At Windsor Castle on Friday, crowds gathered just outside the grounds with many people laying flowers and hand-written cards by the King Henry VIII gate. Among them was Beryl McAvoy, 81, from Ealing, who had come to the same spot 25 years ago to lay flowers after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
“Thinking of the Queen, she was simply beautiful,” McAvoy said. “She’s always been there for everybody. It seems strange that she is not here any more. It’s been a long time.”
McAvoy, who was 11 when Elizabeth II became Queen, said she initially found it difficult to accept the news she had passed away. “I didn’t believe it at first. It was really sad,” she said. “But she died peacefully. She wasn’t in pain or anything, which was nice, although she was getting frail.”
Trevor Skerritt, 59, from Guildford, said he felt drawn to come to Windsor to pay his respects because of what the Queen represented. “For most of us, she’s been the only monarch we have known,” Skerritt said. “She has given us solidity. She’s kept the royal family going through thick and thin.”
“I actually don’t think her passing away is simply just sad,” he added. “She lived to 96, and she’s lived a good life. She’s quite an impressive person. Most people, when they think of the royal family, they don’t just think of a monarch but they picture Elizabeth II. She’s kind of been here forever, so it’s a big change in the country’s structure.”
Ewa, 60, who is originally from Sweden but lives near Windsor, said that as well as paying her respects on Friday, she had come to Windsor on Thursday when she heard there were concerns for the Queen’s health.
“I came here yesterday before she passed because I wanted to give encouragement, and I’ve come today to pay my respects.”
Ewa said she has mixed emotions. “I guess it was expected but not accepted,” she saod. “I kind of expected that, with her age, it may have been time for her to go and be with [Prince] Philip. But at the same time it’s difficult to accept. It feels strange to say that we have a king now. She was not only a queen to Britain, but it felt like she was the world’s queen too.”
Jessica Owens, 27, from Hertfordshire, does not consider herself a royalist but felt compelled to come to Windsor to pay her respects.
“I think the Queen’s passing is such a big moment that I thought I would come down here and pay my respects,” Evans said. “Whatever your views of the royal family or the monarchy, the Queen is still a great-grandmother, loved by many, and I’m sure her passing has reminded some people of how difficult it is to lose a loved one”.
