Meet Chrissy Heerey, the last person to see Queen Elizabeth II's lying-in state

Chrissy Heerey, a serving member of RAF from Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, was the last person to see Queen Elizabeth II's lying-in state as the Westminster Hall was closed for public on Monday. The Queen was taken inside the British Parliament on September 14 and since then, huge number of people – including prominent celebrities – have queued to catch a glimpse of Britain’s longest-ruling monarch.

Heerey, who had once done the round once, waited in line to see the Queen again and after the lying-in state closed, she described her experience as “one of the highlights of her life”.

"I was the last person to pay my respects to the Queen and it felt like a real privilege to do that.”

"I'd already been round once, I went in at 1:15 this morning. It's one of the highlights of my life and I feel very privileged to be here," she told Birmingham Live after coming out of the premises.

The lying-in state came to an end officially on 6:30 AM GMT on Monday ahead of the state funeral which will begin with a service at Westminster Abbey. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said that the final people to leave the premises were the parliamentary staff. Earlier, they had also issued a directive that stated that people will not be allowed to queue beyond a stipulated period.

"The queue to attend Her Majesty The Queen's Lying-in-State is at final capacity and is now closed to new entrants. Please do not attempt to join the queue. Stewards will manage those already nearby. Thank you for your understanding. Albert, who joined the queue without a wristband at 10pm last night, was one of the mourners who was not allowed into Westminster,” the department said.