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Liz Truss And Keir Starmer Queuing At The Queen’s Lying In State Sends Twitter Abuzz

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Shortly after the Queen’s coffin arrived on Wednesday at Westminster Hall, where as many as 400,000 people are expected to witness the lying in state, politicians joined the royals in a service remembering the late monarch.

But an image of prime minister Liz Truss and Labour leader Keir Starmer was quickly seized upon on social media. It’s not the first time the new Conservative leader has been mocked since the Queen’s death, with many commenting on her unusual curtsey when meeting King Charles.

A constant procession of mourners is continuing to make its way through Westminster Hall to pay their respects, with members of the public having queued for hours along the Thames.

The Queen’s state funeral on Monday will see 2,000 people including world leaders and foreign royals gather inside Westminster Abbey in London on for the final farewell to the nation’s longest reigning monarch.

Some 800 people, including members of the Queen’s Household and Windsor estate staff, will attend the committal service afterwards at 4pm in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.

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Royal Makeover: All The Everyday Items That Will Be Rebranded For King Charles III

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The end of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign does not just mean a changeover for the UK’s head of state.

The Queen’s face or name have been put on many British (and overseas) items over the many decades of her reign, from state-owned objects – like currency – to brands you might not have realised, like Twinings, and Heinz.

Over 800 brands have lost their right to use the royal coat of arms on their packaging, and they now have to prove the royal family use their products before they can put it back.

Here’s what you need to know.

What is the royal warrant?

This is when the royal coat of arms – with the English lion on the left and the Scottish unicorn on the right of a shield, featuring different UK emblems on it – can be printed on a product’s packaging. And it doesn’t cost the brand a thing.

There is usually a statement underneath explaining which royal appointed the warrant, too. Most products previously had: “By Appointment to Her Majesty the Queen.”

The monarch can decide who is to be a “grantor” (aside from themselves), meaning the person who officially decides what products can receive the royal warrant.

Officially known as a Royal Warrant of Appointment, it allows brands to use the coat of arms if they supply goods or services to the royals “on a regular and ongoing basis to the Royal Households of Grantor/s for not less than five years of the past seven”.

Brands also have to prove they have policies and plans in place which show they prioritise sustainability and the environment.

Companies which sell items to souvenirs shops in various royal estate do not qualify.

Which brands use it?

Among the hundreds of brands, both British and international, which hold the royal warrant, here are just a handful of household names which received the official royal seal of approval:

Bacardi-Martini

Cadbury UK Ltd

Carluccio’s

Kellogg’s

Boots Opticians

Molten Brown

Penhaligon’s

How long can brands use it?

Warrants are granted for up to five years at a time, but can be reviewed for renewed the year before it runs out.

These warrants will now be reviewed and granted by the Queen’s successor, King Charles III – although it’s worth noting that he actually approved many of the previous royal warrant holders anyway.

An estimated 875 brands have the royal coat of arms on their packaging – but now the Queen has died, it no longer means anything, according to the Royal Warrant Holders Association.

But, the brands are allowed to use the symbol for an additional two years as they adapt to life under the new monarch, as long as there is not a significant change within the company concerned.

Between 20 and 40 new warrants are granted and old ones cancelled each year – even if it’s cancelled, they can have a year to alter packaging.

How can the warrant be cancelled?

There are a lot of different reasons – if the quality of the product is not “up to standard” anymore, it’s “no longer manufactured or available”, order numbers have fallen or the goods or services are no longer required, the royal warrant could be withdrawn.

If a company goes under, it loses the royal seal of approval too.

A coat of arms for the appointment of the brewery is seen at the tap bar at Windsor & Eton Brewery
A coat of arms for the appointment of the brewery is seen at the tap bar at Windsor & Eton Brewery

DANIEL LEAL via Getty Images

Will anything else need to be changed now we have a new monarch?

Yes – the most obvious thing being the UK currency. The Queen’s face is on all of British coins and bank notes right now.

The Bank of England says it costs around 7p or 8p to make a banknote, and there are around 4.7 billion in use in the UK at the moment – meaning it could turn out to be pretty expensive to replace them all.

But, like with the royal warrant, this change is not usually quick.

For instance, the Queen’s face did not begin to appear on coins until the year after her accession (1953), and she was not on banknotes for years – although that was because she was the first monarch to appear on such currency.

King George VI’s face was also only removed from coins 20 years after his death, during the change to the decimal system.

According to German news outlet DW, the Bank of England has clarified that notes with the Queen’s face are still legal tender, and the Bank is set to release an update after the national mourning period is closed.

What about the post?

Unused stamps will stay valid for use until at least the end of next year.

Postboxes always carry the insignia of the monarch reigning at the time it was put up – E (Elizabeth II) and R (for Regina). New boxes now may use the cypher CR – Charles Rex III. But the ones currently in place will not be changed.

Royal Mail has not revealed how much it would cost to do this anyway.

And, the organisation told DW that “in line with the King’s wishes we will minimise any waste and avoidable cost, so we will be using up stocks of postage stamps and not removing the late Queen’s cypher from vehicles and post boxes ”.

What else might need to be changed?

Many of our emergency services will need to be updated at some point, from the fire service ensign, to military medals with the Queen’s effigy, police helmets, and UK passports.

Some Commonwealth currency bears the Queen’s face, too.

Her image is on the currency of at least 33 countries, more than any other living monarch, including Canada, Jamaica, New Zealand, as she was head of the Commonwealth.

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Fear Not, 500 Portable Toilets Are Along The Route To The Queen’s Lying In State

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Britain is doing little to defy the stereotype that people enjoy nothing more than joining a queue as the wait to pay final respects to the Queen grows.

Officials have laid on around 10 miles of “queuing infrastructure” to allow as much of the public as possible to visit the Her Majesty’s lying in state.

Doors at Westminster Hall – where the Queen’s coffin is on public displayed – opened at 5pm on Wednesday. The historic building on the parliamentary estate will remain open for 24-hours a day until 6.30am on September 19, the morning of the late monarch’s funeral.

Reports suggest that people have already been queuing for 15 hours, with some expectations that waits could reach 30 hours. It prompts questions about what happens if nature calls – but planners have mercifully thought ahead.

Those on the route – 6.9 miles from Victoria Tower Gardens to Southwark Park, with a further three miles within the park itself – will have access to more than 500 portable toilets.

Those joining the line will be given numbered wristbands so they take toilet breaks without losing their place.

With up to 400,000 people expected to queue, more than 1,000 volunteers, stewards, marshals and police officers will be on hand at any one time as people brave the wait on the banks of the Thames.

This includes 779 professional stewards per shift, assisted by 100 civil service volunteer marshals, 40 adult scouts, and 30 members of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry charity, as well as Metropolitan Police officers.

So how long is the queue right now?

Well, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is running a live “queue tracker” to pinpoint the end of the line.

At 4pm, the tracker showed the queue was around 2.2 miles long, stretching past Blackfriars Bridge in Southwark near Tate Modern.

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To help avoid disappointment, it is understood that entry to the back of the queue may be closed early, although it is too early to estimate when that moment might come.

Numbers will be monitored towards the end of the lying in state period, to ensure as near as possible that those already waiting are able complete their visit.

There will be a separate accessible route running from the Tate Britain for people less able to wait for a long period of time, with timed entry slots issued for a line along Millbank to the Palace of Westminster.

<img class="img-sized__img landscape" loading="lazy" alt="Queen’s lying in state: route of queue.” width=”719″ height=”467″ src=”https://www.wellnessmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/fear-not-500-portable-toilets-are-along-the-route-to-the-queens-lying-in-state-3.jpg”>
Queen’s lying in state: route of queue.

PA Graphics via PA Graphics/Press Association Images

No proof of disability will be required to use this route, with marshals on hand to make sure people are in the correct line and two British Sign Language interpreters to help.

It is understood there will be an element of self-policing when it comes to people keeping their places in line.

Those waiting in the queue are being given a coloured and numbered wristband, specific to each person, allowing them to leave for a brief time.

It is thought people will know those around them and be supportive when others need to step out.

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