Entry to the queue for Westminster Hall will close permanently when the queue reaches final capacity.

Entry to the queue set to close permanently

Entry to the queue set to close permanently

Mourners wishing to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth - who died at the age of 96 on September 8 following a 70-year reign and is currently lying-in-state at the historic building - had already been told to "not set off" but a more recent update from DCMS claims that the current wait time is "at least" seven hours.

In a tweet, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said: HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN'S LYING-IN-STATE QUEUE UPDATE, 7:50PM, 18 Sep. Entry to the queue will close when it reaches final capacity. Queue end point is at London Bridge Estimated queuing time is 7 hours."

Hundreds of thousands of mourners have been filing past the coffin in Westminster since it was put on display on Wednesday (14.09.22), with some facing a waiting time of up to 30 hours, but Her Late Majesty will leave the historic London building for the final time on Monday morning, just hours before her State Funeral is set to take place from 11am.

Prior to the tweet sent out on Sunday (18.09.22) afternoon, members of the public wishing to pay their respects to the monarch had initially been warned that they needed to be in the queue by 12:30am on Monday (19.09.22) in order to make it into Westminster Hall before it closes at 6:30am,

Over the course of the last week, two vigils had been held at the historic hall, first with the Queen's children standing by her coffin in silence as members of the public filed past before her grandchildren repeated the procedure on Wednesday.

King Charles - who acceded to the throne the moment his mother passed - was near the head of the coffin while his younger siblings Anne, Princess Royal, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward were arranged on the other sides.

Eugenie and Beatrice - who are the daughters of Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah, Duchess York, - could be seen on the platform to the side of the coffin along with their cousins Zara and Peter.

Just 24 hours later, Prince William - who is now heir apparent following his father's accession to the throne - stood at the head of the coffin and his younger brother, Prince Harry, at the foot.

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