From Taranaki to reporting on the ‘biggest event ever’
Jane Matthews left the Stuff Taranaki newsroom for London in July, and within a couple of months was covering the biggest event of her career.
The 27-year-old now works for The Sun, one of the UK’S biggest news outlets, and was pulled in on her day off just in case the Queen died – which she did on September 9 (New Zealand time) at the age of 96 after 70 years on the throne.
While back home in Taranaki there are only small amounts of memorial flowers and thanks for the Queen’s service are popping up, Matthews said the Queen’s face was literally everywhere she went in London.
‘‘The minute I saw the breaking news notification pop up on my phone, I felt a wave come over me. Then I quite literally texted my parents and said, ‘How crazy that I can say I was in London when the Queen died’.
‘‘I can’t emphasise enough just how massive this is here, because it’s not just a big figure dying, it’s the Queen, and someone in the newsroom today said, ‘This is the biggest event we will ever cover in our lives’.’’
Matthews said it was a surreal feeling, comparing it to other world events where everyone remembered where they were, like when Diana, Princess of Wales died in 1997.
She knew it was one of those times in her life she would look back on and proudly talk about for a long time.
Matthews said her job had been hectic since the news of the Queen’s passing broke.
She has covered a variety of stories, including when coins and passports will be changed, a photographer who captured the final public photo of the Queen, King Charles III’S tribute to Queen Consort Camilla, and announcing when the Queen’s funeral will be held.
Matthews said the English public were genuinely upset by the loss. Her flatmate had told her how he was struggling to come to terms with ‘‘the end of an era’’.
She said she hadn’t had time to get to Buckingham Palace herself yet, but the sheer amount of people there and the amount of flowers being left were telling of the mood in Britain.
However, it was hard to tell what the country’s feelings were just yet about Charles becoming king.
‘‘Everyone is still mourning the Queen, and while King Charles officially took his role on Saturday, it’s still very much about the Queen.’’