Local Councillor, Liam James Dean, was amongst the hundreds of thousands of people who queued for 14 hours to pay final respects to Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
The North Manor Councillor made the trip to London late last Thursday night with his partner, joining the now infamous queue just before midnight.
Liam, shadow cabinet member for Culture and the Economy on Bury Council, said it was a “humbling experience” that will “stay with me for the rest of my life.”
The queue, in which over 250,000 people are thought to have joined over the four days the late Queen spent lying in state, shot to national prominence for its sheer size – with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport closing entry to the queue at one point as wait times topped 24 hours.
Speaking on his experience, Cllr Dean said,
“I’ve always been a loyal monarchist and have always respected and admired the dedication to duty from Her Majesty. After her years of service to us, we felt the least we could do was travel to pay our final respects in person.”
“We joined the queue just before midnight with thousands of others – all of us knowing we were in for the long haul. It was quite a surreal experience, queuing through central London all night.”
The mood throughout the night was reported as “respectful, but friendly and upbeat.”
“It needed to be”, Cllr Dean adds, “The temperature dropped through the night, and the wind was quite unpleasant at times – we were all there to pay our respects, and everyone came together to keep each other’s spirits up. Stiff upper lip – bulldog spirit – and wanting to pay our tribute to a lady who gave so much – that’s what kept us all going.”
In Westminster Hall, The Queen’s coffin rested on a raised platform; each corner of the platform guarded around the clock by units from the Sovereign’s Bodyguard, Foot Guards or the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment.
“At just before 14:00 we arrived in Westminster Hall which was silent; you could hear a pin drop”, Cllr Dean comments.
“We each got to pay our respects individually, which was quite surreal. Standing in front of Her Majesty, everything and everyone faded out, and you were blessed with what felt like a very personal and private moment to say Thank You.”
Cllr Dean said he bowed twice to Her Majesty, once on behalf of himself – his own personal mark of thanks and respect, and once on behalf of those who could not be there in person but asked him to pay their respects too.
Cllr Dean summarised, “We have lost a dedicated public servant, a mother and grandmother to the nation, an example to us all. We may never see her kind again, but we will never forget her. May She rest in peace as we come together, as she would’ve wanted, to say God Save The King.”
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was Britain’s longest reigning monarch, having reigned for 70 years. She died earlier this year, on 8th September 2022. Members of the public had the opportunity to sign books of condolence throughout the borough of Bury and can also still sign the online book of condolence at www.Royal.uk.
