A devoted monarchist has spoken about the "incredible experience" of witnessing the Queen's funeral in London.
Anita Atkinson, from Weardale, started camping out to witness the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II at 9pm on Sunday in order to secure a good spot to see the procession. The 65-year-old has dedicated years to researching the monarchy and is the proud owner of 12,777 pieces of royal memorabilia dating back to King George III.
Following the passing of Her Majesty on September 8, Anita travelled down to London to be in the capital when the late Queen was brought back to the city from Scotland. Today Anita spoke about what it was like to be in London for the Queen's funeral, and the days leading up to the historic day.
Anita said: "I think this is the most memorable week of my life. What an absolute spectacle from start to finish. I was bursting with Britishness at the spectacle we gave the whole world yesterday.
"This is the first time the majority of people in this country have saw something like that. Today I really do feel flat. When I woke up this morning I thought that's the end."
Reflecting on the funeral, she added: "There is no comparison to other royal events that I've been to, no comparison at all. It's always a spectacle, but that was something else. I can't even find the words to describe it, it was just spectacular."
Anita will travel home to her home in Weardale tonight and will begin researching into the life of the country's new monarch, King Charles III. "Like the monarchy is seamless, my passion has to be seamless and go on from the old to the new", Anita said.
This morning Anita watched the funeral back on TV and explained that it was good to hear commentary which gave extra details about the procession, including which regiments the soldiers taking part in the procession came from. Anita said: "Even though I was there and I experienced it and I will remember that for the rest of my life, I didn't know all the extra bits and pieces that you get from the commentary that make up the whole story."
Anita watched the Queen's funeral from The Mall, the exact same spot where she watched the procession for lying in state on Wednesday, September 14. She vowed to watch the funeral from that spot with those she met during the procession. And they have "made a pact" to return to the same spot to see King Charles' coronation.
After watching the procession, Anita joined the queue to see the Queen lying in state at Westminster Hall. She joined at around 5pm and was handed wristband number 8,368. And after around eight hours of queuing she was able to see the Queen lying in state.
Speaking about the moment, Anita said: "I would have queued for 80 hours if I had to. The time flew over and we met lots of people while we were there. It felt like a party atmosphere outside.
"But the second we crossed that threshold into Westminster Hall it really hits you. It was total silence. You probably only get a minute in there, but when I saw the coffin I thought 'this is it'.
"It was just me and the Queen. I've spent the whole of my life supporting the Queen, researching her life and giving talks and when I was standing there I thought 'this is it, this is the last time'."
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