Queen's funeral: Prayers for monarch as Surrey bids farewell

One of the Queen's visits to Guildford included her attendance at the Royal Maundy Service at the cathedral in 2006

A prayer vigil has been held at Guildford Cathedral during the Queen's funeral at Westminster.

The service was broadcast from the Surrey cathedral, where bells tolled and flowers were left at the foot of The Ganges Cross.

Screenings of the funeral took place at community centres, churches as well as a shopping centre and a pub.

The funeral cortege passed through Surrey on its way from Westminster Abbey to Windsor.

In Banstead, villagers watched the service together at the community centre. One resident, Margaret Holland, said: "I thought it was really important to be with people.... It's been historic - really historic - and sad at the same time."

Road closures were in place around Runnymede, on the A308 Windsor Road and the A30. Flowers were thrown as the cortege passed.

The route went past the world-famous Magna Carta meadow - where the Queen in 2015 attended the historic 800th anniversary of the sealing of the treaty.

The historic charter sealed by King John placed limits on the power of the monarchy and introduced some of the rights that democracies enjoy today.

The cortege route went past the Magna Carta meadow in Runnymede - where the Queen attended the 800th anniversary of the sealing of the treaty in 2015

Surrey Police tweeted earlier that significant numbers of officers from the force would line the route.

The force said it was "prepared and privileged" to play its part in the historic occasion.

People lined the route along with tractors - the BBC was told that was a tribute from a tenant farmer of nearby National Trust land

On Monday, the Dean of the cathedral, the Very Reverend Dianna Gwilliams, said the building had provided a place where people could gather together for the funeral, a place where they could be quiet.

'She was the boss'

The Rev Chris Hollingshurst, cathedral canon, said this had been a significant moment for many people, adding: "So many people find that the death of the Queen is touching them personally… I think there's still that sense of disbelief and unreality."

Chris Moyes, a Surrey Police PCSO on duty at the cathedral, said: "I am ex-forces myself, so I did do an oath of allegiance to the Queen and the Crown and to help the public and to be a faithful servant."

She said: "When I was in the army, we used to call her the boss. She was the boss and she still is - and all her successors and obviously King Charles III."

Prayers were said at Guildford Cathedral where the service was broadcast

Visits by the Queen to the cathedral included one appearance in 1957 when she and the late Duke of Edinburgh laid a stone in the Nave. By 1961, the building was not yet complete but plans were being made for its consecration.

A more recent visit took place in 2006 when she attended the Royal Maundy Service before meeting the crowds that gathered in the town.

The Prince of Wales said at Pirbright the Queen would be "looking down" as her funeral took place

In a visit to Surrey's Army Training Centre in Pirbright last week, the Prince of Wales said the Queen would be "looking down" as her funeral took place.

Greg Gifford, from the New Zealand Defence Force, said one of the key things he took from what Prince William said was how "she would be interested in the detail of the soldiers, how the drill is carried out, its precision, our dress, things like that".

Troops were in the UK and being accommodated at Pirbright because they were involved in Monday's ceremony.

Police lined the route in Surrey as people gathered to pay their respects

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