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Chronicle Live
Chronicle Live
National
Simon Meechan

Quarter of a million saw Queen's coffin lying in state, Culture Secretary says

Around a quarter of a million people viewed the Queen's coffin as it lay in state, the Government estimates.

Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan said her department is still "crunching the numbers" but believes around 250,000 went to Westminster Hall to pay their respects to Elizabeth II.

Ms Donelan described the queue for Westminster Hall as “phenomenal”, as she paid tribute to the volunteers who helped bring everything together.

Read more: Prince William and Kate Middleton share heartfelt 'goodbye' tribute to Queen

She told BBC Breakfast: “There’s no dress rehearsal, is there, for this kind of scenario? It has been in the plans for years, but obviously we stress-tested everything and worked with community groups.”

Ms Donelan praised the help of the Samaritans, the Red Cross, the police and establishments across the South Bank that opened their doors to those queuing.

Among the visitors to London friends from Northumberland who made a childhood pact to travel to the capital to pay their respects when the Queen died. Ainsley Blackburn, 36, and Gemma Morton, 36, were just 14 when the then Ashington High School students made the pledge.

Ainsley (right) and Gemma (left) committed to the trip when they were 14 years old (Chonicle Live)

Ainsley said: "We love the Queen and we've always had a pact that we would come down if this happened. We've said we would so it from the age of 14.

"We don't know her personally but we have both lost our grandmas in the last two years. She was the grandma of the nation! We want to come down and pay our respects.

"She gave her entire life to us and she makes you proud to be British. She was working until she was 96 and two days before she died. She was just amazing. We wanted to be here to feel the atmosphere."

The royal family is observing another week of mourning for the Queen after a state funeral on Monday that was full of emotion and ceremony under the gaze of the world. The King is since thought to have flown to Scotland with the Queen Consort to grieve privately at Balmoral, the estate where the Queen spent her final days.

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