Royal town’s tribute after police’s ‘stay away’ warning is not heeded
THE MANAGER of a Windsor pub says he was “disappointed” more people could not come to pay their respects to the Duke of Edinburgh – but he was glad that the Royal family was able to “mourn in private”.
Stuart O’Brien, 42, manager of the Two Brewers next door to Cambridge Gate, said he was proud to have kept up the pub’s rapport with the Crown Estate by remaining closed and not encouraging more visitors to the town.
“We closed so that we could pay our own respects but also to help not have too many crowds around,” he said. “With the rapport we have with the Crown Estate it was nice for us to not encourage people to come down.”
Asked how he felt at the lack of patrons, he said: “I’m disappointed, yes, obviously from a business sense, because it would have been huge, especially for the whole of Windsor.
“But the other part of that is that it’s helped the family to be
able mourn in private, alone, and not have too much publicity around it.”
Royal fans, meanwhile, spoke of wanting to “be there” for the Queen by paying tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh in Windsor.
Thames Valley Police had warned people to stay away because of Covid pandemic rules on public gatherings, and only a few were present in the majestic Royal town during the morning.
However, as the day went on, hundreds arrived in the glorious sunshine to pay tribute, wearing Philip-themed clothing, waving Union flags and holding flowers.
At 3pm the crowd joined the nation for a minute of silence before briefly applauding.
Among them was artist Kaya Mar, 65, who stood alongside an oil painting of Philip that he created last week.
A group of people could also be seen wearing custom face masks bearing Philip’s face. Leisha Brace, another wellwisher, said: “We’re down here because we love the Duke and he’s very important to us in the UK.
“We’re here to support the Queen and the Royal family because it’s nice for them to know there’s people out here that miss him. We want to be there for her.”
Victoria Nicholson said: “I love him to pieces. He was human, and I think it was him putting people at ease, he always managed to do that. I think the turnout is great, people are being quite sensible and I know it’s not too busy but I think people should be here.”