Solemn crowds unite in grief to watch Queen's funeral at Leeds' Millennium Square

Reverent, respectful, sombre and bowed. Pain etched onto faces, tearful and proud.

Many were military, resplendent in medals. Others, alone, seeking comfort in company.

Hundreds of people waited quietly in Leeds' Millennium Square as the hour of the Queen's funeral drew near, once bustling city streets now deserted and closed.

Then the bells began to toll, with a steady drumbeat that pattered from Cathedral to Minster, and seats filled quickly as more settled and gathered.

Some were prepared, with their own chairs and umbrellas. Others clutched coffees and hot drinks, hoping to stave off the chill as a grey rain fell in misty drizzle.

Beneath the Town Hall steps, a carpet of flowers showed one bright spot of colour, with handwritten cards to give thanks for "a life of duty, for kindness, for dedication".

One simply read: "Your majesty you were an inspiration and example to us all".

Then watching above, the standard bearers standing iron-rod straight. Eyes forward in unflinching tribute, this was an honour and theirs' was given in thanks.

To Pte Daniel Walker, from Seacroft, a serving soldier with the Yorkshire Regiment, this was a last farewell to 'his Queen', to whom he swore his allegiance five years ago.

"My pledge meant everything to me," he said. "I served my Queen.

"This was all I've ever wanted to do, since I was five years old. It's only right, to pay my respects."

David Asquith, from Osmondthorpe, served nine years as craftsman with the Royal Electrical Mechanical Engineers.

"She was my boss," the now 60-year-old said. "She means so much to us - to this country, to my family. I felt I had to be here."

And Samuel Silcott, from the tiny Commonwealth island of Montserrat in the Caribbean, who raised his two daughters in Chapeltown, Leeds.

"It means so much, to be here today,” the 63-year-old said. “She was a lovely lady. I love her so much."

Rarely could this city square have witnessed such scenes, so muted and sombre.

As the clock struck 11am, silence fell, all faces turned to the procession big screen.

This was a sombre gathering, and yet it was shared. Each person here had made a conscious decision.

And as the funeral ceremony drew to an end, at the pipers' lament, they stood as one, united in sadness.

Arms snaked around neighbours as silent tears fell and heads bowed in tribute at the last song.

For one mother, there were no words, her chin quivering in sadness as she held her young daughter close.

For three generations of the Hamilton family from Belle Isle, Jackie, Kimberley and five-year-old Ava Rose, there was no place they'd rather be.

Tears streamed down Jackie's face as she said: "We just wanted to be with everybody else. This is the end of an era."

For newcomers to the city, this was being witness to history.

Radhika Rajendra, and Himanshu Sighal, moved to Leeds from India five years ago. They hadn't realised the strength of Royal feeling until this summer's jubilee, they said, and found themselves drawn to Millennium Square yesterday.

"You feel a part of it," said Mr Sighal. "That emotion - we've never seen anything like it."

Denise Storr just didn't want to be along. It the took the 61-year-old an hour to travel into the city from her home in Moortown on her mobility scooter, draped in a Union Jack.

"I've been emotional every day since the Queen died," she said. "I brought some flowers. I wanted to be here - to pay my respects.

"I was determined to come," she said. "I live on my own. I would have been spending today on my own. I didn't want to do that.

"I don't think any country does anything quite like this. It's something to watch and admire. But still, it's heartbreaking."

Jane Fox and Janet Harford, of Roundhay, have just returned from London, where they queued with an "electric" crowd at Buckingham Palace. The atmosphere was “alive”, they said.

To Ms Fox, that sense of camaraderie is something she will never forget. To Ms Harford, having just lost her own mother, her own 'queen', this has been a time lost in memories.

"They do say, 'you are crying for yourself when you cry for someone you don't know'," she said.

"This has really done it for me this week. We took mum to the Platinum Jubilee, that was her last brilliant day. She loved it. She would have been here with us today.”

But when it came to the funeral, it was “meticulous, just faultless”, they said.

"We do it better than anywhere in the world, this pomp and ceremony.”