British people have been doing it for generations to pay respects in Westminster Hall when notable figures have been lying in state.
Friday 16 September 2022 07:40, UK
Waiting for hours along the banks of the River Thames is nothing new.
British people have been doing it for generations to pay respects in Westminster Hall when notable figures have been lying in state.
It’s an honour reserved for the sovereign, as head of state, the current or past Queen Consort and sometimes former prime ministers.
So how do the queues we are seeing today compare to those from the past?
2002 – The Queen Mother
Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, died on 30 March 2002, at the age of 101.
She lay in state for three days in Westminster Hall where people could visit before her funeral in Westminster Abbey on 9 April 2002.
An estimated 200,000 people paid their respects to the Queen Mother.
1965 – Sir Winston Churchill
Some 321,360 people filed past the coffin of perhaps Britain’s most famous prime minister. He lay in state for three days.
1953 – Queen Mary (Elizabeth II’s grandmother)
About 120,000 people came to pay their respects to the Queen.
1952 – King George VI
Queen Elizabeth II’s father lay in state for five days and at times the queue was four miles long, according to parliamentary documents.
Some 305,806 people were recorded as having filed past the coffin.
1936 – King George V (Elizabeth II’s grandfather)
The King lay in state in Westminster Hall for five days, with an estimated quarter of a million people having filed past.
1910 – King Edward VII
The King lay in state for three days, and 250,000 people were estimated to have filed through.
1898 – William Gladstone
The former prime minister was the first lying in state in Westminster Hall and it is estimated that around 250,000 people came to pay their respects.
