Queen's funeral: Luton reporter joins crowds at Hyde Park to watch the historic event

Monday September 19, 2022.

Whether you were lucky enough to be invited to the Abbey for the State funeral of our beloved Queen or simply watched it on TV at home with family and friends, it’s a day you’ll never forget.

Like hundreds of thousands of others, my husband Andrew and I wanted to be part of that huge crowd united in love and respect for the only Monarch most of us had ever known.

And what an experience, from the moment we arrived at Green Park tube station, being swept up in a sea of humanity that flowed through Mayfair and ended in Hyde Park.

Everyone involved – from the police to marshals, from event organisers to St John Ambulance crews – were unfailingly pleasant, polite and helpful.

I have never seen so many people, nor felt so safe and secure in the midst of such a multitude. We were all there with the same focus and for the same reason . . . to pay homage and thanks to Her Majesty, and a life synonymous with service.

It didn’t matter that our view was obscured, that we only realized something was happening when a forest of arms holding smart phones went up in front of us.

The service was relayed through loudspeakers and as the National Anthem was played, everyone joined in singing ‘God save the King,’ which brought both tears and goose bumps.

And mimicking the queues for the Lying-in State, we came away with a brand new band of friends – Canadian-born Michel, Philip and Kate who’d travelled down from Nottingham and Keith and Diane from the Isle of Wight who were celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary.

We women of a certain age were anxious about ‘comfort’ facilities. But we needn’t have worried – there was an immaculate line of portaloos that were maintained spotlessly throughout the day.

Andrew – a fairly recent arrival from a former colony – was delighted to see a Horse Ambulance follow the Household Cavalry and was also overwhelmed by the emotion of the day.

An ardent Royalist, he played the bagpipes at the lighting of the Jubilee beacon at St Paul’s Walden Bury and was incredibly honoured to take part in such an historical occasion.

He recalls first being caught up in the magic of the monarchy as a young boy, celebrating the Queen’s coronation in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) in 1953 and says: “It’s stayed with me ever since.

“I found the depth of feeling of those around us in Hyde Park humbling; their single-mindedness – that determination to express their love, respect and thanks – absolutely fascinating.

“What impressed me even more was that throughout the day, in that huge crowd, we didn’t see a single negative incident or reaction, not one.

“And that re-enforced my belief in the Royal institution.”

We will never see anything like it again. And I’m so proud we were there to share it.