The BBC has announced plans to live stream Queen Elizabeth II’s lying-in-state period in the days to come. The queen’s remains will be available for those that want to pay their last respects in Westminster Hall in London, England, but for those that can’t make it in person, this virtual wake will be available. The queen will be lying in state until her funeral on Monday, Sept. 19.
Those that want to see the live stream of Queen Elizabeth lying in state can find it via the BBC website homepage. It will be available on the broadcaster’s iPlayer and on the BBC Parliament site. The BBC and ITV have also both announced their plans for broadcasting the funeral itself. Monday has been deemed a national bank holiday in the U.K., and the funeral will fill the broadcast TV slots from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. local time. That’s 3 a.m. ET to 12 p.m. ET here in the U.S.
Videos by PopCulture.com
British broadcasters are already anticipating that Monday’s funeral will be one of the most-watched programs in British TV history. Royal officials are also preparing for the influx of real-life visitors as well. Some mourners lined up outside Westminster Hall as early as Tuesday, and the wait times in those lines are expected to range from 17 hours to 35 hours.
Local officials have asked businesses to prepare accordingly. Many nearby cafes will be operating all-night services, and some train schedules have been extended to 24/7 service. Queen Elizabeth was the longest-reigning monarch in British history, and the interactive technology to broadcast this funeral has come a long way in the century since the last royal death.
In-person visitors will be subjected to a complex queueing process described on the U.K.’s government website. When they arrive at the line they will be given a wristband which will establish their place in the waiting order. This means they can leave the line for brief periods to use the bathroom and get food or water. Medical stations have been established along the route as well.
Mourners are allowed to carry a small bag with them, but there are restrictions on its size and contents. There will be a bag-checking facility for those that arrive with more luggage than is allowed, but there is limited capacity there so they are warned not to bring oversized bags if at all possible. The rest of us can watch the lying-in-state live stream from now until Monday, when the funeral itself will be broadcast and streamed by the BBC and ITV.
