Portsmouth Cathedral is ‘bowled over’ by support for screening of Her Majesty's State Funeral

Following a ‘touching service’ on Sunday to honour Queen Elizabeth II, drawing together politicians, members of the armed services, and former Royal yachtsmen, a screening of Her Majesty's State Funeral took place on Monday at Portsmouth Cathedral in Old Portsmouth and was attended by both locals and visitors to Portsmouth with one common goal; to pay respects to the 70-year-long reigning monarch.

Charlotte Kilshaw and Ken Clark, from Waterlooville, attended the screening and had also been to sign the cathedral’s book of condolence earlier in the week.

Charlotte said: ‘We just felt we wanted to be somewhere a bit more formal, we looked on the Portsmouth City Council website and saw that they were showing the service here.

‘It was a long life of service and that needs to be marked and it was marked in a really respectful way,’ she added.

SEE ALSO: The Queen: Portsmouth Cathedral holds service of commemoration and thanksgiving for monarch

Also among the attendees were local military family Nicole, Nathan, and their son Jack Geddis, from Old Portsmouth.

‘It just felt like the right place to be, there’s more of a sense of occasion and respect, it was atmospheric,’ said Nicole.

She added: ‘I went up to Green Park this week with my sister and my mum. We wanted it to be something that Jack would remember, being at home isn’t quite the same.’

Nathan was awarded an MBE this year, with which he has not yet been presented, for his service to the Navy.

He added: ‘It was nice to share it with other people as well.’

One slightly less local pair who attended the service were Denise and Harold Jeffery, from Cornwall, who had just got off the ferry from a trip to the Isle of Wight, and came straight to the cathedral.

Denise, a churchwarden in her home town of Newquay, said: ‘It was very peaceful.

‘And there’s quite a range of different people, young and old,’ said Harold.

‘That’s what we’ve noticed, there’s such a difference of age range and ethnic minorities, it’s across the board – she really is queen of the world,’ added Denise.

‘My memories of her are from the horse racing, she just loved it and was so knowledgeable about everything,’ Harold added.

The Very Reverend Dr Anthony Cane, Dean of Portsmouth, said: ‘We thought it would be lovely to make this offer available but we weren't sure whether people would prefer to watch it at home but in fact we’ve been quite bowled over by the number who turned out. To watch it together in this kind of setting, to have it as a shared experience is quite a powerful thing.

‘We extended our hours and we wondered whether it would all quieten down after the first few days and it just hasn’t. People just keep on coming, there’s so many entries in the condolence book, it’s been really moving and powerful. We all feel the magnitude of what’s happened, to be able to go somewhere and share the experience, to write in the book or light a candle, has been really important to people.’