Queen funeral: Highgate pubgoers and dogs view ‘historic’ service and procession

Inside a dark, packed back room in Highgate pub Brendan the Navigator, Londoners gathered to mourn the passing of Her Majesty the Queen.

The pub opened at 10.45am this morning (Monday, September 19), and a full breakfast spread was put on, with Eggs Benedict, smashed avocado and sourdough toast on offer.

Dogs played inside and outside the pub, with its proximity to Highgate cemetery clearly making it a popular watering hole for man and beast alike.

A brief commotion broke out when people realised the TV was about to go on standby and the BBC livestream was interrupted.

Several heads turned and searched for a member of staff, before the incident was resolved with laughter.

Alexandra, 32, originally from the US, told LondonWorld: “It feels like a significant moment in time… just to see people who are going through something.

“It was too daunting an undertaking to go in [to central] and I felt compelled to be around people.”

She was joined by Remi, 34, a French national who’s been in the UK for four years.

Neither are massive royalists but had both been to see the floral tributes over the weekend.

This feeling of wanting to be part of something was one shared by Josh and Sara, who live locally but were not massively keen on braving the vast crowds on the Mall.

Sara, 29, isn’t a big fan of crowds, but Josh said they’d seen the Highgate pub screening of the service and procession on Instagram, so they thought it would be a good compromise.

“We live two minutes down the road,” Josh said.

“It is sad but I feel like I’m part of something vaguely historical.”

Sara said: “I follow the Spanish royal family closer, but I prefer the royal family here than in Spain.”

Like many, she was more interested in being part of the occasion than a dyed-in-the-wool royalist.

However, many patrons wore black outfits to mark the occasion, while voices in the room were mainly hushed, especially at significant moments and when the coffin was on screen.

But this decorum was not shared by the many dogs in attendance, as barks followed by pleas from their owners regularly punctured the silence in the room.

And the sombre, dulcet tones of BBC’s Hugh Edwards echoed around the small, dark room.

A chorus of ‘aww’ even broke out as images of people tossing flowers in front of the Queen’s hearse, just a few miles from where we were seated, was beamed into the pub.

People began to make their way back to their various plans for the afternoon as the pictures switched back to the studio and away from the live feed.

A hardcore few stuck around to watch the beginging of the pageantry in Windsor Castle, as the remnants of breakfasts lay alone on vacated tables.

And Londoners who came together in this small corner of the city said their goodbyes together.