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The very last person to view Queen Elizabeth's lying-in-state said it was a 'highlight' of her life

Sep 19, 2022, 19:10 IST
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The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II after the end of public viewing in Westminster Hall on Monday.Laura Lezza/Getty Images
  • Hundreds of thousands of mourners queued to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth II.
  • Chrissy Heerey was the last member of the public to leave Westminster Hall on Monday morning.
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The last member of the public to view Queen Elizabeth II's lying-in-state on Monday said it was a "highlight" of her life, BBC News reported.

Chrissy Heerey from Leicestershire, England, first saw the Queen's coffin in Westminster Hall at 1.15 a.m. on Monday, but said she "felt I needed to go through again" so lined up a second time, the BBC reported.

She saw the coffin a second time at about 6.30 a.m. on Monday, shortly before the lying-in-state closed to the public.

"I just felt very proud that I was there and just very honored that I was given the privilege to be able to go through again, and obviously be the last person," Heerey said, according to the BBC.

Heerey, who is a serving member of the Royal Air Force, said it was "one of the highlights of my life."

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"I swore my allegiance to her — I just feel very proud being in the air force and being one of her subjects," she told BBC News.

The coffin left Westminster Hall shortly after 10.35 a.m. for the Queen's funeral that was held at Westminster Abbey.

Elizabeth died at the age of 96 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8.

Her coffin was taken to Westminster Hall in London last week to lie in state, drawing hundreds of thousands of people who wanted to pay their respects to Britain's longest-serving monarch.

At its peak, people were waiting for more than 24 hours, Sky News reported.

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