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Up to a million mourners are expected to queue several miles for up to 35 hours across London to pay their final respects to Britain's longest-reigning monarch from today - amid growing fears that hundreds of thousands may be turned away from seeing the Queen's coffin in the Palace of Westminster. 

Poncho-wearing royal fans have camped out in sleeping bags for two nights, sheltering under their brollies as the capital was soaked by torrential downpours.

Officials expect some 400,000 people will view the coffin - more than the 300,000 who filed past her father King George VI as he lay in state at Westminster Hall in 1952. But with between 750,000 and a million expected to want to pay tribute, fears are growing that as many as 650,000 could miss out. Many others may struggle to get to London due to the enormous strain that transport networks are set to come under. 

The queue begins on the Albert Embankment, along Belvedere Road, behind the London Eye. It then crosses Lambeth Bridge and travels along the South Bank past the National Theatre, Tate Modern and HMS Belfast. The back of the queue is in Southwark Park, ending the near-five mile route. There will also be an 'accessible queueing scheme' set up from Tate Britain for those with disabilities, and licensing rules could be varied so that restaurants and cafes can open overnight. 

At 4am this morning, the Archbishop of York entertained tired mourners camping along the Albert Embankment overlooking the Houses of Parliament entertained by singing hymns - while a military veteran dressed impeccably in a bowler hat and polished shoes said he was keeping himself by rocking on his heels to avoid going to sleep and crumpling his clothes.