People are waiting hours in line to pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth. Hundreds have needed medical attention
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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.
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 — in one instance on Friday, the queen's children stood watch over their mother for 10 minutes. On Saturday, her grandchildren did the same.
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."
If you’re British, this is the queue you’ve been training for all your life. The final boss of queues. pic.twitter.com/5auXopBfOr
— Jof (@JofArnold) September 13, 2022
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.
"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."
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This article was originally published on TODAY.com
