Queen Borne by Gun Carriage to Westminster Hall for Lying-in-State

The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II has moved in procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall for the commencement of the lying in state, borne through central London on the State Field Gun Carriage.

The Royal family, led by King Charles III but including his siblings and children, walked in march step alongside hundreds of solders, sailors, airmen, and long-serving members of the Royal Household Wednesday afternoon in a cortege with the Queen’s coffin as it moved from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall. The Queen had lain at rest at Buckingham Palace overnight, but was placed on the historic State Field Gun Carriage for her penultimate journey.

The use of a specially modified field gun to move the casket in a state funeral dates back to the funeral of Queen Victoria in 1901, from when the tradition of the carriage being pulled by men, not horses, also dates. In 1901, Army horses pulling the carriage got out of hand and threatened to tip the carriage over: men of the Royal Navy instead manned the ropes.

Reflecting those traditions, today the Queen’s carriage is being drawn by Army horses from, Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall. On Monday, it will be drawn by a team of sailors.

Walking behind the coffin was the King in Royal Air Force uniform, flanked by his Brothers and sisters, and followed by other senior royals including King Charles’ children William and Harry. The cortege was flanked by scarlet-coated soldiers of the Guards — soldiers who by turns protect the monarch, provide ceremonial duties, and are elite fighting troops — and proceeded by a party of sailors and Royal Marines.

Once at Westminster Hall, the near-millennia old building that was built as a Royal Palace and now forms part of the Houses of Parliament, the Queen’s coffin was unloaded from the gun carriage and carried inside by a group of soldiers. Placed on a purple-draped catafalque on a central dais of scarlet, prayers were said and hymns sung. With the casket placed under guard in a continuous vigil for the next five days, the lying-in-state began.

From 5pm this evening (12EST) Westminster hall will be open to the public, and will remain open 24-hours-a-day until the early morning of Monday 19th. During this time, the public will be able to file through the ancient hall in silence and pay their final respects to the monarch.

The lying-in-state is expected to be extremely well attended. The same for the Queen’s mother attracted 200,000 mourners in 2002, and several times as many are that are expected to see the Queen in the coming days. A major concern is those who wish to pay respects may overwhelm the capacity of central London, Westminster Hall, and the government’s logistical operation to contain them.

It is claimed queues may be five miles long and take 30 hours to reach the front at peak times. Once the queuing is done, there will be airport-style security to enter the Palace of Westminster and attendees have been told not to bring bags, food, drink, and a host of other prohibited items inside, making long-term queuing a more difficult prospect.

But provisions have been made for those on the route, including extra toilets and water fountains with those queueing able to leave and rejoin for loo breaks. Businesses along the route selling food are also expected to keep longer hours, given the lying-in-state with the opportunity to visit and pay respects going on 24-hours-a-day.