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Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan has warned that the government is expecting “extremely large queues, that could go up to thirty hours”, to see the Queen lying in state in Westminster Hall, adding there could be “thousands” of mourners waiting.

She said that while “it won’t be thirty hours for everybody”, it was important for the public to be “fully prepared” for the wait in terms of time on their feet and the weather.

When asked if she was trying to put people off coming to London, Donelan said “it’s really important” to be “as open and upfront [as possible] with the general public so they can make informed choices”. She said the government would be doing everything it could to make people “as comfortable on the journey as they possibly can be”.

Speaking to broadcasters from her office in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, she said over 1,000 people per day would be on hand to assist people queuing and that there would be a queue for disabled people and those finding it difficult to stand for so long.