World leaders gather to pay respects to Queen Elizabeth II on day of monarch's state funeral – in pictures
World leaders have descended on London in their droves to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II
Heads of state and overseas government representatives, including foreign royal families, governors-general and realm prime ministers initially gathered at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, on Monday morning.
They will then travel under collective arrangements to Westminster Abbey, now over 1,000 years old, ahead of arguably the biggest funeral in Britain's history.
A selection of photographs from the arrivals can be seen below.
The outpouring of grief has not been restricted to those invited to the funeral itself, either.
Thousands have lined the streets or taken up spots in one of the city's public parks, notably Green Park and Hyde Park, to get a view of Her Majesty's coffin before it is driven to Windsor.
It is believed Queen Elizabeth II's funeral will be the "largest single policing event ever undertaken" in London.
The event on Monday is expected to be bigger even than the policing response around the 2012 Olympics and this year's Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
In a security briefing to the media, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Stuart Cundy said “almost every force in the country” had officers involved in the policing operation around the Capital.
The senior commander said some 20,000 officer shifts were being worked throughout the week leading up the funeral.
He said the policing operation would increase significantly as the funeral approaches, but could not give details of the number of officers likely to be involved.
DAC Cundy said the event was a “truly national policing operation, and difficult to compare to any other event".
