Queen Elizabeth updates: State funeral ends 11 days of ceremonies

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden paid their respects to Queen Elizabeth II on Sunday, visiting her body lying in state at Westminster Hall.

The Bidens appeared on a balcony overlooking the queen's coffin. President Biden made a sign of the cross and put his hand over his heart while he and his wife observed the coffin for about two minutes.

Jill Biden also signed a book of condolence in the Drawing Room of Lancaster House in London as her husband looked on. President Biden signed a separate book of condolences in the State Dining Room of Lancaster House.

“Our hearts go out to the royal family, King Charles and all the family," Biden said after signing the book of condolences.

He fondly recalled one of his meetings with the queen.

"When the Queen had us to the castle for tea -- and me joking krimpets, she kept offering me more. I kept eating everything she put in front of me," Biden said, adding that Queen Elizabeth was always "decent, honorable and all about service."

Biden, known for the losses he’s experienced in his own life as well and his powerful eulogies he's delivered over the years, said the queen's death "leaves a giant hole" that seems impossible to overcome.

"But, as I’ve told the king, she’s gonna be with him every step of the way, every minute, every moment and a reassuring notion," Biden said.

Biden offered a special expression of condolences to the people of the United Kingdom, saying they were blessed to have the queen on the throne for more than 70 years.

"We all were," Biden said. "The world's better for her."

Biden said the way the queen leaned over and touched people during public appearances and offered reassuring looks, reminded him of his own mother.

"It's about treating people with dignity,” Biden said. “I talked about how my mother and father thought that everyone, no matter who they were, no matter what their station, no matter where they're from, deserve to be treated with dignity. And that's exactly what she communicated."

ABC News foreign correspondent James Longman, who was born and raised in London, recounted seeing Queen Elizabeth II lying in state at Westminster Hall, saying, "I feel enormously privileged" by the visit.

Here is Longman's description of the 30 minutes he got to sit near the queen's coffin on Friday night "to take this extraordinary moment in:"

We entered from the side of Westminster Hall, and I found myself standing briefly right next to the raised casket. The first thing that strikes you is the smallness of her coffin. I was instantly reminded of the elderly queen, and how frail she looked in her final days. We are honoring a monarch and an icon, beneath the vaulted ceilings of a 1,000 year old hall. But her "normalness" struck me in that moment. And I did think of my own frail grandmother, and the last visit I made to her bedside, holding her up while the nurse changed the pillows. We are reminded of our own mortality now that someone as undying as the Queen has left us.

Journalists are placed on a platform next to the exit, and I made sure to watch the faces of people as they left. Like looking to the groom watching the bride on their wedding day, it’s the place you’ll find the most emotion.

And so many turned around for one last goodbye. They turned to take in the enormity of the scene, or just breathe in the magic of that place. I think they also turned for one last look at a country that will never be the same. She was the glue that held Britain together, and I think they turned around knowing that something has come unstuck now. It was as if they looked back to gather strength before facing the cold night, and the uncertainty of a life without Elizabeth.

There are also small moments you may not notice on TV. The Gentlemen at Arms are the two guards with feathered helmets who stand at one end of the casket. They are the most senior of the Sovereign’s bodyguards. I noticed their stance: arms folded over the spear which points down to the ground, one foot slightly behind the other, and heads slightly bowed. One of the guards I saw had bowed his head so deeply, he looked like he was resting his forehead on his spear. It was a moment of deep honor and reflection, but to me he looked exhausted in grief.

As I stood watching I caught the eye of a woman walking by. She was wiping her eyes and shoving a tissue into her white puffer jacket. She looked at me and smiled. I didn’t know her, she didn’t know me, neither of us knew the queen. But it made me want to cry. And I just thought "none of this makes sense!" Why are teenagers in ripped jeans crying walking past an old lady with priceless gems on her coffin? Why is this crying woman making me want to cry over someone I didn’t know? Well, humans don’t make much sense sometimes. And in a world increasingly full of rules and logic and arguments where everyone has to be right, she gave us permission to just be a bit odd. I think a lot of British people are proud of how much this shouldn’t make sense, but somehow does.

Prince Andrew paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, issuing a statement Sunday calling her "three in one' -- Mummy, Mother, Your Majesty.

The Duke of York attached to his statement a black-and-white photo of him as a baby being held by his mother following his birth in 1960.

"Mummy, your love for a son, your compassion, your care, your confidence I will treasure forever. I have found your knowledge and wisdom infinite, with no boundary or containment. I will miss your insights, advice and humor," Andrew wrote.

He added, "As our book of experiences closes, another opens, and I will forever hold you close to my heart with my deepest love and gratitude, and I will tread gladly into the next with you as my guide."

Addressing his mother as "your Majesty," he said it had been an "honor and privilege to serve you."

"Mother -- of the nation, your devotion and personal service to our nation is unique and singular; your people show their love and respect in so many different ways and I know you are looking on honoring their respect," Andrew wrote, ending the statement with, "God save The King."

The U.K. government advised members of the public on Sunday to stop joining the miles-long line of people waiting to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth at London's Westminster Hall.

"A decision will be taken today on when entry to the queue will close as it reaches final capacity," the U.K. Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said in a statement that appeared on its queue tracker streaming on YouTube. "To avoid disappointment please do not set off to join the queue."