Lincolnshire officers' 'honour' to support Queen's funeral - police boss

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected in London for the Queen's lying-in-state

There are "few greater honours" for officers than to support policing at the Queen's funeral, Lincolnshire's police boss has said.

It is expected that policing operations in London in the coming days will involve forces from across the UK.

It is not yet known exactly how many Lincolnshire Police officers will be assigned to help the national mourning.

But Marc Jones, Lincolnshire's Police Commissioner (PCC), said any officer called upon would "do us all proud".

Mr Jones said every police officer had sworn an oath to keep the "Queen's peace" and had "proudly worn" the crown representing Her Majesty's reign on their uniform for the last 70 years.

"There can be few greater honours for a servant of the Crown than to ensure the dignified and safe mourning of our monarch by the public," he said.

"I am sure every officer of Lincolnshire Police supporting these historic and poignant events across the country will feel that way and do us all proud," Mr Jones told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Marc Jones said officers had sworn there were "few greater honours" than to be involved in the Queen's funeral

Queen Elizabeth II died at her Balmoral estate last Thursday and her state funeral will take place at Westminster Abbey on Monday.

The Queen is currently lying-in-state at Westminster Hall and large queues have formed along the banks of the River Thames as people wait to get a glimpse of the coffin.

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to file past in the next few days to pay their respects, with a huge policing operation in place.

The National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC), which co-ordinates mutual aid between the country's police forces, said support was being provided to the Metropolitan Police to assist with events relating to the death of the monarch.

A spokesperson added: "We are working closely with other emergency services and organisations to make sure as many planned events as possible can go ahead safely while balancing it against the need to ensure the policing requirements for national events and daily policing are met.

"Mutual aid is routinely used to share officers across the country to make sure we can meet this demand."

Lincolnshire Police was asked for comment about its officers' involvement but it declined to provide one.

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