Photos: Westminster Hall, historic heart of British state

The late King George VI lies in state in Westminster Hall, London, on Feb.11, 1952. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to flock to London’s medieval Westminster Hall on Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2022, to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth II. Her coffin will lie in state for four days until her funeral on Monday.

Vast crowds watched the coffin of the late King George V borne through London streets on a gun carriage to Westminster hall on Jan. 23, 1936, where the late Monarch will lie in state until the royal funeral. Westminster Hall, where Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin will lie in state until her funeral on Monday, is the oldest part of parliament, with a central role in British history.

The major institutions of state grew from the hall, which dates back to the 11th century and is now part of the Palace of Westminster in London. It was the legal and administrative centre of England for centuries, with parliament, the law courts and government offices developing in or around the historic building. Above, the gun carriage bearing the coffin of King George V, after leaving Westminster Hall in London on January 28, 1936.

The trials of King Charles I, Gunpowder Plot ringleader Guy Fawkes, Scottish independence leader William Wallace and Reformation martyr Thomas More were held in the hall. Above, a view of the pall covered coffin of King George V, lying in Westminster Hall, London, on Jan. 23, 1936.

The long, never ending queue of pilgrims to Westminster Hall to pay homage to King George V, was still some two miles long in London, on Jan. 26, 1936.

The hall hosted royal feasts and coronation banquets but is etched in public memory through its use for rare lyings-in-state. Guarded around the clock, the coffin is placed on a raised platform in the centre of the hall to allow the public to pay their respects. Above, slowly the cortege of late King George VI turns from Kingsway into Aldwych, in London, on Feb. 11, 1952, en route to Westminster Hall.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, left, stands with her grandmother Queen Mary, center, and her mother, Queen Elizabeth, at the entrance to London's Westminster Hall as her father's coffin arrives to lie in state in this Feb. 11, 1952 file photo.

Lying in state is an honour usually only accorded to sovereigns, current or past queen consorts, and sometimes former prime ministers.Since 1910, when King Edward VII lay in state in parliament's Westminster Hall, all sovereigns have lain in state there. The closed coffin, covered by the royal standard, rests on a raised platform or catafalque draped in purple in the centre of the 900-year-old hall. The last time was for Queen Elizabeth II’s mother, also called Queen Elizabeth, after her death in 2002.

Queen Elizabeth II is closely associated with Westminster Hall. She first addressed both houses of parliament in the hall to mark her silver jubilee - 25 years on the throne - in 1977. Above, the gun carriage carrying the coffin of Britain's Queen Mother is pulled by the Royal Horse Artillery, with members of the royal family following as it enters Horse Guards Parade on its journey to Westminster Hall in London, Friday, April 5, 2002.

The Koh-i-Noor, or "mountain of light," diamond, set in the Maltese Cross at the front of the crown made for Britain's late Queen Mother Elizabeth, is seen on her coffin, along with her standard, a wreath and a note from her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, as it is drawn to London's Westminster Hall in this April 5, 2002.