Dame Kelly Holmes said she felt "compelled" to queue for 11 hours to see the Queen lying in state.
Queen Elizabeth II will be laid to rest today in a state funeral at Westminster Abbey, with proceedings set to begin in the coming hour. The monarch passed away on September 8 at the age of 96 in her home of Balmoral, Scotland.
The Queen's coffin was displayed at Westminster Hall for the past few days so members of the public could pay tribute to the monarch. At some points, queues reached a 24 hour waiting time and Kelly felt it was her duty to join the queue herself.
She was in the queue for 11 hours with the public, with her stood next to a young family who wanted to pay tribute to the monarch.
Speaking about her decision to queue, she told the BBC : "It was a remarkable day. I met so many people; people of all ages. I felt compelled to be in that queue. I had to do it. I changed all my plans for the weekend.
"I didn't mind if I had to stay there for 24 hours. I felt it was my goodbye to her as she was very important in my life."
Following the Queen's passing, Kelly has been paying tributes to Her Majesty.
"Her aura, every time I’ve met her - you’re just astounded by her presence," she said during coverage two weeks ago, "People might say to me, ‘why did you wear bright on television?’ Every time I met her, she had a block of colour on. So today, this is for Her Majesty."
During an appearance on Loose Women last week, Kelly cried as she paid tribute to the monarch.
As the show crossed over from This Morning today, hosted by Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby, they played some sweet clips of the monarch throughout her reign to the song We'll Meet Again by Dame Vera Lynn as Kelly teared up.
"We will be sharing some very special stories about meeting her and honouring her legacy, starting with playing that, one of her favourite songs, which has already got Kelly in tears," Ruth said as she opened the show.
