Georgians mourn Queen Elizabeth II as she’s laid to rest

ATLANTA — Queen Elizabeth II was laid to rest on Monday inside Windsor Castle, but her loss is being felt across the globe, including Atlanta.

Mourners gathered before the sun rose on Monday morning at the World Athlete’s Monument on Peachtree Street donated by King Charles III during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

Channel 2′s Kristen Holloway was among the dozens of mourners watching the queen’s funeral live on a screen set up at the monument.

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Daphine Swilling said she wouldn’t have missed the funeral.

“We lived in England and I connected as a little girl looking in the newspapers, cutting out their pictures of the queen each time the newspapers would come to the door, and I filled up a scrapbook, and she was a hero to me,” Swilling said.

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Mourners said that although they expected this day would come because of the queen’s age, the loss is still devastating.

“I prepared myself as people would have, but when it happens, it’s still shocking. But through that inspiration, I believe her name and what she has accomplished will continue on and we’ll continue to be inspired by her,” Savannah College of Art and Design student Jayden White said.

Swilling told Holloway that she had a personal encounter with the queen as a child and cherishes that memory.

“I remember I was standing at Windsor. She was in her car, the Rolls Royce, with her Chaffee and I was the only one standing in the road, and she said, ‘Hello,’ and waved at me. It’s just so personable and so humble that she takes the time for just one person standing by the road. It made a great impact on me,” she recalled.

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Queen Elizabeth II's funeral The queen will later be buried alongside her late husband, Prince Philip, in a private service at the King George VI Memorial Chapel. (NCD)

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