Queue for queen's coffin reopened, wait hits 24 hours

A surging tide of people — ranging from London retirees to former England soccer captain David Beckham — have lined up to file past Queen Elizabeth II's coffin as it lies in state at Parliament, so many that authorities on Friday had to call a temporary halt to more people joining the miles-long queue.

By late afternoon, a live tracker of the queue to get into historic Westminster Hall said it had reopened, but the British government warned that the waiting time to cover the 8 kilometres from the start of the line in Southwark Park to Parliament had climbed to more than 24 hours. The government also warned that "overnight temperatures will be cold”.

King Charles III and his siblings will be standing vigil around the flag-draped coffin on Friday evening.

Beckham was spotted in the line of mourners near Britain's Houses of Parliament at lunchtime on Friday. He's believed to have joined the queue at 2am and to have lined up for more than 10 hours with thousands of others.

Wearing a white shirt and black tie, he bowed briefly to the coffin before moving out of Westminster Hall.

"We have been lucky as a nation to have had someone who has led us the way her majesty has led us, for the amount of time, with kindness, with caring and always reassuring," Beckham said. "I think that's the one thing that we all felt safe and we will continue that with the royal family. But I think (her) majesty was someone special and will be missed, not just by everyone in our country but everyone around the world."

Helena Larsen, 76, arrived just too late at the park.

"We have literally got here and they have shut it in front of us," she said, adding that she would likely hang around the area until the gates were reopened.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said viewing the queen's coffin lying in state was an unforgettable experience.

"You're in Westminster Hall in her presence, with a crown on top of her coffin, and it's incredibly emotional," he told The Associated Press.

Meanwhile, a delegation of Chinese officials reportedly was barred from visiting the historic hall in the Houses of Parliament where the late queen's coffin is lying, as geopolitics cast a shadow over the solemn pageantry surrounding the monarch's death.

The Chinese ambassador to the UK has been banned from Parliament for a year after Beijing sanctioned seven British legislators last year for speaking out against China's treatment of its Uyghur minority in the far-west Xinjiang region.

The office of House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle declined to comment on Friday on a report by American news outlet Politico saying the Chinese delegation would not be allowed into Westminster Hall. Prime Minister Liz Truss's office also declined to comment.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said she had not seen the Politico report but that as host of the queen's funeral, the UK government should "follow the diplomatic protocols and proper manners to receive guests”.

A Chinese delegation is expected to attend the queen's Monday funeral, which is in Westminster Abbey church and not Parliament. Organisers of the funeral have not published a guest list and it was unclear who from China might attend.

The sanctioned British legislators wrote to officials this week to express concerns about the Chinese government having been invited to send representatives to the queen's state funeral.

"The range of officers, police staff and all those supporting the operation is truly immense," he said.