Christian, Muslim, English, Scottish, Welsh, Australian: public unite at Belfast City Hall to grieve Queen Elizabeth II – and here is what they said

The News Letter was out on the streets in Belfast on September 19, 2022, garnering the views of those who had come to witness The Queen’s funeral on the giant council TV screen.

Hundreds assembled, hailing from across the United Kingdom and beyond.

Here is a sample of what they said:

“She was just an amazing woman, a lot of respect goes out to her,” said Emily Farquhar from western Australia, who has been working in the London media world for the last few years.

She was in Belfast on a family holiday, otherwise she would have been trying to catch proceedings first-hand.

Of the service, the 24-year-old said: “Absolutely incredible. Quite gutted I’m not there at the moment.

“There have been so many people out there supporting her family. It’s a great turnout – and so there should be.”

Brian Stevens, a 65-year-old former TA soldier from Belvoir in Belfast, who was attached to 152 Transport Regiment, described the Queen as “a mother figure”.

“She’d been my queen from the day and hour I was born in 1957 until her passing last week,” he said. “She was always there.”

Neil Reid, a 66-year-old retired electrician from Ayrshire, had this to say of the service: “Nobody does it like the British. No other country in the world could put on a performance like this. A great lady, and a great send-off.”

Two Belfast-based medical students, Surrey woman Vicky Earl and Brightonian Olivia Dupere, both in their early 20s, shared their thoughts.

They had come to City Hall “to be part of something,” said Miss Dupere, “To be part of seeing these moments happen, once in a generation – or less.”

“It was a really, really beautify service,” said Miss Earl. “I thought the sermon was particularly nice – very personal to The Queen. Incredibly, incredibly well-executed.”

Liam Kennelly, a 20-year-old Hertfordshire student, came down because he has no TV or internet connection at home.

An erstwhile Air Cadet (whose career in HM Forces was thwarted by the fact he is colour-blind) said: “It went very smoothly. Showed how much the country loved her and how much she meant to us. She was a constant for 70 years for the country, and now is just not here anymore.”

However, he said “the future could look bright” for the monarchy under Charles III, whose interest in things like climate change mark him out as “a forward-thinking man”.

Chris Lyttle, 70 and from east Belfast, served 15 years in the UDR and seven in the Royal Irish Regiment, attaining the rank of corporal.

A member of Orangefield Presbyterian Church, he had brought religious tracts printed in the style of dollar bills to hand out to those he struck up conversation with.

“The Queen meant an awful lot to me as a serviceman, because I carry her medals,” he said. “All our medals are from The Queen. We have ‘Queen’s Regulations’ as part of the army.”

He added: “She was a really wonderful, Godly lady. I thought it [the service] was very moving, very honourable, and the message of The Gospel was shown to everyone.

“Her Majesty’s Christian commitment was very strong. The Queen will be resurrected – like everyone who’s given their lives to God.”

Meanwhile the Chalks hail from the very place the royal procession was headed – Windsor.

As military bandsmen were getting ready to convey her coffin to the town’s castle, Clive Chalk, a 60-year-old NHS worker, told the News Letter: “At the moment as you can imagine, especially today, there’ll be absolutely loads of people there.

“We went there the other day and there’s a sea of flowers in front of the castle – it is very, very impressive.”

Twenty-two-year-old Londoner Aliza Zafar, a medical student wearing a Muslim headscarf, said that “the commitment she made to serve this country was commendable” – especially at such a young age (Elizabeth was 25 when she inherited the throne) – and that it stands as an example for her to follow in her own career.

Miss Zafar added that, whilst The Queen was Christian and she Muslim, “you never got the feeling she was the queen just for Christians – it was for the public... there was that feeling that she was the queen for us all”.

Ann and David Hickman, 65 and 68, were visiting from Llanelli in Wales.

Mr Hickman, an ex-Royal Mail worker, said he had never known such an outpouring of grief nationally, and that “I think you’ll never see it again”.

Whilst there had been a recent anti-monarchist protest in Cardiff, he added that the bulk of Wales has been “very respectful” to the royals.

Ultimately, he said his message is this: “Thank you for the service over the last 70 years.”

And David Whitley, a 67-year-old retired lift engineer visiting the Province from the village of Bonnyrigg outside Edinburgh, said: “It’s very sad.

“It think it’s going to change the whole dynamics of the monarchy. I’m not the rest of the monarchy can live up to what she’s done.

“It was great service. Not very many people have given a pledge or a vow that’s lasted 70 years.”

More from this reporter:

Thank you message to British public from King Charles III