‘It’s such a big moment in history’
When news came that the Queen was sick, Martina Bevan’s office in central London became a flurry of activity.
The Taranaki woman works at the British Royal Legion, a charity that provides financial, social and emotional support to veterans of the Armed Forces. If the Queen died, they would have to close, so they had to prepare for the worst.
‘‘We had heaps of meetings because I don’t think we can take donations for a certain amount of time because she’s our patron, and it’s out of respect,’’ Bevan said.
The state funeral for the Queen is expected to take place 10 days after her death. During that time many organisations in Britain will close, while others may limit their activities.
Bevan, who was born in England and moved to Taranaki six years ago, was visiting her extended family in London when the news finally broke that Queen Elizabeth II, who reigned over the UK for 70 years, died.
They spent the evening at home watching a livestream of events. ‘‘My sister cried when she was watching it because it’s so emotional.
‘‘You see all the messages on Facebook and Instagram and on the news all the people are sitting outside the gates and putting flowers down all crying.’’
Bevan said it still didn’t feel real. The country had just got a new prime minister in Liz Truss and now they were going to get a new king.
‘‘So everyone’s going to talk about that, there’s going to be nothing else except for that.’’
The 20-year-old said her family and friends were in shock but planned to visit memorial sites in the morning.
‘‘I will go to Buckingham Palace, obviously it’s going to be packed.
‘‘It’s such a big moment in history.’’