I visited the Queen lying in state – it was silent & incredibly moving, almost like magic but I wasn’t expecting it
MOURNERS yesterday told how the emotional power of seeing the Queen’s coffin reduced them to tears.
After queuing patiently for hours on end, they arrived at Westminster Hall excited — but many were then overcome in the sombre setting.
Some have even been offered support after finding the experience so highly emotional.
Sabina Webber, 59, spoke of the jovial atmosphere while queuing for six hours before her mood unexpectedly shifted.
The pet carer from Stoke Newington, North East London, said: “It was really emotional.
"As soon as you step into the hall, it’s silent and incredibly moving. It was almost like magic.
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“I have total respect for the Queen, a woman who gave up her life for us and so I just had to come here — but I wasn’t expecting the effect it would have on me.”
Former Ministry of Defence worker Joy Sharpe, 63, also queued for six hours and could not stop sobbing as she left the hall with husband Kevin, 66.
The mum, who set out from her home in Loughborough, Leics, at 4am yesterday, said: “I would’ve queued for 30 hours if I needed to.
“She’s the only Queen I’ve ever known and she was a lovely lady.
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"I walked by the coffin and curtsied but then I broke down and cried uncontrollably.
"Maybe it’s because she means so much to us and has been through thick and thin.”
Lindy Diaper, 54, a Suffolk reflexologist, said: “It was completely silent in the Hall.
"It was incredible. I didn’t expect it to have such a powerful effect.
“Seeing the coffin was so real and so final.”
One of the thousand volunteers keeping watch over the queue on the other side of the Thames said: “Everyone has been in great spirits.
"People are making friends with those around them and looking after each other.
“But on the other side, my colleagues have had to offer support to people once they have actually passed through Westminster Hall and seen the coffin.
It comes as...
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“It’s been very emotional for some, and distressing.
Amy Harris, 34, described the atmosphere in Westminster Hall as “breathtaking” and “very peaceful”.
Among the estimated 3,000 people arriving each hour to see the Queen lying in state was her former Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband Philip.
Dressed in black, Mrs May curtsied as she passed the coffin of the Queen, who she described in the Commons as “the most remarkable person I have ever met”.
The coffin is being guarded at all hours by units from the Sovereign’s Bodyguard, the Household Division or Yeoman Warders of the Tower of London.
One who blacked out on Wednesday evening is said to have “recovered shortly afterwards”.
The Hall is open 23 hours a day, shutting for 60 minutes at 3am to clean, until just before Monday’s state funeral.
Painter and decorator Steve Brownsell, 64, wife Christine, 63, and son Harry, 35, joined the queue at 3.45am after coming from Hemel Hempstead, Herts.
'Very peaceful'
Steve said: “What really moved me was the amount of uniformed ex-servicemen and women who you’d see fixing their badges and berets before paying their respects.”
Christine, who works with special needs children, added: “It was a lovely atmosphere.
"Everyone was sharing drinks and snacks.
"We all even broke into a sing-song of Vera Lynn’s We’ll Meet Again. This really has united the country.”
Donna Bailey, 48, was in floods of tears and comforted by husband Peter, 54, after arriving on a coach from Rotherham, South Yorks.
She said: “As I came out, the enormity of this moment just hit me. I just started crying and couldn’t stop.
“Seeing the coffin with the crown on top in this remarkable building just set me off.
"When you see it on TV, it can’t prepare you for this.
'When you see it on TV, it can’t prepare you for this'
"Being within touching distance of such an amazing lady just became too much for me.”
At 7.30pm tonight, the Queen’s four children will join mourners to stand guard in a repeat of Monday’s vigil at Edinburgh.
Ivor Wallace, mayor of Causeway Coast and the Glens Borough Council, left his home in Northern Ireland at 4am yesterday, queued for six hours from 9am and paid his respects at 3pm.
He said: “It was surreal and really quite emotional, but lovely to be a part of history.
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“I think seeing her coffin on the platform after it was received by her children made you realise this is the loss of a mother, at the end of the day.
“But she was our Queen and the nation’s gran.”
