BBC One fell silent and stayed that way for close to 20 minutes as the Queen's grandchildren united for a moving vigil beside Her Majesty's coffin at Westminster Hall, with viewers praising the broadcaster's coverage of the event.
A day after Queen Elizabeth II's children, including new monarch King Charles III, headed to the historic building for their vigil, Prince William, brother Prince Harry, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, eldest grandchild Peter Phillips and sister Zara Tindall and Prince Edwards' children, Lady Louise and younger sibling, James, Viscount Severn, joined together to pay tribute to their much loved grandmother as her body lies in state.
Those who were filing into the Hall just after 6pm,
many of whom had queued for more than 12 hours,
got to walk past the Royals as they stood with their heads bowed in front of the coffin. But, despite all the people in the room, you could hear a pin drop as the vigil was observed with utmost respect. And the silence in the room itself was echoed in the BBC coverage of the momentous event.
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Sophie Raworth had been hosting the coverage from the studio, cutting to the Hall at various points before the Royal party gathered, with live shots of their convoy of cars being given a police escort into Westminster Hall. But, as soon as all of the grandchildren walked down the steps and made their way towards the Queen's coffin, all commentary stopped and didn't resume until after William, the new Prince of Wales, led his relatives back up the stairs to where they'd emerged from.
As well as proving exceptionally moving for the members of the public fortunate enough to witness it, as well as Prince Edward and wife Sophie, who were seen standing to the side, the vigil also provoked a big reaction from those who tuned into watch it at home. Taking to Twitter, one posted: "My goodness, that was emotional," with another tweeting: "How extraordinary that one can watch such a poignant moment on a hand-held device nowadays, history in the palm of our hands."
Praising the BBC for their handling of the vigil, which aired on a number of its channels, a third commented: "Thank you for the quiet no commentary broadcast of the vigil, BBC Parliament channel..it has been very peaceful & dignified to join the vigil at different times of the day & night. Comforting."
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