Look: Hundreds of tearful UAE residents bid final adieu to Queen Elizabeth on board her beloved ship in Dubai

Look: Hundreds of tearful UAE residents bid final adieu to Queen Elizabeth on board her beloved ship in Dubai

Over 300 British expats come together on the QE2 to watch the funeral of the late monarch

Published: Mon 19 Sep 2022, 4:07 PM Last updated: Mon 19 Sep 2022, 4:58 PM

As thousands of mourners poured into the streets of London to watch Queen Elizabeth II's coffin take a historic final journey, British expats in the UAE came together on Monday to mourn their beloved monarch.

"Don't cry Mommy," said little Lana as she hugged her mother, Joanna Akram, at the Queen's Grill in QE2. The mother and daughter were two of the over 300 guests on the cruise liner who had assembled to watch the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II live.

Some openly wiped away tears and others came wearing black and brought flowers as a sign of respect to Britain's longest-reigning sovereign.

Queen Elizabeth II died at the age of 96 on September 8 at her beloved Scottish estate in Balmoral. After 10 days of public mourning, her funeral was held on Monday, September 19, at the Westminster Abbey — the same place where she got married and was crowned.

“I couldn’t be home in London so the QE2 was the next best thing we could do,” said Joanna Akram, who had come