Susanna Reid felt "privileged" to have queued for seven hours to visit Queen Elizabeth lying in state.
Susanna Reid discusses queueing for seven hours to visit the Queen lying in state
The late monarch - who passed away at the age of 96 on September 8 following a 70-year-reign - had been lying-in-state at Westminster Hall from Wednesday until Monday (19.09.22) and 'Good Morning Britain' host Susanna, 51, had joined the hundreds of thousands of mourners along with her mother who lined up for hours for the chance say goodbye.
She said: "It's an enormous privilege to have been able to have done that, to pay our respects. Whether you are religious or not, a royalist or not, it feels like a sort of pilgrimage, and a historic moment, a historic opportunity."
Susanna went on to claim that she was so "proud" of her 81-year-old mother for quueing, as well as the hoards of children who did so without complaining.
She said: "When I was in the queue, young children, patiently and uncomplainingly stood for hours. I was so proud of my mum at 81 queuing with me."
Susanna was joined on the ITV breakfast programme on Monday (19.09.22) by Ben Shephard, who remarked that his co-star had made a "huge commitment" to queue and can understand why mourners became "overwhelmed" with emotion.
Speaking on 'Good Morning Britain', he said: "It’s huge commitment, when we were talking and you were in the queue for seven hours and 20 minutes in total with your mum and a friend. When you do anything like that, and endeavour, because it really is an endeavour to stay that long for this moment, you can understand why, for some, they are overwhelmed with emotion."
The Queen's state funeral will take place at Westminster Abbey in London at 11am on Monday with a committal service taking place at St George's Chapel, Windsor at 4pm and she will then be buried with the Duke of Edinburgh - who passed away in April 2021 aged 99 - in a private ceremony at 7.30pm.
Tagged in Queen Elizabeth Ben Shephard Susanna Reid