ANDOVER bid final farewell to the Queen on Monday as residents gathered at various parts of the town to watch together the funeral service and pay tributes to her.
The town wore a deserted look as most people stayed at home to watch the funeral service. While most of the shops remained closed, pubs, restaurants and takeaways stayed open across Andover.
Various shops paid tribute to the Queen by pasting her photos on the front door and windows (check out the photo gallery above).
Many people were seen sitting at different parts of the town and watching the funeral on their mobile phones, while some people watched it as they walked to their workplaces.
Inci Mustafa and Nikita Doble watched the funeral while they sat on the benches in front of Guildhall. Inci said: “It’s such a sad day, very emotional.”
Nikita said it’s a tough period as we passed through Covid and now we’re seeing the death of our Queen.
There were live streaming of funeral service at multiple locations in town.
The Salvation Army church showed the service on a giant screen as people patiently watched the whole ceremony in divine spirits.
Captain Simon Rowney and Captain Victoria Rowney, the leaders of the church, said it is a nice feeling to have people watch the funeral service at the church.
Victoria said: “It’s a day of mixed emotions. There is sadness, of course, but it’s also a time to be thankful for the services of the Queen. She was a person of great dignity and grace. We shared a faith. And today’s it’s an honour to show her funeral service in our church.
“God save the King.”
White Hart Hotel in Bridge Street, Lardicake Public House in Adelaide Road, and Anton Arms in Salisbury Road were among the pubs that streamed the funeral live for the benefit of their customers.
White Hart Hotel’s assistant manager Laura Goodge said it’s great to do something like this for the community.
The hotel converted its function room into a projector room where the funeral service was shown on a big screen.
She added: “A lot of our regulars asked us if we would stream the funeral service. We were happy to do it as some of our customers are elderly and living alone. So this was a safe and nice place for them to attend the funeral.”
Lardicake’s landlady Amanda Jane Hepburn and William Evitts helped their customers pay respect to the Queen by watching the funeral service.
Amanda said it’s a special day and it feels good to host the community, especially for people who are alone at home.
Among the attendees were veterans who met the Queen when she visited Andover in 1993.
Veteran Andrew Brown was emotional as he watched the funeral service on television at Lardicake. He recalled the special day he met the Queen when she visited Andover and Tidworth.
“It was an honour to serve the Queen. King Charles was previously the commander in chief of our regiment. Now he is our King. It’s a special day,” he said.
Police officers in Andover observed a two-minute silence outside their office building at 12 noon on Monday.
PC Hayward said it was an honour to serve the Queen all these years.
“It’s definitely an end of an era,” he said, “and start of another.”
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