PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — All eyes were glued to the four TVs in Stoney’s British Pub, but not for a sports game. The Wilmington, Delaware bar opened its doors to mourners who are grieving the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
The bar welcomed a few dozen people starting at 5:30 a.m. for a historic yet solemn breakfast and viewing of the queen’s funeral live on television. At the entrance, they were greeted with a picture of the queen surrounded by three candles, a crown and several bouquets of flowers.
They watched as the service when on with pomp and pageantry. A bell tolled 96 times — once a minute for each year of Elizabeth’s life. Then, 142 Royal Navy sailors used ropes to draw the gun carriage carrying her flag-draped coffin to Westminster Abbey before pallbearers bore it inside the church, where around 2,000 people had gathered to mourn her.
The service drew to a close with two minutes of silence observed across the United Kingdom, after which the attendees sang the national anthem, now titled “God Save the King.”
“She was with everyone. She was for everyone. She was for us,” said Stoney’s owner Mike Stone, who was born and raised in England.
Stone wiped away tears as he watched the final ceremony for Elizabeth. He remembered seeing her in person decades ago.
“I actually got to see the queen one time as she was in the car in the parade waving,” he recalled. “I’ll always remember it. I was a kid. She was just everyone’s special grandmother.”
Erv Francis was, as he always is, in awe of the spectacle.
“Obviously the British have pomp and circumstances down to a fine science. I served in the U.S. military and I’ve had my share of various ceremonies and presentations, but the British do it royally,” he said.
Priscilla Cathcart watched and thought of her own mother, whose admiration for the queen was boundless.
“She was just a really great woman,” Cathcart said of the late queen. “Whenever it was really difficult, she just stepped up and did what she needed to do.
“Her sense of duty is something that I’m going to carry with me. And her steadfastness — I think that’s an example to all of us.”
Stone said he felt compelled to open his pub to people like Cathcart and Francis, to bring people together for this final farewell.
“I know there are a lot of Anglophiles, a lot of Brits who respected her and loved her the same way I did and needed a place to go,” he said.
Queen Elizabeth died on Sept. 8 at the age of 96. Her reign over 70 years defined an era. For Stone, he said there will never be another like her.
“She led with her heart,” he said. “People would do well to remember that.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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