Elizabeth II, the rules for the funeral parlor: no flowers and silence for the Queen

London is preparing to pay homage to Queen Elizabeth II, with the opening of the funeral home from 5.00 pm (local time) on Wednesday 14 September and until Monday 19. The closed coffin of the ruler, housed on a raised platform inside of Westminster Hall in the Palace of Westminster, will be on public display 24 hours a day for the duration of the event. An event that is expected to be very well attended and for which not only strict safety rules will be applied, but also of behavior. The list is drawn up by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: from the maximum size of the bags to the ban on bringing flowers, to the request to keep silence inside the Palace, here are the rules and advice for those who want to pay homage up close to Her Majesty. After the necessary warnings about expected mass attendance – “Please note that there will be a queue and that it should be very long. You will have to stand for many hours, probably even at night, with very little opportunity to sit down as the queue will be in constant motion. “- the UK government therefore warns that visitors will” pass airport-style security checks “while there will be” strict restrictions on what you can bring “. In fact, “only small bags”, one per person, will be admitted, which must be “smaller than 40 cm x 30 cm x 20 cm” and with “a simple opening or a zipper in order to pass quickly through the security control”. And again: no to flowers or other objects “including candles, soft toys and photographs”. “These objects – he explains – cannot be brought or left in the Palace of Westminster” while the flowers “should be brought to the area dedicated to floral tributes in Green Park”.
Then the advice on what to “remember to bring”: clothing suitable for the weather conditions, but also food and drinks to be consumed exclusively in the queue, cell phone chargers, and therefore medicines or other essentials. Among the requests on the rules of conduct to be adopted, there is obviously also that of silence in front of the coffin: “Please respect the dignity of this event and behave appropriately – it continues -. You should remain silent while you are inside the Palace of Westminster “. In any case, “stewards and police officers will patrol the queue. Antisocial or inappropriate behavior will not be tolerated”, under penalty of removal. Finally, it is important to dress “appropriately for the occasion” and “not to wear clothes with political or offensive slogans. “, but also turn off the phone” or put it in silent mode “before entering the building and in the security area and” minimize noise “so as not to disturb the residents. It is therefore forbidden to “film, photograph or use mobile phones or other devices” both in the security area and inside the Palace of Westminster.