First mourners in the Elizabeth line
Tears, doffed hats, curtseys and respectful silence from sad subjects
ROYAL superfans who queued for days to be the first to get a glimpse of the Queen’s coffin broke down in tears when they finally got their chance to say goodbye.
Distraught mourners paid their respects yesterday after the doors of Westminster Hall were opened for Her Majesty’s lying in state.
Some doffed their hats while others curtseyed as they passed through the hall in a final show of respect.
Among the first to pour through the doors of the Palace of Westminster for the historic occasion was Vanessa Nanthakumaran, who was at the front of the queue after join
ing it at 11.30am on Monday. ‘It’s a unique and a historic moment and I wanted to pay my respects so it was well worth waiting for,’ the 56-year-old Londoner said after 53and-a-half hours in the queue.
‘It was an emotional experience. I was fighting back tears as I approached the coffin and I managed to dignify myself. I wanted to do something so I said prayers for the Queen, thanked her for her great service and wished her peace and rest.’
Alongside her was Delroy Morrison, a father- of-five from Wembley, north-west London, who was the fourth person to enter. Describing the moment he saw Her Majesty’s coffin, the carpenter said: ‘I paused for a moment, doffed my hat to my Queen and said, “Thank you, you have done a good job right up to the very end.” ’
Mr Morrison, 61, slept on the pavements in the wind and rain alongside hundreds of others – a community they nicknamed ‘The Village’ – to be among the first to pay their respects. When he was asked why he showed such commitment to say farewell, Mr Morrison replied: ‘My Queen is gone and she is not coming back.’
He was joined by Mellissa Di Roma, a 34- year- old royal enthusiast from Italy who said she recently moved to the UK because of Her Majesty’s influence.
Crying uncontrollably, Miss Di Roma said: ‘ I just waited for so long just to see her. It’s an honour to be here in the UK, to be part of this.
‘For this big occasion I... took the train and then I arrived at midnight [yesterday], and since then I’ve been queuing for this honour, just to say thank you and goodbye.’
June Allen-Westbrook, 78, had travelled from near Leeds Castle with her friend Janice Cook, 67.
Miss Allen-Westbrook, who was in a wheelchair, said: ‘It was just overwhelming. They didn’t rush us, I had time to cross my heart and pay respects. There will just never be anyone like her again.’ Eight-year- old Louis was one of the youngest mourners, attending alongside his parents. He said: ‘I really liked the lighting and the ceiling.’ His mother, Zohr Fatima, said: ‘It’s the end of an era.’
Clare Paul, 63, from Surrey, went through the hall with Victoria Farrow, 40, from Kent, who she met in the queue.
‘It was all done to perfection,’ Miss Paul said. ‘It was absolutely moving and the love in that room, well… you could feel it.’ Husband and wife Joanne and Alastair Simpson said they felt ‘surrounded by history’ as they visited the Queen’s final public resting place.
Mrs Simpson wiped a tear from her eye as she said: ‘As soon as I entered it hit me. I did a curtsy and thanked her. She called what she did duty, but I call it love.’
She added: ‘ We were stood at front when they changed the guard so we had longer with her. It was
amazing – everything was so perfectly timed and the crown was up there glistening.’
After joining the queue at 11.35am on Monday, Anne Daley, 65, was the second person to see Her Majesty’s coffin.
‘It was a shattering experience, really, and incredibly upsetting,’ she said as she left the Palace of Westminster.
Grace Gothard, from Mitcham, Surrey, struggled to find the words as she fought back tears. After pausing and collecting her emotions, she said: ‘It reminded me of my own mother. May the Queen rest in peace.’
The sentiment was shared by others who said they were so moved by the experience because they felt the Queen was part of their family.
Ann Corrigan, a mother- of- one who travelled from Swindon to attend the commemoration, slept on the pavements along the Thames in wet weather with no more than an umbrella – but said it was worth it to get one final goodbye.
‘I think everyone felt like she was part of your family,’ she added. ‘I liked the way she united the country. It didn’t matter about your party politics or religion, she respected and cared for us all.’
Holding back tears, the 67-yearold said: ‘The room was very, very solemn, majestical.’
Monica Farag, 61, was the tenth person in the queue. As she left Westminster, she broke into tears and clutched a white feather which she believed was a message from the Queen.
‘As I got out there, the bird just dropped this feather for me. It is from the Queen,’ she said.
‘As a Catholic, I did a sign of the cross and said my little prayer and did a courtesy.
‘It is privilege and an honour. There are no words to explain the feeling I have.
‘It was well worth the wait and all the rain. It was very sad but absolutely wonderful.’
Max Hoene, 23, travelled from Cologne, Germany, just to see the lying in state.
‘I think there are lots of young people who love the Queen and who were very impressed with all that she did,’ he said.
Mr Hoene, along with thousands of other mourners, will return to the streets of Westminster on Monday for the Queen’s funeral.
EVEN in a country with a history as long, distinguished and glorious as ours, barely a day can have pulsated with such intensity and emotion.
Queen Elizabeth II was not just the longest-reigning and longest-living British monarch, but she was indisputably the most loved.
The huge affection in which she was held was illustrated by the enormous crowds lining the route of the procession as she left Buckingham Palace for the final time in her crown-adorned coffin.
And it was reinforced by the snaking lines of mourners filing past the late sovereign’s body in reverence and condolence as it lies in state in venerable Westminster Hall until her funeral on Monday.
There is, of course, an unattractive tendency for people in the 21st century to attend any high profile event that might generate social media ‘likes’.
But those descending on London were different, determined to make a solemn demonstration of their gratitude to a figurehead who set an impeccable example in everything she did during a lifetime of uncomplaining and dutiful service.
These people came not just from all across the country, but from all parts of the globe, and from every age group, ethnicity and background.
Could there be a more stunning refutation of the callow sneerers in the liberal elite and Left- wing Press who regard the monarchy, and the traditional British values it embodies, as hopelessly outdated? How utterly out of touch they appear.
In a highly-charged week of memorable, heart-breaking and sombre moments since the Queen’s sad death, yesterday was perhaps the most remarkable.
Drawing on all the pageantry the country can summon, Her Majesty’s casket left the palace by horse- drawn gun carriage in melancholy progression led by King Charles, the Princess Royal, the Duke of York and the Earl of Wessex.
This grieving nation, however, would have been heartened by William and Harry walking side by side in the cortege – a poignant echo of Princess Diana’s funeral almost 25 years ago to the day.
Their once seemingly unbreakable relationship has, of course, been severely strained by Harry and Meghan taking selfserving and spiteful potshots at the Royal Family from their Californian bolthole.
With luck, however, the grief of their beloved grandmother’s death will act as the catalyst which persuades them to end the enmity. The Duke of Sussex binning his tell-all book would be a perfect start.
In this week which none of us will ever forget, it’s been drummed home how the Queen showed the world that there is more that unites than divides us.
From prince to pauper, it’s an important lesson we should all remember.