Entry to the queue to view HM The Queen’s Coffin paused as King Charles III set to visit Cardiff today
Image by Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
Entry to the queue for members of the public to see HM The Queen lying in state has been paused, the UK government has announced.
People have been warned against attempting to join the queue for the next six hours.
According to a post updated on Twitter by Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport at around 10 am this morning: “HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN’S LYING-IN-STATE QUEUE UPDATE, 09:50 AM, 16 Sept
Southwark Park has reached capacity. Entry will be paused for at least 6 hours. We are sorry for any inconvenience.
Please do not attempt to join the queue until it re-opens.
Check back for further updates.”
On the other hand, HM King Charles III is due to visit Cardiff today as part of his last leg of tour to the four nations. Ahead of his visit, Welsh first minister, Mark Drakeford, has said that anti-monarchists have a right to protest when the monarch visits the Welsh capital.
According to reports, a silent demonstration against the monarchy is set to start from 1 pm at Cardiff Castle, organised under the slogan “Real Democracy Now”.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mark Drakeford said, “People have a legitimate right to protest and there are a variety of views. Myself, I don’t think this is the week in which that debate needs to surface. But people have that right and I think it will be exercised with restraint and it will be a footnote to the dominant feelings of the day.”
He added, “It should recognise the rights that people have. I’ve every confidence in the South Wales police, who have dealt with this sort of event many times. They will deal proportionately with protest, making sure those rights are respected but that those rights don’t interfere with what most people will have come to Cardiff today to exercise.”
