Mourners at pub where Charles enjoyed a pint
A TREORCHY pub opened its doors on Monday for mourners to watch the Queen’s funeral.
King Charles visited The Lion in Treorchy in July when he was still Prince of Wales, and poured a pint of ale behind its bar.
Months later, as the Queen’s state funeral took place, the service was displayed on the pub’s multiple TV screens as several families watched the broadcast over drinks and food.
Landlord Adrian Emmett said he thought it was important that pubs “at the heart of a community” offered a place for people to come together to mark the occasion.
“We wanted to be open because this is a place where people come together not just in the good times but also when we need to join as a community,” Mr Emmett said.
“I don’t care if we have one customer or 50, it’s not about that. It’s that we’re here if people want to come in.
“We all knew this day would come but it was still a massive shock when it happened,” he added.
“I lost my grandmother on Christmas Eve last year, and when this happened I think a lot of people related it to when they lost someone dear in their family.
“When Prince Charles came here he and Camilla just seemed so normal and they had so much time for everyone - they affected people’s lives for the better.
“So our thoughts are with them today.”
Mr Emmett said he hoped the new Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Kate, would visit in the near future.
He added: “We’ve started a tradition now, the future King has to pour a pint behind the bar at The Lion.”
At 11.55am those in the pub observed the two-minute silence with one customer, Steven Williams, standing out of respect for the former monarch.
The 35-year-old from Ton Pentre who came to the pub with his partner, daughter Harper and their friends, said he thought it was important to mark the occasion.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” he said.
“She’s been working all her life so we thought we could take at least one day out of our lives to pay our respects.
“I think it’s important that the children remember it too.
“We won’t see another queen in our lifetime, and they won’t either.”
Reacting to William and Kate being named the Prince and Princess of Wales, Mr Williams said: “It will be good for Wales if they’re proactive.
“They’re much more relatable to us and I think a lot of us would rather see them on the throne.
“But at the end of the day you’ve got to give King Charles a chance as well.”
Bar staff hugged each other as God Save the King was sang in Westminster Abbey, but there was notably no singing from pub-goers.
Bartender Xander Morgan-Roe, 19, called the day “a pinnacle of history”.
“People will want to mark this day in different ways, some will stay at home but some will want to come here and socialise with others while it’s happening. So I feel like I’m doing my bit to be part of it,” he said.
“It’s a heartbreaking time, she was a brilliant woman and will go down in history as one of the best, if not the best, monarch in history.
“But because of that I like to see this as a celebration as well. She did her duty, she did it greatly and now she gets to rest.”
He added: “There are differing opinions about the Royal Family among my friends, it all depends on how they were brought up I think, and what their political views are.
“But I’d say most still believe it’s an important moment in our history and even our culture.”
Diana James, 85, who emigrated to Australia from Swansea when she was 20 years old said she felt very emotional to be back in the country during the Queen’s funeral.
Sitting in the pub with her younger brother Anthony Watkins, Mrs James said: “I came back to Wales for a wedding and now I’m also here for a funeral.
“Watching the service I’ve cried on and off all morning but I’m incredibly proud and almost homesick to be here during such a time.
“Ninety-six is not a bad innings and she had a wonderful life.”
She added: “It was wonderful to see George and Charlotte, they sat and behaved very well. And I think the world of William and Catherine.”
No councils in Wales arranged for there to be public screenings of the funeral despite viewing events taking place across the UK, including in cinemas, cathedrals and parks. Nor was there be a service of commemoration as has been organised in other devolved countries.
King Charles visited the nation for the first time on Friday since ascending the throne.
Thousands of well-wishers lined the streets to greet the new monarch but there were also small protests at each of the locations Charles and the Queen Consort journeyed to.
Some, including actor Michael Sheen, criticised the timing of the King’s visit to Wales which took place on Owain Glyndwr Day, a day celebrating the life of the man who led the last rebellion against the English and is seen by many to be the last nativeborn Prince of Wales.
A petition calling for an end to the title being bestowed on the heir apparent of the British monarchy has now reached more than 30,000 signatures.
THE UK has said “thank you” and “goodbye” to the Queen as she was laid to rest on Monday after a 70-year reign that helped define the nation.
The royal family has been left bereft by the death of their mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, and at times their grief was palpable with King Charles III looking emotional and close to tears at the state funeral.
The Countess of Wessex was also seen weeping during the long day as was the Duchess of Sussex, who returned with the Duke of Sussex to the royal family to share their grief.
But Charles and his family have been consoled by the support and love they have received from the public, including the tens of thousands who turned out to watch the late monarch’s funeral procession make its slow journey through London and on to Windsor Castle for the committal service.
The state hearse arrived strewn with flowers and with the cheers and applause of mourners ringing in the air, and waiting were three companions who knew the Queen well but would never speak of their friendship.
Muick and Sandy, corgis that were gifts from her son the Duke of York, were taken to watch the procession on its way to St George’s Chapel for the committal, and nearby her fell pony Emma was walked from the royal mews to see its owner pass.
The Queen was finally laid to rest with her husband the Duke of Edinburgh in the King George VI Memorial Chapel at St George’s during a private evening burial service attended just by close family.
The day was filled with personal touches, with the wreath adorning her coffin featuring a handwritten note from the King, saying: “In loving and devoted memory. Charles R.”
Charles had requested the floral tribute which replaced a wreath of Balmoral flowers with foliage and blooms cut from the gardens of Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and Highgrove.
The simple committal service at St George’s Chapel contrasted with the earlier state funeral, with the Queen’s close staff represented, including her senior dresser and personal adviser Angela Kelly, alongside individuals like Earl Spencer, the brother of Diana, Princess of Wales.
It was heavy with symbolism with the Camp Colour from the military unit personally commanded by the Queen – Queen’s Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards – placed on her coffin by the King.
Baron Parker – the Lord Chamberlain and a former MI5 chief, and the most senior official in her royal household – “broke” his wand of office by dismantling it into two halves and laying them on her coffin.
As the committal service drew to a close the sovereign’s piper, Pipe Major Paul Burns played a lament and walked away from the congregation, his tune fading into the chapel air.
Earlier in the day, the state funeral at Westminster Abbey was attended by dignitaries including hundreds of heads of state, and with London full with mourners the event called for the largest policing operation undertaken by the Metropolitan Police.
Among the 2,000-strong congregation at the abbey were foreign royalty, leading figures from UK life and world leaders including US President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, New Zealand Prime Minister and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
During his sermon, the Archbishop of Canterbury told the congregation the outpouring of emotion for the Queen “arises from her abundant life and loving service, now gone from us”.
Justin Welby described the Queen as having touched “a multitude of lives” and being a “joyful” figure for many.
He told mourners: “People of loving service are rare in any walk of life. Leaders of loving service are still rarer.
“But in all cases those who serve will be loved and remembered when those who cling to power and privileges are forgotten.
“The grief of this day – felt not only by the late Queen’s family but all round the nation, Commonwealth and world – arises from her abundant life and loving service, now gone from us.
“She was joyful, present to so many, touching a multitude of lives.”
Mr Welby, standing in the church where kings and queens have been crowned since 1066, also said that the Queen had declared on her 21st birthday “that her whole life would be dedicated to serving the nation and Commonwealth”.
He added: “Rarely has such a promise been so well kept. Few leaders receive the outpouring of love we have seen.”