A FAMILY of royalists from Whitehaven were among crowds who witnessed the historic funeral procession of the Queen on Monday after they had waited 10 hours to see Her Majesty lying in state.
Frances Flanagan, 33, made the long journey to the capital on Saturday, along with her mum, Frances Flanagan, and aunts, Karen Flanagan and Muriel Horrocks.
They joined the queue to see the Queen lying in state at Westminster Hall at 4pm on Saturday and saw Her Majesty at 2am on Sunday morning.
Frances said: “It was like a zig-zag queue at the abbey which seemed relentless but well worth it when you get to see her.
"You could hear a pin drop in the hall it’s that quiet. Her coffin was so small."
"On TV it looks big but seeing it in real life, we couldn’t believe how small it was.
“We managed to see the changing of the guards while we were there which was an added bonus. The queue itself was very friendly and was lovely seeing the sights of London on the walk.
“The Samaritans, St. John’s and Red Cross were just some of the volunteers offering free cups of tea, cakes and blankets all keeping spirits high.”
From there the group went on to their hotel, rested then set back off to Buckingham Palace and Green Park to lay flowers.
They queued for three hours, but Green Park was then closed as there was no more space for flowers, so they laid flowers in Hyde Park instead.
“The amount of people paying respect overwhelms you,” Frances said.
The group headed back to the hotel again and slept from 5pm until 2am and then set off to the Mall where they waited from 3am until 11am for the funeral.
Frances said: “There were thousands already there but we managed to get a great spot, second row view at the start of the Mall.
“Everyone’s friendly, you talk, you share food and you just think this is what the Queen would have wanted. We listened to the service on speakers, watched it on phones. Then came the procession.
“Honestly, it was goosebump moment, words I can’t describe, really. I had a lump in my throat but my aunts and loads round us were all crying. It really did make you feel proud to be British.
“Everyone was saying only the Brits could pull this off, and you didn’t need to be a Royalist to enjoy the military show. A day that will never be forgotten.
“My aunties and mam love the Royals, always watch the queens speech every Christmas Day and any royal celebration on TV. We always said if anything happened to the Queen we would go to the funeral.
“Even though we don’t know her personally it’s someone we’ve known all our lives and we are very unlikely to see a queen again in our lifetimes, or a monarch to rule as long as she did.”
READ MORE: Special memories shared from The Queen's 2008 visit to Whitehaven
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