lawyers and free-speech activists. Lawmakers have called on authorities to respect the rights of those who think the queen’s death should herald the end of the monarchy.

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LONDON

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LONDON

Route for

Sept. 14 procession

QUEEN’S WALK

THE MALL

WHITEHALL

Horse

Guards

Parade

St. James

Park

Thames R.

Green Park

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CONSTITUTION HILL

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Happening today

All times are local, five hours ahead of Eastern time, unless noted otherwise.

  • The queen’s coffin left Buckingham Palace at 2:22 p.m. and arrived at Westminster Hall at 3 p.m. She will lie in state there until Monday’s funeral.
  • The Archbishop of Canterbury conducted a service, attended by the king and the rest of the royal family.
  • The public will be able to visit 24 hours a day between 5 p.m. Wednesday and 6.30 a.m. on the day of the funeral, the government said.

In other news

  • Planned closures across the U.K. on the day of the queen’s funeral are likely to cause significant disruption. The last-minute public holiday means hospitals have rescheduled non-urgent surgeries, funeral parlors delayed burials and organizers of major sports and cultural events have been forced to change their plans.
  • A British trade union for civil and public servants criticized a decision to reportedly make staff at King Charles’s former residence redundant as “nothing short of heartless.”
  • President Biden spoke with King Charles III “to offer his condolences” on the death of his mother, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Wednesday. Biden and first lady Jill Biden plan to attend the queen’s upcoming funeral at the invitation of the U.K. government, the White House said earlier.

Your royal questions, answered

Britain's King Charles III appeared to be frustrated by a leaking pen during a visit to Northern Ireland's Hillsborough Castle on Sept. 13. (Video: Reuters)

From our correspondents

As Elizabeth gives way to Charles, realms consider severing ties: The queen’s death is prompting several Commonwealth nations to reevaluate their ties to the crown, Amanda Coletta and Michael E. Miller report.

“Many of those countries, former outposts of the empire, have also been engaged in a public reckoning over the legacies of colonialism, including calls for atonement, reparations and independence,” they write.