2,300 police to oversee Queen’s journey to Windsor Castle
Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy said Monday will see the ‘final and most complex phase’ of the policing operation.
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Around 2,300 police officers will oversee the Queen’s final journey from Westminster Abbey to Windsor Castle.
One thousand officers, alongside military personnel, will line the route from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch, as the Queen’s coffin is transported from the funeral service by gun carriage.
More than 3,000 officers from forces outside London will form part of the 10,000-strong team policing the funeral on Monday, which Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy described as the “final and most complex phase” of the operation after the death of the monarch.
Speaking to the PA news agency in the specialist operations room of the capital’s police force on Sunday, Mr Cundy said: “This is a policing operation the Met has been planning for a considerable amount of time but on Monday we will enter our final and most complex phase of our policing operation.
“First and foremost, our priority is to ensure a safe and a secure state funeral and processional route, but also safe and secure for everyone who’s attending.
“As part of the route from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch, we will have 1,000 police officers alongside military personnel lining the route.
“Those officers will be engaging with the huge crowds that we’re expecting in London and I’d ask anybody, if you are coming to London, to pay your respects and to see Her Majesty the Queen: if you see anything out of the ordinary, if you hear anything suspicious, please speak to one of the thousands of police officers who will be on duty.”
Speaking about the final leg of the procession, he added: “As Her Majesty the Queen takes her final journey across London and then to Windsor, we will have another 1,300 officers as part of that route.
“We have a well-developed and a well-rehearsed plan with Thames Valley Police and the Surrey Police as Her Majesty the Queen makes her final journey.”
The Metropolitan Police said the 1,300 officers on the route between London and Windsor would be working in “a mobile capacity”.
Asked how officers would respond to any potential demonstrations, Mr Cundy said officers had been briefed and the force would “always take a balanced and proportionate response to whatever issues that we find”.
“Over the last week we have had so many people coming here to London to pay their respects to Her Majesty the Queen.
“All of our officers who will be on duty for the state funeral and for the route and across London have been briefed, they understand what their role is, and they all feel immensely privileged to be part of this overall police response.
“We will always take a balanced and proportionate response to whatever issues that we find. And we will only take action that is absolutely necessary.”
Speaking about concerns for the safety of officers after the stabbing of two members of the Met on duty in Westminster on Friday morning, Mr Cundy said: “The terrible, serious stabbing of two of our colleagues will always send a shockwave across all of us within the Met Police.
“I’m pleased to say that one of those officers has been released from hospital.
“We are professional in what we do, we have an absolute focus on what our responsibilities are, and on Monday for the state funeral, first and foremost our role is to ensure a safe and secure state funeral route and for all those who are coming to London.”
The specialist operations room in Lambeth is the largest of its kind in UK policing, and has played a central role in managing the capital’s largest events, including the 2012 Olympics and Trooping the Colour ceremonies.
On Saturday, King Charles III met new Metropolitan Police Commissioner Mark Rowley and officers involved in the security operation.
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