An American student revealed why she waited in line for five hours to see Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin, saying in a recent interview that she wanted to witness such a significant moment “in history”.
During a chat with People, Isabella Heffernan, a 19-year-old student at Stanford University, discussed how she walked with thousands of people in Westminster Hall to pay her respects to the late monarch.
Heffernan shared that while she doesn’t “personally have a connection” to the queen, she thought that seeing her coffin represent a major “moment in history”.
“She reigned for 70 years, and it’s something you’re never going to get again,” she explained. “It’s something you will tell your kids and your grandkids about, and it’s a moment in the history books — and to me, that was the important thing.”
The college student recalled how the people at Westminster Hall were “sorrowful but grateful”, as it was clear that seeing the Queen’s coffin “meant so much” to them. She also detailed how emotional and different it was from touring this US Capital, since the atmosphere was “ more laid back”.
“But here, it was like their own grandmother had died,” she continued. “That’s the way it felt, which was actually shocking but also amazing and interesting to see.”
She claimed that the people of London seemed “to connect with” the Queen, which was a feeling that she said that she didn’t feel when meeting public figures in America.
“I’ve met Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders and state senators when I was younger, and you didn’t have that deep connection,” she sadd. “You’d hear about a funeral and would feel kind of sad. But the Queen has given her life to service, and her people are so grateful, which to me was a really surprising thing to see.”
Regarding how she got to Westminster, Heffernan shared that she was visiting her family in Dublin, Ireland when the Queen’s passing was announced on 8 September and “immediately bought a ticket” to London. The Rhode Island native noted that while her father wasn’t pleased about the trip, since Northern Ireland’s “political tensions with England are not easy”, he understood.
“I’m really into history, and when you have the opportunity to experience a historical moment, it’s so important to do so,” Heffernan said.
Elsewhere in People’s reporting, 57-year-old Carol Hazeldine from the UK said she and her sister waited in line at Westminster for 2.4 miles.
She opened up about how she feels connected to the Queen for personal reasons, explaining: “We just lost our mum in February, who was a big royalist, so we came for our mum and for the Queen, who was an amazing lady and deserves us paying our respects. I’ve known her all my life, and we were here for the Silver Jubilee with our mum.”
Last week, Buckingham Palace announced that the Queen “died peacefully” at her estate in Balmoral, Scotland. On Wednesday, members of the royal family attended the monarch’s procession at Westminster.
A royal mourning period is currently in place for the Queen, with her funeral set for Monday 19 September.
