Queen Elizabeth II

People are Waiting Hours in Line to Pay Tribute to Queen Elizabeth. Hundreds Have Needed Medical Attention

More than 1,000 people have needed medical attention since the line started on Wednesday.

Bundled up against the cold, members of the public near the end of their 12-hour wait
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

As thousands of people waited hours in line to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth II, many of them needed medical attention. 

The London Ambulance Service reported that 1,078 people in the queue had to receive medical treatment since Sept. 14, when the queen's coffin arrived at Westminster Hall. 

Each night since, people have been transported to the hospital:

  • Sept. 14: 17 transported to hospital
  • Sept. 15: 25 transported to hospital
  • Sept. 16: 39 transported to hospital
  • Sept. 17: 55 transported to hospital 

The queen will continue to lie in state at Westminster until her funeral Monday.

Members of the public wait in line to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth II as she lays in state within Westminster Hall on September 15, 2022 in London, England.

The long line for the late queen's subjects to pay their respects has taken hours to get through. Soccer star David Beckham reported it took him 12 hours to see the queen's casket.

The line has been so long that the government published a live queue tracker for people to follow on YouTube.

As of Sunday afternoon, the line was more than four miles long and an estimated nearly 10 hour wait. The government live tracker showed officials were debating whether to close the line as it reached "final capacity" ahead of the 6:30 a.m. deadline on Monday morning.

As members of the public file through to pay their respects, they will see the queen's closed coffin atop a raised purple platform, called a catafalque. 

They might have borne witness to one of the vigils performed by the royal family β€” in one instance on Friday, the queen's children stood watch over their mother for 10 minutes. On Saturday, her grandchildren did the same.

Queen Elizabeth II 's grandchildren
Aaron Chown - WPA Pool/Getty Images
Queen Elizabeth II 's grandchildren (clockwise from front centre) Prince William, Prince of Wales, Peter Phillips, James, Viscount Severn, Princess Eugenie, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Princess Beatrice, Lady Louise Windsor and Zara Tindall hold a vigil beside the coffin of their grandmother as it lies in state on the catafalque inside Westminster Hall on September 17, 2022 in London, England.

In addition to the reported medical emergencies in the queue, there has been at least one report of crime. A man was charged on Friday with two counts of sexual assault. Two women reported being assaulted in a garden while they waited to pay their respects, Reuters reported.

Overall though, reports from the front line indicate the late queen's subjects have been upbeat about the situation. 

One viral tweet from @JofArnold, referencing the British ability to wait in line without complaint, quipped that "This is the queue you've been training for all your life. The final boss of queues."

NBC News reported the line to see the late monarch was polite, even joyful at times. 

Reporter Patrick Smith wrote it reminded him of the 2012 London Olympics, when the city came together despite the long lines.

A group of friends hand out hot drinks to members of the public as they queue along Albert Embankment opposite the Houses of Parliament as they wait to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth II as she lies in state in Westminster Hall on on Sept. 17, 2022 in London, England.

"The event was reminiscent of the London Olympics in 2012, when the city was overwhelmed by a feeling of togetherness," Smith wrote on Sept. 15. "Mourners chatted amiably with police officers and the many marshals along the route, comparing reports of wait times and exchanging candy."

This article first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:

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