Quarter of million people paid their respects to Queen
AROUND a quarter of a million people, including many from the Westcountry, paid their respects in person to the Queen by viewing her coffin as it lay in state in London.
Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan gave the figure yesterday morning, a day after the nation’s longest-reigning monarch was buried at Windsor Castle.
Ms Donelan said her department was still “crunching the numbers” as to how many people had queued for hours in London to process past the Queen’s coffin at Westminster Hall, but added that she believed they numbered around 250,000.
The royal family is observing another week of mourning for the Queen, after a state funeral on Monday that was full of emotion and ceremony under the gaze of the world.
Ms Donelan said that most British people would see the cost of the Queen’s funeral as “money well spent”, but could not estimate the full cost yet.
Pressed on Sky News about the cost of the funeral, she said: “I’m not sure of the exact costings but, as I say, I think the British public would argue that that was money well spent. You saw so many thousands out there and I don’t think anybody can suggest that our late monarch didn’t deserve that sendoff, given the duty and the selfless service that she committed to over 70 years.”
She said it would be “downright preposterous” to suggest otherwise. She added: “It was great sense of the community coming together. I always think of our late monarch as the glue that brought society together.”
Ms Donelan described the queue for Westminster Hall as “phenomenal” as she paid tribute to the volunteers who helped manage and support the proceedings of recent days, including the lying-instate. She told the BBC: “There’s no dress rehearsal is there for this kind of scenario. It has been in the plans for years, but obviously we stress-tested everything and worked with community groups.”
Ms Donelan praised the help of the Samaritans, the Red Cross, the police and establishments across London’s South Bank that opened their doors to those queuing. “It was a real team effort to enable people to have that moment to say goodbye and I want to pay tribute to everybody that was involved – all the volunteers, all the marshals, the stewards, it was incredible,” she added.
King Charles III decreed on September 9, the day after the Queen died, that a period of royal mourning would be observed until seven days after her state funeral.
Members of the royal family are not expected to carry out official engagements, and flags at royal residences will remain at half-mast until 8am after the final day of royal mourning.
No date has been fixed for the coronation of Charles. Asked whether the proceedings should be scaled down due to the cost-ofliving crisis, Ms Donelan told LBC that “of course, we will be considering everything, but we haven’t made these decisions yet”.