London
CNN
—
King Charles III and Prince William, Prince of Wales, greeted the lined public. Queen’s lying position On a surprise walk in London on Saturday.
Royal family They were seen shaking hands with well-wishers near Lambeth Bridge. Prince William appeared excited as he addressed the crowd and asked many how long they had been waiting.
Some mourners chanted “hip hip hooray” and “God save the king” as Charles passed.
A woman hands Charles a Paddington bear toy; The fictional bear has been associated with the Queen since appearing in a painting with the character during the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
People have been queuing for hours to see Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin since she was laid to rest in Westminster Hall on Wednesday.
The route approached full capacity on Saturday, the government said. At lunchtime on Saturday, the government’s queue monitor said the current waiting time was 14 hours.
Earlier on Saturday, Charles III visited Metropolitan Police headquarters in the London borough of Lambeth to thank police and emergency services officers who have been involved in planning and executing events since the late Queen’s death.
Monday’s funeral for the Queen will be the “largest single policing event” London’s Metropolitan Police has ever undertaken, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy said during a media briefing on Friday.
The Queen’s grandchildren – including Princes William and Harry – are expected to stand vigil at her coffin on Saturday.
On Sunday, King Charles will host a reception at Buckingham Palace for “heads of state and official foreign guests” ahead of the late queen’s funeral.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan, received an invitation to the reception by mistake, a source with knowledge of what happened told CNN.
As an official state event, the palace said only working members of the royal family would accompany the king. CNN told CNN they “think” there was an administrative error. As some media reported, the couple was “not invited” from the reception.
A spokesman for Sussex declined to comment.
Sign up to get updates about the British Royal Family delivered to your inbox CNN Royal News Newsletter.
“Lifelong social media lover. Falls down a lot. Creator. Devoted food aficionado. Explorer. Typical troublemaker.”