Strictly pro Neil Jones reflects on emotional lying in state experience
The dancer recalled the ‘conversations, laughter and entertainment’ of those around him in the line.
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Your support makes all the difference.Strictly Come Dancing star Neil Jones has reflected on queuing for more than 12 hours to see the Queen lying in state, describing it as “one of the most incredible moments of my life”.
The professional dancer, 40, joined the public line on Sunday to pay his respects at Westminster Hall.
Access to the official queue ended on Sunday night, in order to meet the 6.30am closure of the lying in state period.
On Monday, Jones posted a message on Instagram, saying: “Sorry for not replying to everyone yesterday.
“As you could see from my stories we queued for over 12 hrs to pay our respects to the Queen lying in state.
“I have to say this is one of the most incredible moments of my life which I will never forget, I want to thank everyone we met while walking yesterday, thank you for the conversations, laughter and entertainment, most of all sharing the experience all together.
“We had a mum and daughter who were pushing her son in a wheelchair and were told many times they could skip the line and fast track but they declined every time because they wanted to walk with us all.
“Your Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Thank you.”
Jones has been a professional partner on Strictly since 2016, dancing with celebrity contestants Alex Scott and Nina Wadia.
He was not the only famous face to queue for the lying in state, with David Beckham and Good Morning Britain presenter Susanna Reid also joining the public line.