Mourners lining the streets of London to see the Queen’s coffin are facing the strong possibility of heavy rain on Wednesday morning.
A weather front situated along the south of England did not appear to be moving in the very early hours of first day of the Queen’s lying in state in Westminster Hall.
While high pressure from the Atlantic was trying to nudge its way in to potentially throw the rain off course of the capital, forecasters said the morning was still likely to be a wet one.
“(It) will be a rather wet start to the day on Wednesday – especially so in London where people may be queuing to see the lying in state throughout the day,” BBC Weather’s Simon King said.
That rain was expected to clear before midday though, and by the afternoon temperatures were expected to be between 18C and 20C degrees and “quite pleasant”.
As of midnight, there were already around 100 people queuing in the rain on the Albert Embankment Path near Lambeth Bridge, according to BBC News.
Earlier on Tuesday, a Met Office spokesperson said high pressure would move through Wednesday – by the afternoon of which there would be “sunny spells developing across the whole of the UK”.
The “settled, fine, dry” conditions were expected to last until the beginning of next week.
“In terms of people being outside queueing, really the next 24 hours is likely to see the most unsettled weather before things start to calm down a bit with the high pressure moving in,” the spokesperson said.
The Queen’s coffin arrived at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday evening – where it was met by the King, his siblings and both his sons. The casket remained in the palace’s Bow Room overnight while outside in the dark and the rain, more and more mourners joined the queue to pay their respects.
The late monarch’s lying in state in Westminster Hall opens to the public at 5pm on Wednesday and will be open 24 hours a day until it closes at 6.30am on Monday September 19 – the day of the Queen’s funeral.
