Mourners waiting in long queues to see the Queen's coffin are being told to prepare for cold nights ahead.

Hundreds of thousands of people are flocking to London to see Her Majesty lying-in-state while others are already now taking up their place on the street in order to give themselves the best chance of witnessing Monday's state funeral.

But forecasters at the Met Office are warning visitors intending to pay their respects to come prepared for colder weather as temperatures, particularly overnight in the capital, are going to be noticeably different.

From tonight until Monday, evenings and nights could be a cool 6C to 8C at their lowest with a light wind that could further add to the chill.

The forecast cool spell puts an end to many months of consistently mild weather, with this weekend's overnight temperatures, which are below average for the time of year, last seen in April and May.

With the weekend and bank holiday Monday now in sight the number of people arriving in London is steadily increasing.
The government has already been forced to close the queue to see the Queen's coffin for at least six hours after the line reached its capacity. It is expected to reopen on Friday afternoon.

But with many intending to make the journey in the coming hours to either camp out in order to be in with a chance of filing past the coffin in Westminster Hall, or ahead of proceedings on Monday, there are instructions now to dress for the weather while taking into consideration the limited number of belongings permitted past security points and into the Palace of Westminster.

While the evenings will be noticeably colder, there is expected to be very little rain over the capital, with just a small risk of the odd isolated shower.

The forecast for London tonight predicts a 'generally dry night with clear skies throughout' along with 'feeling breezy' while Saturday warns it will be 'chilly overnight' followed by a 'chilly start to Sunday'.