King Charles III: Monarch has private day of mourning after Buckingham Palace procession

The monarch’s coffin was brought to the medieval hall, part of the Palace of Westminster, in a sombre procession yesterday from Buckingham Palace – the final journey for the Queen from the London base she called home for over 70 years.

The Queen's coffin will lay in state until Monday morning ahead of her state funeral, with hundreds of thousands expected to file past her in a four day farewell from the British public.

Today marks a week since the Queen died, aged 96, at Balmoral.

Members of the public wishing to file past have been warned to expect to queue for 12 hours or more, with only limited toilet and catering facilities available on the route down the Thames.

To help avoid disappointment, it is understood that entry to the back of the queue may be closed early, although it is too early to estimate when that moment might come.

Numbers will be monitored towards the end of the lying in state period, which must be completed by 6.30am on September 19, to ensure as near as possible that those already waiting are able complete their visit.

The King, alongside his brothers Andrew and Edward and sister Anne, is expected to keep vigil over the Queen’s coffin at an unspecified time in the coming days.

The line has the capacity to stretch for 10 miles, but there is no guarantee that everyone who joins it will get to file past the coffin.

The first public mourners began to file past around an hour after a short service at Westminster Hall, led by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and attended by all members of the Royal Family, ended.

The service marked the end of public duties for the Queen’s grandchildren ahead of the funeral, although there has been some suggestion that some may take part in the Vigil of the Princes, a ceremony dating back to the laying in state of King George V in 1936.

And last night it was confirmed the King is today to have a private day of reflection after the momentous period that saw him become monarch.

Charles has returned to his Highgrove home in Gloucestershire and is not expected to attend any public events on Thursday.

In the detailed planning for the aftermath of the Queen’s death – known as “London Bridge” – a day was set aside at this point for the new monarch to have some time away from public duties.

The period will allow the King to pause, but it is understood he will be working in preparation for his new role and will already be receiving his red boxes of state papers.

The Queen’s laying in state followed a procession which left Buckingham Palace at 2.22pm and saw her children once again walk behind their mother, this time joined by Princes William and Harry and Peter Phillips, the monarch’s oldest grandson.

Last night, some mourners were weeping as they filed past the coffin, while others appeared pensive, perhaps reflecting on the Queen’s historic 70-year reign and the ways in which she touched their lives.

Some looked awestruck at the magnificence of the scene, with the coffin raised high on a catafalque, draped in the Royal Standard, with the Orb and Sceptre placed on top.

The brass Cross of Westminster stands at the head of the coffin, with four tall yellow flickering candles at each corner of the wide scarlet platform.