ABC News correspondent reflects on visit to queen's coffin
ABC News foreign correspondent James Longman, who was born and raised in London, recounted seeing Queen Elizabeth II lying in state at Westminster Hall, saying, "I feel enormously privileged" by the visit.
Here is Longman's description of the 30 minutes he got to sit near the queen's coffin on Friday night "to take this extraordinary moment in:"
We entered from the side of Westminster Hall, and I found myself standing briefly right next to the raised casket. The first thing that strikes you is the smallness of her coffin. I was instantly reminded of the elderly queen, and how frail she looked in her final days. We are honoring a monarch and an icon, beneath the vaulted ceilings of a 1,000 year old hall. But her "normalness" struck me in that moment. And I did think of my own frail grandmother, and the last visit I made to her bedside, holding her up while the nurse changed the pillows. We are reminded of our own mortality now that someone as undying as the Queen has left us.
Journalists are placed on a platform next to the exit, and I made sure to watch the faces of people as they left. Like looking to the groom watching the bride on their wedding day, it’s the place you’ll find the most emotion.
And so many turned around for one last goodbye. They turned to take in the enormity of the scene, or just breathe in the magic of that place. I think they also turned for one last look at a country that will never be the same. She was the glue that held Britain together, and I think they turned around knowing that something has come unstuck now. It was as if they looked back to gather strength before facing the cold night, and the uncertainty of a life without Elizabeth.
There are also small moments you may not notice on TV. The Gentlemen at Arms are the two guards with feathered helmets who stand at one end of the casket. They are the most senior of the Sovereign’s bodyguards. I noticed their stance: arms folded over the spear which points down to the ground, one foot slightly behind the other, and heads slightly bowed. One of the guards I saw had bowed his head so deeply, he looked like he was resting his forehead on his spear. It was a moment of deep honor and reflection, but to me he looked exhausted in grief.
As I stood watching I caught the eye of a woman walking by. She was wiping her eyes and shoving a tissue into her white puffer jacket. She looked at me and smiled. I didn’t know her, she didn’t know me, neither of us knew the queen. But it made me want to cry. And I just thought "none of this makes sense!" Why are teenagers in ripped jeans crying walking past an old lady with priceless gems on her coffin? Why is this crying woman making me want to cry over someone I didn’t know? Well, humans don’t make much sense sometimes. And in a world increasingly full of rules and logic and arguments where everyone has to be right, she gave us permission to just be a bit odd. I think a lot of British people are proud of how much this shouldn’t make sense, but somehow does.
