The flood of grief from the death of Queen Elizabeth II forced the British government to call a temporarily halt to people joining a miles-long line to file past her coffin as it lay in state Friday, hours before King Charles III and his siblings were to stand vigil in the historic Westminster Hall.
A live tracker of the queue said it was ``at capacity'' and entry was being ``paused'' for six hours as waiting times reached 14 hours and the line stretched 5 miles (8km) from Parliament to Southwark Park in south London and then around the park.
Helena Larsen, 76, arrived just too late at the park.
``We have literally got here and they have shut it in front of us,'' she said, adding that she would likely wait in the area until the gates were reopened.
Caroline Quilty of London got to the line around 4 a.m. Friday.
``I think it is a moment in history, and if I did not come and celebrate it and see it and be part of it, I think I would really regret it,'' she said.
After a day out of the public eye Thursday, King Charles III traveled to Wales on Friday on the final leg of his tour of the nations that make up the United Kingdom.
Charles, who for decades before his accession to the throne was the Prince of Wales, visited Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff for a service of prayer and reflection in honor of his late mother. After the service he and Camilla, the queen consort, got out of their car to greet crowds of wellwishers including flag-waving schoolchildren as people chanted ``God save the king!''
The king was later traveling to the Welsh parliament, the Senedd, to receive condolences from legislators.
Charles returns to London later Friday and will briefly stand vigil at his mother's coffin in the evening with his siblings, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward.
A day later, all eight of Queen Elizabeth II's grandchildren are expected to stand vigil beside her coffin for 15 minutes.