A river of people flowed beside the Thames last night as thousands waited patiently to pay their last respects to the Queen Mother.

A tide of humanity - from old soldiers to young children - stood for hours to file past the Queen Mother's coffin as it lay in state in the medieval splendour of Westminster Hall.

The queue snaked back over Lambeth Bridge and along the south side of the Thames to Westminster Bridge, prompting officials to extend the opening hours of the hall.

By late last night, unofficial estimates put the total who had thronged through the hall at 30,000. And there was no sign of the doors closing.

The scenes were reminiscent of when thousands queued to pay their respects at the coffin of the Queen Mother's husband, King George VI, in 1952.

Thousands more people are expected to flood into the capital over the weekend to walk past the coffin, which stands on a seven foot high catafalque, surmounted by the Queen Mother's diamond-encrusted crown.

An estimated 400,000 spectators lined the route to witness the magnificent ceremonial spectacle of the Queen Mother's funeral procession.

Amid the pomp and pageantry, many may have noticed a personal touch from the Queen - a simple message atop the coffin which read: "In loving memory, Lilibet".

Despite the formality, it was clearly also a family funeral, with all the usual emotion.

In Westminster Hall, the Prince of Wales's eyes were wet with tears as the lying in state of his beloved grandmother began. The contrast between his private grief and the public splendour of state ceremony at its most sombre could hardly have been greater.

The poignant moment came when, the ceremony almost over, the Royal procession was beginning to leave Westminster Hall.

The Countess of Wessex also brushed away a tear but - controlled as ever - the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh bore their grief unflinchingly.

Outside, the queue of people hoping to follow the Royal Family into the hall was growing all the time, every one with their own reason for wanting to visit the scene.

Josephine Wait, 67, of Beckenham, east London, said she had also visited Sir Winston Churchill's lying in state.

"After the things the Queen Mother has done for us, it is so little for us to do this for her. I feel I want to add my little bit to all this."

Earlier, the Duke, Prince Charles and Princes William and Harry were among 14 senior royals - three generations of the Royal Family - who accompanied the coffin from St James's Palace to Westminster Hall.

The teenage princes, bare-headed and dressed in morning suits, in contrast to other family members in their military uniforms, were taking part in the second royal funeral procession of their short lives.

In 1997 they were boys following the coffin of their mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.

Shortly before 11.30am the Queen Mother's coffin, draped in her personal standard and surmounted by her crown, was carried from the Queen's Chapel at St James's Palace and placed on a horse-drawn gun-carriage.

The Royal Family were immediately behind the coffin, followed by members of the Queen Mother's personal staff, including her loyal page William Tallon, known affectionately as "Backstairs Billy".

A military band played as the half-mile long procession made its way down The Mall, the crown atop the coffin sparkling in the sunshine.

The Queen, dressed in black, was waiting in the hall when her mother's coffin arrived. As Big Ben struck noon, the coffin drew up outside.

Also watching was a sombre gathering of courtiers and senior politicians, including Prime Minister Tony Blair, Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith and former prime minister Baroness Thatcher.