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King Charles and Prince William visit people in line to see the queen’s coffin

King Charles III and Prince William, the Prince of Wales, surprised the public and visited people who wait in line for hours to see the queen’s coffin this Saturday (17).

The royals were seen shaking hands with well-wishers near Lambeth Bridge.

Prince William appeared to be in good spirits as he spoke to the crowd and asked several people how long they had been waiting.

Some people shouted “God save the king” as Charles passed and a woman held up a Paddington Bear toy – the fictional bear has become associated with the queen since she appeared in a sketch alongside the character during Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

People have been lining up for hours to see Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin since it arrived at Westminster Hall on Wednesday. The line was approaching full capacity on Saturday, the government said.

At lunchtime on Saturday, the government queue tracker said the current wait time was 14 hours.

Earlier on Saturday, Charles III visited the Metropolitan Police headquarters in London’s Lambeth borough to thank police and emergency services staff involved in planning and implementing events since the late Queen’s death.

The Queen’s funeral on Monday will be the “biggest individual policing event” that London’s Metropolitan Police have ever held, Assistant Deputy Commissioner Stuart Cundy said during a press conference on Friday.

The Queen’s grandchildren – including Princes William and Harry – are expected to stand vigil beside her coffin on Saturday. On Sunday, King Charles will hold a reception at Buckingham Palace for “heads of state and foreign official guests” ahead of the late Queen’s state funeral.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan, received an invitation to this reception by mistake, a source with knowledge of the event told CNN. As an official state occasion, the Palace said that the king would be accompanied only by members of the royal family.

The source told CNN that they “imagined” that an administration error had occurred. The couple was not “disinvited” from the reception, as reported by some media.

A spokesman for the Sussexes did not comment.

Photos: Brits and visitors wait hours in line to say goodbye to Elizabeth II

Source: CNN Brasil

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