Thousands of mourners were greeted with a “poignant” rainbow on Sunday evening as the Queen’s lying in state came to a close. Westminster Hall opened to the public at 5pm on Wednesday and hundreds of thousands of mourners lined pathways around the Thames for days for their chance to say goodbye to Her Majesty.
Access to the official queue had ended on Sunday night, in order to meet the 6.30am closure of the lying in state period. Crowds remained even after the doors closed, and were greeted by a rainbow over Westminster Abbey, where hours later the Queen will be laid to her final rest on Monday.
On September 8, the day of the Queen’s passing, a rainbow also appeared above Windsor Castle that was visible as the monarch’s death was announced to mourners that had gathered. Robert Green, 48, a real estate business owner from London, was visiting Westminster with his family and witnessed the rainbow – which he said lasted three minutes from 6:54pm.
