Hundreds attend Sheffield Cathedral to pay their final respects to Queen Elizabeth II
and live on Freeview channel 276
The Queen died at Balmoral Castle on September 8, 2022, surrounded by family and today, Monday, September 19, 2022, she was finally to be laid to rest with a state funeral service a Westminster Abbey followed by a family ceremony at Windsor Castle.
Sheffield’s Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Paul gave many the opportunity to pay their respects to Britain’s longest reigning monarch who was Queen from 1952 to 2022 by hosting a service of commemoration and thanksgiving to coincide with the funeral service in London.
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Hide AdHis Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of South Yorkshire and the Dean and Chapter of Sheffield Cathedral opened the doors to everyone with a service of commemoration and thanksgiving for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II with the Cathedral Choir.
The Dean of Sheffield, Rev Abigail Thompson, said: “People have memories of her coming to this cathedral back in 2015 and the way she was so gentle and put people at their ease and she had a twinkly, smile for everybody and people spoke very warmly about her especially when they got to meet her.”
She added: “There have been a lot of tears. People are genuinely mourning the loss of this woman who has been part of our lives forever and people have been sharing the stories about their own griefs and sorrows.
“They talked about the Queen and that has been quickly followed by stories of their own bereavements. And I think the death of the Queen has allowed this for people. Allowed us an opportunity to mourn together.
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Hide Ad“It feels like as a nation we have had such a hard time over the last few years. We really need to let it all out so I sense that people have a) wanted us to come together and b) wanted to have a really good cry.”
Those at the cathedral captured the funeral from two large screens inside the church and in the cathedral grounds.
Sheffield Cathedral hosted morning prayers from 8.45am coinciding with the opening of doors at Westminster Abbey at 8am.
The ceremony began about 10.45am when the Queen’s coffin was carried from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey where the funeral service began at 11am.
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Hide AdFollowing the funeral, Queen Elizabeth’s coffin was scheduled to be taken to Wellington Arch before being taken to Windsor Castle and a committal service at St George's Chapel.
A family service was scheduled for the evening for the Queen to be buried at the King George VI Memorial Chapel inside St George’s Chapel.
It was an emotional afternoon at Sheffield Cathedral with history in the making with a service at Westminster Abbey, a cortege and military procession across London before the final family ceremony at a chapel in Windsor Castle.
The Mayor of Sheffield Councillor Sioned-Mair Richards said: “The Queen was the same age as my mum and dad and it feels like that generation are going and they are people who went through the Second World War and austerity and they would talk about keeping calm and carrying on and I think the Queen embodied that.”