People queue before the start of the more than five miles long line near Tower Bridge to pay their respect to the late Queen Elizabeth II during the Lying-in State, in Westminster Hall in London, Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022. AP Photo/Martin Meissner

LONDON – The line to see Queen Elizabeth II lie in state at Westminster Hall – which Brits have affectionately dubbed “The Queue,” and which has taken on a life of its own in recent days as thousands wait for a glimpse of the monarch’s coffin – has grown so long that the government said Friday it would have to temporarily prevent new people from joining it.

“The Queue” – which began forming Tuesday before the start of the queen’s lying-in-state period – is officially five miles long, though in reality it is longer due to an uncounted section where it zigzags. It extends all the way from Westminster Hall in central London to Southwark Park, a more than 60-acre public park in southeast London, according to a government tracker. Well-wishers have been warned they could face an at least a 14-hour wait to reach Westminster Hall.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sports, the government department responsible for managing the queue, warned early Friday that entry to the line at Southwark Park would “be paused if it reaches capacity.”

Less than an hour later, at 9:50 a.m. local time, the department said entry would be paused for at least six hours and warned people not to “attempt to join the queue until it re-opens.”

The news will surely come as a disappointment to the people who have traveled near and far to pay their respects to the queen. On social media, it has also raised many questions – chief among them, where the people who want to rejoin the queue when it eventually reopens should go. “Is there a queue for #thequeue now?,” some wondered on social media, as others joked that the failure to rejoin the queue would be an affront to their Britishness.

People stand in a queue to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II during the Lying-in State at Westminster Hall, in Southwark park in London, Friday, Sept. 16, 2022. AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty

The Washington Post’s Karla Adam joined the queue for 7 1/2 hours on Wednesday into Thursday. As she wrote, waiting patiently in long lines is a uniquely British skill with its own set of rules – get a wristband with a number and obey that number. Stay in the queue. Do not push or shove. Do not cut.

This line in particular has people willing to brave the cold and the rain because it is a historic national moment: The queen’s lying in state will end at 6:30 a.m. on Monday, the day of the queen’s state funeral.

The funeral will take place at Westminster Abbey, and then she will be buried at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor, bringing a 10-day period of national mourning to an end and ushering in a new era under the reign of her son, King Charles III.

It is set to be a logistical and security challenge for the capital as hundreds of world leaders descend there along with members of the public, who have been given a national holiday to watch the funeral. “I can confirm that this will be the largest single policing event that the Met Police has ever undertaken,” London’s Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy said Friday.

A spokesperson for Kensington Palace said the queen’s grandchildren – including Prince William and Prince Harry – will hold a 15-minute vigil by her coffin Saturday evening. Her children – Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward – are also set to hold their own vigil by her coffin at 7:30 p.m. local time Friday.

Charles and his wife Camila, Queen consort, were in Cardiff, the capital of Wales, on Friday – the last stop on the king’s tour of the United Kingdom’s “four nations.” The couple attended a service for Queen Elizabeth at Llandaff Cathedral and will visit the Welsh Parliament and Cardiff Castle. Later, the king will host faith leaders at Buckingham Palace.

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The Washington Post’s Karla Adam contributed to this report.