Westminster Hall opens to public The doors of Westminster Hall have now been opened to allow the public to pay their respects to the Queen. The Queen’s coffin was taken to the hall in a procession from Buckingham Palace this afternoon. She will now lie in state until 6.30am on Monday, when the coffin will be taken to nearby Westminster Abbey for the funeral. As of 5pm, a government tracker said the queue was 2.8 miles long. From Westminster Hall, the queue extends south and crosses Lambeth Bridge before turning north and snaking up the South Bank, ending just after London Bridge. We are closing our blog now. Please read this summary of this historic day by Caroline Davies, as the Queen was handed over by her family to the nation for her public farewell. A summary of today"s developments Westminster Hall was opened this evening to allow the public to pay their respects to the Queen. King Charles III earlier led a procession that took the Queen’s coffin to Westminster Hall from Buckingham Palace. A vigil was then held at the hall and attended by other senior royals as well as leaders from the country’s political parties. The Queen will lie in state until 6.30am on Monday, when the coffin will be taken to nearby Westminster Abbey for the funeral. Mourners have been warned the queue to pay their respects to the Queen could last as long as 30 hours. As of 11pm, the queue is 2.4 miles long, stretching across Lambeth Bridge and up the South Bank towards London Bridge. At least two people were treated by paramedics after collapsing in the heat while standing in the queue. People have described their emotions at saying goodbye to the Queen. “I saw the coronation, and the Queen has been with me my whole life. It’s very sad,” one woman told us. Almost two thirds of people think Britain will change as a result of the Queen’s death, according to a YouGov poll. President Biden has offered his condolences to the King, telling him that the Queen’s “dignity and constancy” helped strength the relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom. The King also spoke to France’s president Emmanuel Macron, president of Ireland Michael D Higgins and the governors general of Australia, Canada and Jamaica, who all expressed their sympathy. The Foreign Office has continued to prune the guest list for the Queen’s funeral, adding Syria and Venezuela to the list of countries not invited. India’s president will represent his country at the Queen’s funeral on Monday, meaning the prime minister, Narendra Modi, is not expected to be among the hundreds of foreign leaders due to attend the global spectacle. Crowds waiting to see the Queen’s body lying in state at Westminster Hall are moving “faster than expected” according to mourners who have been waiting since Wednesday afternoon. The queue, which at 10.30pm was 2.4 miles long and stretched to Southwark Bridge, started forming on Monday. Barriers and portable toilets have been set up around Westminster as it is expected to see up to one million visitors in the next few days. Sophie Zeldin-O"Neill Guardian reporter Sophie Zeldin-O’Neill was at Westminster. The security operation is incredibly extensive with multiples armed officers every few dozen yards - as well as military personnel. There are Scout and Girl Guide leader volunteers and marshals who signed up months ago not expecting to have to fulfil their commitment so soon. Those at the front of the queue can see the line snaking over Lambeth bridge and back on itself along the riverside across the water - they won’t get to the front till morning. The atmosphere inside Westminster Hall is very sombre but dignified. Almost completely silent despite thousands of people waiting outside - with candles burning, guards standing vigil around the coffin which has a glittering crown and mitre placed on top. People from all walks of life quietly filing in - some curtseying as they reach the coffin, some crossing themselves, some simply bowing their head; and lots of people dressed in their finery - I saw lots of elegant black dresses with pearls. Several public figures, dignitaries and celebrities were there, I saw Baroness Karren Brady looking very emotional as she paid her respects. In a country famous for perfecting the orderly queue, those lining up for a few seconds alongside the Queen’s coffin proved no exception. By 5pm, when the first members of the public filed into Westminster Hall, the line snaked back through the capital for about 3 miles (5km), crossing the Thames and stretching all the way to London Bridge. Dr Henry Mumbi, 55, from north-west London, was wearing a Union Jack blazer and trousers as he queued to see the Queen lying in state in Westminster Hall. Dr Mumbi, who came to England in 1994 and lectures at De Montford University, Leicester, told the PA news agency: “I’m here to appreciate the hospitality and how kind the Queen was, because I’m from a Commonwealth country called Zambia, and I had an issue to do with my status in my own country, but when I came here, the doors were open and my case was sorted out. “So I’m here to say thank you very much. I’ve been around here for 28 years now, which is more than half of my life. “It’s my second home. I want to make sure that I participate in such moments to show respect and to acknowledge the fact that I am able to be a part of the community and British society as well.” India’s president will represent his country at the Queen’s funeral on Monday, meaning the prime minister, Narendra Modi, is not expected to be among the hundreds of foreign leaders due to attend the global spectacle. A quarter of the 2,000 places at Westminster Abbey have been reserved for heads of state and their partners, with Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron and Naruhito, the emperor of Japan, the best-known guests confirmed as coming from abroad. Invitations were sent out by the UK to heads of state of nearly every country, so by protocol the invite will have gone to Droupadi Murmu, the first person from India’s tribal communities to hold the largely ceremonial role of president. In some cases the head of state has chosen to pass the invitation on, with the approval of the Foreign Office. On Wednesday, Turkey said it would be represented by Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, the country’s foreign minister, not the president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Shortly after the arrival of the coffin at Westminster Hall, US President Joe Biden said he had spoken to King Charles III to offer his condolences and shared the “great admiration of the American people” for the Queen. The King also spoke to France’s president Emmanuel Macron, president of Ireland Michael D Higgins and the governors general of Australia, Canada and Jamaica, who all expressed their sympathy.