In Belfast, people expressed hope that the Queen’s spirit would transfer monarchical superpowers into Northern Irish society, hope that the togetherness shown over the past 10 days will carry into the future and mend the rifts that have for so long beset Northern Ireland.
“She really was a steady star in our lives,” said Jeananne Maxwell, a social worker who had made her way on Monday to the lawns outside City Hall to pay her respects along with about 300 other people in front of the big screens broadcasting the Queen’s funeral. “We are here because of the great respect we had for her.”
