Westminster Hall floor damaged by 250,000 mourners for the Queen

28 November 2022, 22:12 | Updated: 28 November 2022, 22:13

The sheer number of mourners who entered Westminster Hall to pay their respect to the Queen meant the floor of the historic building was damaged.

Some 250,000 people queued for hours through London in September, ending up in Westminster Hall where the Queen was lying in state.

The figures were seen as a remarkable testimony to the popularity of the late monarch, who died aged 96 on September 8.

But they also had another, unexpected impact - on the 180-year-old Yorkstone floor, the Telegraph reported.

A House of Lords spokesman said: “As a consequence of the high-level continuous footfall through Westminster Hall during the lying-in-state some delamination to the Yorkstone floor has occurred. 

“It has exposed some areas of bare stone that will blend in with the surrounding areas over time. This does not present a structural risk.

”The delamination means the colouring is different to the stone around it.

The damage is unlikely to be permanent, the spokesperson said, noting that it "will blend in over time as it is exposed to the air so as it becomes unnoticeable".

The Queen was lying in state for four days. People queued up to ten miles, standing in line for as long as 25 hours in some cases, to pay their respects.

Officials sometimes had to pause the queue because so many people wanted to join - meaning at some points there were not enough security staff to line the route.

King and Prince of Wales greet mourners in queue for Queen’s lying in state

Michelle Donelan, the Culture Secretary, said: “You saw so many thousands out there and I don’t think anybody can suggest that our late monarch didn’t deserve that send-off, given the duty and the selfless service that she committed to over 70 years.

“It was a great sense of the community coming together. I always think of our late monarch as the glue that brought society togeth