At The Queen Elizabeth pub in Bolton you could have heard a pin drop. "That's the quietest it's ever been in here," landlord Derek Gallagher joked after the two minute silence was immaculately observed.
On Monday morning about a dozen regulars gathered at the backstreet pub to watch the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, the only monarch most had ever known. Pints were raised and the odd tear was shed as a big screen more used to showing football or the horse racing relayed the ceremony from Westminster Abbey.
"It's like losing your grandma," said Rhys Leyland as he watched from under a window engraved with the Queen's name. "I'm 38 and she's the only royalty I've ever known. It's like she was one of the family."
READ MORE: The view from a Gorton care home as staff and residents watch Her Majesty's funeral
It was a scene that played out across Greater Manchester. Streets, homes and workplaces fell silent as the region came together to pay its respects.
At The Dell Care home in Gorton it wasn't pints but cups of tea that were lifted in a fitting acknowledgement of a long life of service and duty. For the residents here, the Queen was a constant in an ever-changing world.
They grew old alongside her, sharing in her triumphs and loss. Wearing a black ribbon on his lapel, John Henshaw watched on as the coffin was carried through Westminster Abbey.
"She was the greatest Queen you could have ever had. She was the greatest person to do the job for 70 years," he said.
Some residents recalled the monarch as if she was a friend. "I think she was lovely," Ann Winfield said. "She was a very good Queen." Others were keen to celebrate a long life well-lived. "She was 96, that's a good age that," Joe Fitzgerald said. "Seventy years on the throne. That's a good amount of time."
At Manchester Cathedral the sound of hymns sung 180 miles away filled the air. Each word seemed to carry even more weight as it echoed inside, while the end of each prayer met by a vocal 'amen' from some.
Driven by a sense of communion the Queen would surely have recognised, hundreds turned out to remember and celebrate her life. "It's just nice to experience this historic day with community,” said Sam Geddes, 32, from Stockport. "She was an ever-present in the lives of most of us."
Sam was there with his mum Fiona Shaw, 60, originally from Sydney, Australia. "The whole Commonwealth element to this is special to me," she said. "I just wanted to come and almost represent my country, inside the Commonwealth, and pay respects."
Sam and Fiona were joined by mourners of all ages and from all different corners of Greater Manchester. They came to witness the end of an era, some arriving as early as 8am, others while the funeral took place. As the two-minute silence came to an end, they stood for the national anthem and remained standing as the funeral came to an end, watching on as the Queen’s coffin was carried from Westminster Abbey.
"I definitely wanted to be in a church this morning," said Cheryl Dwyer, 43, from Salford. "I think it's the closest we can get really isn't it."
In Manchester city centre, normally bustling streets were deserted and the Metrolink stopped running as the ceremony began. Sat in the rain in Exchange Square, friends Sara Wingfield and Susie Burrows told how they bagged their seats as soon as the gates opened at 9am to watch the funeral on a big screen.
Susie said: "As friends we wanted to do something together. We would have loved to have gone to Windsor or London as it would have been incredible but this is a great way for us to pay our respects."
"It was a massive shock to the nation," Sara added. "The music was very moving, it all brought back feelings of people we've lost in the pandemic, it definitely brought up a lot of emotions."
Across the road at VUE cinema in the Printworks, where the service was also being shown, Jean Connerty, 82, remembered watching the funeral of King George VI in 1952 and the Queen's Coronation the following year, on a tiny black and white TV at her mum and dad's. Sat alongside her grandson and great-granddaughter, she told how she hoped the Queen's funeral would live long in the memory of the younger generation like it did for her all those years ago.
Kara Wagstaff, 34, was also thinking about family as she watched on at The Queens Arms in Audenshaw, with her nine-year-old daughter Grace and brother Joe Ullman, 32.
"We just wanted to pay our respects," Kara said. "She was an icon, wasn't she? Family is very much my thing and it was to her as well, she was very family orientated. It's been very sad, I've been glued to the news since she passed away.
"She was our longest reigning Queen, 70 years, so to take a few hours out of our day to pay our respects wasn't much to ask. And we wanted to watch it and share it with everybody and be able to talk about it in years to come."
"It's a historical moment," Joe added. "We actually also had a funeral here last year, almost to the day, for our mum so it's kind of nice being back here under different circumstances."
"It's still sombre circumstances," Kara added. "But this pub means a lot to us so to be here to share it together and share it with Grace, it is a part of history."
Manchester United fan Michael Smith, 70, remembered meeting The Queen outside Wembley whilst watching the Reds in the 1968 European Cup final. Just 16 at the time, it was a moment he would 'never, ever forget'.
"I was still at school then," he said, stood in the beer garden, where a mural of the late Queen was painted in the days after her death. "I'll never ever forget it though.
"And I won't forget today either. I thought it was perfect. It was very moving at times, it brought tears to my eyes.
"She meant a lot to me. I'm 70 now and she's all I've ever known. She was a part of everybody's lives."
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