More queue to pay personal tribute

Westminster Hall was today reopening to allow thousands more people to pay their respects at the coffin of the Queen Mother.

An estimated 145,000 people have now filed passed the coffin since Friday afternoon, when the medieval hall was first opened to the public.

More than 3,000 people an hour passed the Queen Mother’s Catafalque for much of Sunday and into the early hours of today, but the queue to enter the hall had largely dwindled away by about 2.30 this morning.

By the time the hall closed shortly after 6am today the flow of well-wishers had slowed to a trickle.

Officials at Westminster said the hall was set to reopen at 8am after a two-hour closure to allow administrative tasks to be completed.

Yesterday’s unbroken flow of people wishing to pay their respects led to waiting times of up to eight hours for those queuing in the cold wind.

Among those gathered at the gates of Westminster Palace this morning to see the Queen Mother lying in state was builder John Eagleton.

Mr Eagleton, from Hertfordshire, said he was sure that many more people had yet to pay personal tribute to the Queen Mother after being deterred by the cold weather.

‘‘I think people have been put off by the queues. It’s amazing that so many people have already been here considering the length of the queues,’’ he said.