Tears welled up in the eyes of Eziethamae Bodden as she watched the funeral procession for the late Queen Elizabeth II unfold on large TV screens in the dark church hall at the Wesleyan Holiness Church in the early hours of Monday morning.
Though inevitable, she said she never really expected she would have to face the reality of the Queen’s passing.
“I already had my cry for this morning, and I feel like doing it again… I thought that she would just live forever,” she said as she spoke with the Cayman Compass at the West Bay church.
The state funeral started at 5am Cayman time.
Bodden said she met the Queen on both her visits to the Cayman Islands and recounted her interactions as the funeral played in the background.
“I just marvelled at how she conducted herself. She was a humble lady and I just had to come today… I just had to come,” she sobbed, adding that her father always told her about the importance of the Queen and the monarchy when she was growing up.
‘It was like family had left us’
Bodden shared that she was supposed to receive her Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) from the Queen in 2008 when she went to Buckingham Palace.
However, that day the Queen was ill.
Instead, Prince Charles, who is now King Charles III, bestowed the honour on her and signed her certificate, which she proudly shared.
Bodden was among a few mourners gathered at the West Bay church to watch the funeral procession, one of several public viewings arranged by government during Cayman’s period of national mourning.
Over at Cayman Islands Baptist Church in Savannah, MP and Parliament Secretary Heather Bodden, together with a handful of others, watched the state funeral happening live.
She said she came early to watch the ceremony, which she described as “very touching.”
Bodden also shared similar sentiments; that she felt the Queen would be around forever, having ruled for 70 years.
“[Her passing] hit us very out of the blue and I think we all felt the grief,” she recounted.
She said it was all the more emotional that someone that “we knew all of our lives had suddenly just left us”.
“We almost all felt like family had left us,” she added.
Bodden was representing Premier Wayne Panton, who is in the UK to attend the funeral as part of the Cayman delegation. She said she was not concerned by the low turn-out for the public viewings as the service commenced so early and many had said they wanted to watch at home.
“I know that those people are at home watching this and those that made the effort this morning, I’m happy to see them,” she said.
Cayman represented at state funeral
Among those marching in the funeral procession were six Cayman Islands police officers, an honour Bodden said the island should be proud of, on such an historic occasion.
“That made my heart feel really good this morning that they could also be in attendance… I think we’re all feeling it this morning as we watch it live. To be able to do this… means a lot,” she added.
Seeing the Cayman Islands flag fluttering among the Overseas Territories’ flags was also a proud moment for Bodden and one she tried to capture with her phone.
The MP said she prayed for King Charles III, and that his leadership would be just as the Queen “ran the country for the many years that she did”.
Over the weekend, the Premier and Governor Martyn Roper and their spouses paid their respects to the Queen in London on behalf of Cayman.
On his official Facebook page, Roper said it was “excellent that Cayman is so well represented at these events to reflect the strong sense of sadness and loss that so many across our Islands feel”.
The Premier and Governor had attended the King’s Reception at Buckingham Palace on Sunday afternoon.
“The atmosphere in London is extraordinary with very large crowds and hundreds of thousands queuing patiently for hours for the Lying-in-State to pay their final respects to such an amazing woman and Monarch. The mood is sombre and respectful with a strong sense of compassion, dignity and community. I am very proud to be able to represent Cayman with the Premier,” the Governor added.
In a post on his official Facebook page, Panton said the Queen’s death had “unquestionably placed a heavy, solemn mark on the hearts of our people”.
Panton added that the delegation was also invited to join other Caymanians in the UK, at the Cayman Islands Government Office UK, to pay collective, personal respects to the late Queen.
“Being able to attend Her Late Majesty’s Lying in State at Westminster Hall, and Official State Funeral on behalf of the Cayman Islands will allow us, as her lone servants, to pay our dutiful respects collectively and prove our strong devotion and admiration towards Her Late Majesty ceremonially. Our hope is to emphasise and uphold the deep-rooted strength so heavily ingrained into our Commonwealth of nations by an unforgettable, valiant lady,” Panton said in the post.
The local leaders, Roper said, were invited by the Speaker of the House of Commons, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, to have tea with other leaders from the Overseas Territories over the weekend as well.
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