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Meet the last member of public to see Queen Elizabeth's coffin as it lay in state

'A long day but very well worth it. It's nothing compared to what the queen has done for the country,' she says

Published: Mon 19 Sep 2022, 2:16 PM

Updated: Mon 19 Sep 2022, 2:18 PM

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Photo: AFP

Photo: AFP

The last member of the public to view Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin as it lay in state at the Houses of Parliament was Chrissy Heerey, a serving member of the Royal Air Force from Melton Mowbray, according to AP.

"When they came to me and said, 'right, you're the last person', I said, really?!" she told AFP, before heading off to join the crowds for the coffin's procession through central London. "A long day but very well worth it. It's nothing compared to what the queen has done for the country."

She said Monday she went through Westminster Hall twice — the first time in the early hours of the morning and then again just before its doors closed to mourners at 6:30 am.

She said the experience was, “One of the highlights of my life and I feel very privileged to be here.”

As the end of more than four days of the queen’s lying-in-state drew to a close, the stream of mourners slowed to a trickle. After Heerey bowed her head toward the coffin and moved away, parliamentary officials paid their last respects before leaving the queen’s coffin in the 900-year-old hall ringed by four candles and military guards in ceremonial uniforms.

Her coffin was being taken later Monday morning to Westminster Abbey for a state funeral attended by 2,000 people.

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