Crowds of thousands gathered on Wednesday in central London ahead of the Queen's lying-in-state, a formal occasion in which the casket is placed on view to allow the public to pay their respect to Britains' longest reigning monarch.

Later in the afternoon, a procession was held to transport the casket on a gun carriage from Buckingham Palace to Westminister Hall.

King Charles III, and his sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, as well as other members of the royal family followed the casket on foot. Members of the armed forces also took part in the processsion.

With the Royal Standard and crown of state resting on top of the coffin and artillery firing salutes at one-minute intervals, the solemn procession was designed to underscore the queen's 70 years as head of state as the national mourning process shifts to the grand boulevards and historic landmarks of the UK capital.
 

 

Following the procession, the Archbishop of Canterbury led a short service to honor the late monarch. People will now be able to file past her casket until her funeral on Monday. Authorities have warned that the wait to do so could take several hours.

Frustration mounts over canceled treatments, funerals

At the same time, public frustration was beginning to mount in the UK over things such as funerals, healthcare treatments, and other necessary services being canceled for September 19 "out of respect" for the Queen's state funeral. 

"For patients who may have been waiting up to two years for elective surgery or appointments — if they are then canceled on the 19th, this will be incredibly distressing," Ellen Welch, co-chair of doctors' lobby DAUK, told Reuters news agency.

Healthcare providers "are left wondering if the decision makers in government really understand how their decisions play out on the ground," Welch said

There were also complaints over food banks shutting their doors, leaving the nation's poorest without something to eat during a state funeral that will cost millions in public funds. 

rm,es/jcg (Reuters, AP)