Westcountry friends take ‘Knitted Queen’ to state funeral
TWO schoolfriends from Plymouth made the pilgrimage up to London late on Sunday night so they could pay their respects to Her Majesty, bringing with them their own little mascot – a knitted Queen, writes Erin Black.
Janice Black and Tracy Hemmett arrived in London at 3am on Monday and spent two hours walking through the city, hoping to find a good spot to see the Queen’s funeral procession.
Along the way, they made some new friends who had also travelled the length and breadth of the country for the same reason. They set up a base together next to St James’s Palace and watched on as the procession made its way down the Mall.
“Tracey and I love the Queen and have done all our lives,” said Janice. “She was an amazing monarch who dedicated her whole life to serving the country. Because I love the Queen, one of my colleagues who knits very kindly offered to knit the Queen for me for the Diamond Jubilee. She has been sat on my desk every day for years and I brought her along for a final farewell to the actual Queen.”
‘Knitted Queen’, as she has been dubbed, went down well with the people in the crowd. “She has caused a source of amusement for people in the crowd waiting – people have been asking to have their photo taken with her,” added Janice.
She and Tracy felt very glad to have been able to pay their respects in person to the “mould-breaking” monarch, saying there will “never be another quite like her”.
“It was worth the journey and staying up all night to get here with our new friends,” Janice added. The pair and their new friends parted ways with a hug and a promise to meet back at the same spot for the coronation – ‘Knitted Queen’ included.