Officials reopen long line to view Queen Elizabeth II's casket, warn of 24-hour wait

Sept. 16 (UPI) -- So many people are turning out to view Queen Elizabeth II's casket as she lies in state that officials on Friday temporarily paused, and later reopened, the line to London's Westminster Hall when the wait time became exceedingly long.

Thousands of Britons have been lining up and walking past the queen's casket since it was placed at London's historic Westminster Hall on Wednesday.

On Friday, the British government said it decided to pause the line for several hours after it reached capacity, mainly to keep it from getting longer and forcing people to wait for long periods to get into Westminster Hall. At one point, the wait was estimated to be 14 hours.

Later during the afternoon, Britain's Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport announced that the line had reopened and is again allowing mourners to join. However, officials warned that the wait time is still long.

"Expected queuing time is over 24 hours and overnight temperatures will be cold," the department said in a tweet. "The queue may be paused again if it reaches capacity."

The queue to pay respects to Elizabeth II has been growing since it first formed on Wednesday. On Thursday, officials and a real-time tracker on YouTube said the line, which runs through London's Southwark Park, had grown to more than 4 miles long.

British officials have assured the public, however, that everyone who wants to see the queen's casket will have the opportunity to do so.

Britain has been in mourning since the queen died a week ago at the age of 96. She'd spent 70 years on the throne and was succeeded there by her son, King Charles III.

Meanwhile, Buckingham Palace said on Friday that the queen's eight grandchildren will attend a 15-minute vigil around her casket on Saturday, with Prince William and Prince Harry in uniform. Joining them will be Zara Tindall, Peter Philips, Beatrice and Eugenie, Lady Louise and Viscount Severn.

Also Friday, Charles visited Wales for the first time as king, completing the tradition of the new monarch traveling to all four countries of the United Kingdom after they ascend to the throne. He'd already visited England, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

In Wales, he and the queen consort attended a prayer and reflection service at the Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff.

Later, Charles was scheduled to attend an event at the Senedd in Cardiff Bay and greet the public on the grounds of Cardiff Castle. Hundreds of people lined up to get inside and see the new king.

Like London, Cardiff's council cautioned that visitors will experience a long wait to enter the grounds.