Palace reveals details of route the Queen’s coffin will take from Wellington Arch to Windsor Castle

The route that the Queen’s coffin will take from Wellington Arch to Windsor Castle after her state funeral has been revealed, with tens of thousands of people expected to turn out to pay their final respects to Her Majesty. 

The procession will leave Westminster Abbey and will then head west along the south edge of Hyde Park, before passing through Queens Gate and heading down Cromwell Road. 

It will then head down Talgarth Road via the Hammersmith Flyover, Great West Road (A4) and Great South West Road (A30). 

The news confirms suggestions that the Queen’s coffin would not travel on the M4, which would have been the quickest route, giving thousands more Britons the chance to pay their last respects as her coffin passes.

Travelling along A-roads west out of London to Berkshire means it will be easier for mourners to line up along the road, with tens of thousands expected to be unable to file past Her Majesty’s coffin in Westminster Hall due to the unprecedented length of the queue, which was closed earlier after it got too long.  

Former Tory Cabinet minister David Jones, who called for an extended post-funeral route, had said last night: ‘I think it’s very important that as many people as possible have the opportunity to pay their last respects while in sight of the coffin. So it’s sensible that it’s not going all the way along the motorway, as people would not be able to do that there.

‘It’s very difficult as there are so many people who want to pay their last respects, so to maximise the amount of people who can is a good thing.’ 

The Daily Mail’s Robert Hardman said earlier this week that the post-funeral route should be extended so more Britons could say farewell. 

After the funeral finishes at around midday next Monday, the Queen’s children will walk behind her the carriage carrying her coffin to Wellington Arch. 

Large screens will be set up in Hyde Park to allow people to watch the service. Once in Windsor, the hearse will arrive at the Long Walk at 3.15pm.  

Earlier this week, the Mail’s Robert Hardman outlined the case for extending the post-funeral route so more Britons could say farewell. The funeral at Westminster Abbey will finish around midday next Monday.

It comes as a queue to enter the official queue to see the Queen’s coffin formed in and around Southwark Park this afternoon.

In extraordinary scenes, tens of thousands of people descended on the park to enter the start of the main line for the lying in state, but officials had to shut it at 10am for ‘at least six hours’ because it was too long.

Thousands of mourners were put in a holding area within the park to alleviate congestion in the line ahead, which had stretched for about five miles. 

The gates to the park were then shut, and people outside had to form a third line in a desperate attempt to see the coffin before 6.30am on Monday when the lying in state will finish.

Inside the park, a crowd formed in the holding pen next to the main queue as people begged to be let in. Security teams were allowing 100 people at a time from the holding area to join the main queue every ten to 15 minutes.

But outside the park, some people waited in the street with no idea of when they might be able to even join the queue. By around 4.30pm today, the main queue was still not open according to the Government’s live updates. 

David Beckham was among the mourners queuing. He made it inside Westminster Hall at about 3.30pm after joining the queue at 2am.

The Government said in an update just before 10am: ‘Southwark Park has reached capacity. Entry will be paused for at least 6 hours. We are sorry for any inconvenience. Please do not attempt to join the queue until it re-opens.’