Two Northern Ireland recipients of the Queen’s final Birthday Honours have spoken of their pride at being asked to attend the late monarch’s funeral. Brenda Herron, who has spent more than 40 years as a Girlguiding leader, and senior Orangeman and Presbyterian minister Rev Mervyn Gibson were both made MBEs in June.
They will join dignitaries from around the world inside Westminster Abbey on Monday as they pay respects to the Queen at the state funeral. Around 200 people from this year’s Birthday Honours list have been invited to attend.
Ms Herron, from Hillsborough, Co Down, was honoured for her long involvement with the guiding movement, an association that has included a period as chief commissioner for Girlguiding Ulster. The Queen, a Guide herself as a child, was patron of the organisation from 1953 until her death.
