The details were revealed by Michelle Donnellan, the UK’s culture secretary, after the nation’s longest-reigning monarch was buried at Windsor Castle on Monday. Donelan said her department was still “crunching the numbers” to estimate how many people had queued for hours in London to see the Queen’s coffin at Westminster Hall, but she believed the number was around 250,000. The royal family is observing another week of mourning for the Queen after a state funeral on Monday, with the ceremony and procession watched by millions around the world. In two minutes: the day of Queen Elizabeth’s funeral – video Donelan said most Britons would consider the cost of the Queen’s funeral to be “money well spent” but that she could not estimate how much that cost was. When asked on Sky News about the cost of the funeral, she said: “I’m not sure of the exact cost, but as I say, I think the British public would argue that it was money well spent. “You saw so many thousands out there and I don’t think anyone can suggest that our late monarch didn’t deserve this dismissal given the duty and selfless service she committed to over 70 years.” He added that it would be “totally absurd” to suggest otherwise. “It was a great feeling that the community came together. I always think of our late monarch as the glue that held society together,” he added. Donelan described the queue for Westminster Hall as “phenomenal” as she paid tribute to the volunteers who helped manage and support the proceedings over the past few days, including lying in state. He told BBC Breakfast: “There’s no dress rehearsal, is there, for these kinds of scripts? It’s been in the plans for years, but obviously we’ve tried everything and worked with community groups.” Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. He praised the help of the Samaritans, the Red Cross, the police and institutions across the South Bank who opened their doors to those queuing. “It was a real team effort to enable people to have that moment to say goodbye and I want to pay tribute to everyone involved – all the volunteers, all the marshals, the marshals… it was incredible.” The Queen’s funeral at Westminster Abbey was attended by hundreds of heads of state and with London filled with mourners the event called for the biggest police operation ever undertaken by the Metropolitan Police. Among the 2,000-strong congregation at the abbey were foreign royals, UK dignitaries and world leaders, including US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron.
