Around 2,000 guests were invited to the Queen’s funeral at Westminster Abbey in the United Kingdom today, including members of the Royal Family, heads of state and foreign diplomats.
Several health care workers from the National Health Service also attended the ceremony. They were honored by Her Majesty earlier this year for their efforts in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. The workers received the George Cross, the highest award given by the British government for non-operational bravery or bravery in the absence of an enemy. It is believed to be one of the Queen’s last public events before she steps down from royal duties.
Among those invited to the ceremony was Mary Parsons, an NHS nurse who administered the first COVID-19 vaccine back in 2020.
“All staff in hospitals and our communities have done what they can to take care of patients during the pandemic, despite the health and care risks that the virus posed to themselves. The staff sacrificed so much to take care of those in need,” Parsons said during the George Cross ceremony. It was the third time the award had gone to a collective association since its inception in 1940.
Parsons gave the first dose of the vaccine to a 90-year-old patient on December 8, 2020 at Coventry Hospital.
She thought about what it was like to meet the Queen. She said she was “fun and humorous.”
“She asked me what I did and I told her I manage my trusted COVID stations and administer COVID vaccinations,” Parsons said.
But their roles were reversed on Monday. Parsons and several healthcare workers came to pay tribute to the country’s longest-reigning monarch.
Parsons, as part of the civil services contingent, marched into the Queen’s funeral procession alongside three other healthcare workers, including two from England and one from Wales.
Emily Whyte, 25, a St John Ambulance Ward youth leader from Watford, who attended the funeral, said: “I am very proud and privileged to represent not just Essex but the entire youth sector within St John Ambulance .”
“Her Majesty the Queen has given steadfast support to the NHS throughout her reign and in return has received the admiration and respect of healthcare workers across the board for their leadership, wisdom and commitment to duty,” NHS chief Amanda Pritchard said ahead of the funeral. “Receiving the George Cross from Her Majesty earlier this year was the proudest moment in the long history of the NHS.”
Healthcare workers across the UK are also being urged to help patients honor the occasion. The funeral will be broadcast live in hospitals across the country. The NHS says extra TVs will be placed in hospital wards, atriums and other public spaces in hospitals. All radios in the hospital will also report on today’s events.
Nurses are also going from room to room with iPads to give patients a chance to sign the condolence card.
“While the country rightly pauses to celebrate the death of Queen Elizabeth II, hundreds of thousands of healthcare workers, including nurses, clinicians, porters and other staff working in hospitals and our communities across England, will be making sure patients also to pay their respects, many of whom were deeply honored when Her Majesty awarded the George Cross to healthcare earlier this year,” said Dame Ruth May, Chief Nursing Officer for England.
“From staff making a special effort to help patients sign the online book of condolences to hospital chaplains conducting memorial services, NHS staff will do everything they can to ensure every patient has an opportunity to show their respect ‘ May added.
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