Heavy rain forecast for early-morning mourners in London queue
Those waiting in line to see the Queen’s lying in state will face a wet start.
Mourners lining the streets of London to see the Queen’s coffin are facing the strong possibility of heavy rain on Wednesday morning.
A weather front situated along the south of England did not appear to be moving in the very early hours of the first day of the Queen’s lying in state in Westminster Hall.
While high pressure from the Atlantic was trying to nudge its way in to potentially throw the rain off course of the capital, forecasters said the morning was still likely to be a wet one.
That rain was expected to clear before midday though, and by the afternoon temperatures were set to be between 18C and 20C degrees and “quite pleasant”.
As of midnight, there were already around 100 people queuing in the rain on the Albert Embankment Path near Lambeth Bridge, according to BBC News.
The “settled, fine, dry” conditions were expected to last until the beginning of next week.
“In terms of people being outside queueing, really the next 24 hours is likely to see the most unsettled weather before things start to calm down a bit with the high pressure moving in,” the spokesperson said.
The Queen’s coffin arrived at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday evening – where it was met by the King, his siblings and both his sons. The casket remained in the palace’s Bow Room overnight while outside in the dark and the rain, more and more mourners joined the queue to pay their respects.
The late monarch’s lying in state in Westminster Hall opens to the public at 5pm on Wednesday and will be open 24 hours a day until it closes at 6.30am on Monday September 19 – the day of the Queen’s funeral.
