A massive queue of mourners for Queen Elizabeth II is visible from space.
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to join a lineup, called ‘The Queue’ by locals, stretching 6 miles (10 km) through central London and along the Thames River from her lying-in-state location at Westminster Hall.
Maxar Technologies satellites spotted the Queue from space at 12:01 p.m. local time Friday (Sept. 16), the company tweeted (opens in new tab), roughly halfway through the five days allocated for the public to see Her Majesty through Sunday (Sept. 18).
Hundreds of portable toilets, a wristband system and 1,000 security personnel and volunteers are managing the massive crowds, waiting for a reported 24 hours or more in a constantly moving line. Live updates are available through YouTube (opens in new tab) on where the line is at this moment.
Related: NASA, other space agencies mourn passing of Queen Elizabeth II
New #satellite imagery today at 12:01 pm local time in #London and the long line of people waiting to pay their respects to HM The Queen at #WestminsterHall. #QueenElizabethII pic.twitter.com/zl2Ym7WzjLSeptember 16, 2022
The Queue has become a shared experience for the United Kingdom and London in particular, generating dry wit (opens in new tab) even as the community comes together to pay their respects.
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“We are honoring two great British traditions: loving the Queen and loving a queue,” Stephen Cottrell, the Archbishop of York, told people in line on Wednesday (Sept. 14), according to Reuters (opens in new tab).
The Royal Family conveyed their thanks via social media.
“We have been overwhelmed by the tide of emotion that has engulfed us and the sheer number of people who have gone out of their way,” the Earl of Wessex, who is the Queen’s youngest child and brother of King Charles III, said via the Royal Family’s official Twitter account (opens in new tab).
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