Crowds gathered across the country today to remember the Queen during her state funeral at Westminster Abbey in London.
The funeral marked an end to the 10 days of national mourning in the United Kingdom, an end to the 70-year reign of Queen Elizabeth II, and an end to the transition of a new monarch – King Charles III.
Leading up to the funeral this morning, a strong contrast was revealed. A contrast with what we have seen over the past 10 days – endless crowds of people across the country gathering to pay their respect to the late Queen.
Instead, this morning began with a focus on ceremony that carried on throughout the day. When the Queen’s coffin emerged from Westminster Hall, the waiting procession was surround by quiet, only the tenor bells from Westminster Abbey could be heard. It marked a moment of pause before some of finality began, a definite end to one era and the beginning of a new one.
Then, suddenly, the procession was underway and moving towards Westminster Abbey at 10.44am. The sound of pipes and drums suddenly arrived in full force and the spectacle of the ceremony was underway.
The crowds of people, however, could be found waiting elsewhere.
In Manchester, hundreds gathered to view the funeral service on big screens in Cathedral Gardens, Exchange Square and inside Manchester Cathedral.
This scene was replicated throughout the country.
In London, people filled up viewing areas to watch the procession after the funeral, when the coffin would be brought to Wellington Arch after leaving Westminster Abbey. Those areas reached maximum capacity at around 9am to see a procession that would pass by hours later, sometime after 12pm.
Inside Westminster Abbey, a congregation of 2,000 people, made up of world leaders and royalty, gathered to watch the funeral, including King Charles, Queen Consort Camilla, and US President Joe Biden.
But outside and elsewhere, away from the ceremony, people continued to gather to pay their respects, as they had been doing throughout these past 10 days.
Marking an occasion that was coming to an end. Being witness to something that was hard to imagine before, and won’t be forgotten after.
