Residents stream into Bognor's Picturedrome Cinema for free screening of the Queen's funeral
and live on Freeview channel 276
Starting at 11am, the funeral procession made its way from Buckingham Palace to Westminister Abbey, where a service was conducted.
The former head of state’s coffin was conducted by a military escort made up of serving members of the Royal Navy and Queen's guard. King Charles III, alongside Princes William and Harry were all visible in the procession.
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Hide AdBognor’s Picturedrome cinema is one of several cinemas across the UK to screen the service, giving members of the public a chance to share and express their grief with one another. Staff said the service was especially well attended, adding that more than 100 people turned up to watch the funeral.
Deputy manager James Courtnage said: “I think Bognor is a very royalist town. It’s got ‘Regis’, that Royal suffix and I think that plays into it quite a lot.”
"It’s very sombre here, of course. It’s hard to be happy about a funeral, really. But I think everyone’s very positive and eager to pay their respects.”
Members of the public who attended the screening said much the same thing. Caroline Wylde and Rosemary Tobutt said that, although they could have easily watched the funeral from home, watching it in public gave them a chance to express a communal kind of grief.
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Hide Ad"It’s about sharing it with others, and having that combined feeling of unity.” Mrs Wylde said.
"I think it’s something we all share. Rosemary and I were born in the fifties, and all we’ve every known is the Queen. We’ve always had her there.”
"I think watching anything on a big screen like this makes it better,” added Mrs Tobutt. “So it’s very generous of the cinema to say they’ll do it for free. The price of their tickets are already very generous – they’re very low. But I think it’s nice because the whole affair has a greater sense of occasion if you watch it with others.
"I think when we look back on this in years to come, we’ll be able to say we watched it here, that we tried to make the most of an occasion that will never come again.”