Queue for the Queen: Huge line of Queen Elizabeth II mourners visible from space (satellite photos)

By Elizabeth Howell
last updated

Hundreds of thousands of people will join 'The Queue' in London to pay respect to Queen Elizabeth II.

queue for queen elizabeth ii on bridge seen from overhead
The queue for Queen Elizabeth II's lying-in-state is visible from space in this photo taken Sept. 16, 2022. (Image credit: Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies)

A massive queue of mourners for Queen Elizabeth II is visible from space.

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to join a lineup, called 'The Queue' by locals, stretching 6 miles (10 km) through central London and along the Thames River from her lying-in-state location at Westminster Hall.

Maxar Technologies satellites spotted the Queue from space at 12:01 p.m. local time Friday (Sept. 16), the company tweeted, roughly halfway through the five days allocated for the public to see Her Majesty through Sunday (Sept. 18).

Hundreds of portable toilets, a wristband system and 1,000 security personnel and volunteers are managing the massive crowds, waiting for a reported 24 hours or more in a constantly moving line. Live updates are available through YouTube on where the line is at this moment.

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The Queue has become a shared experience for the United Kingdom and London in particular, generating dry wit even as the community comes together to pay their respects.

Thousands of people congregated in a large queue to see Queen Elizabeth II's lying-in-state. (Image credit: Satellite image ©2022 Maxar Technologies)

man with british flag standing on bridge looking at lineup of people

A close-up view off the crowds near the Thames River in London. (Image credit: Loic Venance/AFP via Getty Images)

Well-wishers stand in the queue in Southwark Park for the Lying-in State of Queen Elizabeth II on Sept. 16, 2022 in London, England. (Image credit: David Ramos/Getty Images)

"We are honoring two great British traditions: loving the Queen and loving a queue," Stephen Cottrell, the Archbishop of York, told people in line on Wednesday (Sept. 14), according to Reuters.

A massive queue of mourners waits to pay respects to Queen Elizabeth II.

A massive queue of mourners waits to pay respects to Queen Elizabeth II. (Image credit: David Ramos/Getty Images)

The Royal Family conveyed their thanks via social media.

"We have been overwhelmed by the tide of emotion that has engulfed us and the sheer number of people who have gone out of their way," the Earl of Wessex, who is the Queen's youngest child and brother of King Charles III, said via the Royal Family's official Twitter account.

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Elizabeth Howell
Elizabeth Howell
Staff Writer, Spaceflight

Elizabeth Howell (she/her), Ph.D., is a staff writer in the spaceflight channel since 2022 covering diversity, education and gaming as well. She was contributing writer for Space.com for 10 years before joining full-time. Elizabeth's reporting includes multiple exclusives with the White House and Office of the Vice-President of the United States, an exclusive conversation with aspiring space tourist (and NSYNC bassist) Lance Bass, speaking several times with the International Space Station, witnessing five human spaceflight launches on two continents, flying parabolic, working inside a spacesuit, and participating in a simulated Mars mission. Her latest book, "Why Am I Taller?", is co-written with astronaut Dave Williams. Elizabeth holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota, a Bachelor of Journalism from Canada's Carleton University and a Bachelor of History from Canada's Athabasca University. Elizabeth is also a post-secondary instructor in communications and science at several institutions since 2015; her experience includes developing and teaching an astronomy course at Canada's Algonquin College (with Indigenous content as well) to more than 1,000 students since 2020. Elizabeth first got interested in space after watching the movie Apollo 13 in 1996, and still wants to be an astronaut someday. Mastodon: https://qoto.org/@howellspace