here, it really does. the accessible queue has now closed, and there s a warning the general queue will shut well before the funeral service. the line currently stretches back five miles. next week, the queen s coffin will be transferred to westminster abbey for herfuneral, led by the dean of westminster. right at the heart of this is a family funeral, we mustn t forget that. deeply personal and a very, very difficult thing for a family to navigate. but this is also a celebration of a quite extraordinary life. this evening, the queen s eight grandchildren, including princes william and harry, will hold a vigil by their grandmother s coffin. also on the programme. ukraine says more western weaponry is needed to beat the russians, as bodies are recovered from a mass burial site, newly liberated in north eastern ukraine. hundreds protest outside new scotland yard over the shooting dead of 24 year old chris kaba. and football pays tribute to the queen in the first full weekend of
they walked and stood the right beside us. the honour was notjust the fact we were dancing for her but because we were in such close proximity, we werejust dancing, she was watching, she had questions, she was asking about it, she stood there looking at us. did it make you nervous? what effect did have? it made us all more more joyous, not that we were not but you could feel the tempo had increased, nobody was nervous. it was the experience of a lifetime and something we have carried, notjust in the last ten years but something we will share for generations to come in ourfamily. it was a sense ofjoy. to come in ourfamily. did you get a chance to speak to either of the royal couple? yes, we did. the queen did not speak to us, but prince philip did stop and he spoke to a few of us, talking to us about our dresses, how lovely the colours were, how vibrant the colours were, he spoke about our dance and how we knew it and how long we practised. it was just such a humble experience
get their moment in front of the queen s coffin in westminster hall to pay their respects to queen elizabeth ii. at her lying in state ahead of the funeral on monday. duty officer signals led by the prince of wales and the duke of sussex, they all took their places around the coffin in westminster hall. it s the first time in history a monarch s grandchildren have performed the ceremony. a complete privilege, absolute privilege to see them honouring their grandmother. a moment that i will never forget. to see her grandchildren respecting her like that was so moving, really moving. thousands continue to queue to see the lying in state, and earlier, those near the front had a surprise visit. hip hip! crowd: king charles greeted mourners, thanking those who d waited through the night. the current waiting time is 17 hours. the accessible queue has closed for good. also tonight. ukraine says more western weaponry is needed to beat the russians, as bodies are recovered from a mass
after a drop off in donations as the cost of living crisis bites. and the british built space rover looking for work after its mission to mars was cancelled. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. the prime minister has refused to rule out a real terms cut in benefits despite growing pressure to do so. liz truss faces a fresh battle with some conservative mps who want her to promise welfare payments will rise in line with inflation rather than earnings a lower percentage figure that would save the government billions of pounds. there s already a cabinet split on the issue. the leader of the commons penny morduant has openly demanded that benefits do go up in line with prices. this morning the prime minister told the bbc she would still like to see the rate of tax paid by the highest earners to be lower, despite ditching her plan to do just that only yesterday. iain watson reports from the conservative party conference. it s tin hat time for liz truss. she and her chancel