Shrewsbury mum who visited London for Diana tributes takes son to see Queen's flowers
A county mother who visited London when Princess Diana died has returned to the capital with her son to see the Queen's flowers after the monarch's death.
Paula Reilly, from Bomere Heath, Shrewsbury, took her son Harrison, aged 12, to see the thousands of bouquets at Green Park.
Floral tributes have lined the streets outside Royal residences since Her Majesty's death last Thursday, September 8, with Paddington Bear toys and marmalade sandwiches also among the offerings placed by mourners.
Paula, who runs a shotgun making business, wanted her son to experience seeing the flowers after her own "overwhelming" time as a child seeing the tributes to Princess Diana in 1997.
"I felt it was really important for him to experience it up close and personal," she said. "You don't understand how big it all is until you come here. You don't get that watching it on TV.
"I went to the flowers for Diana and it's something I will always remember."
She added: "We walked up the Mall and up to Buckingham Palace. It was quite emotional. A lot of people were there.
"It was a very different feel to when Diana died. It seemed to be a bit of a kinder atmosphere. More of a celebration. When Diana died people were wailing and in floods of tears.
"There were flowers and Paddington Bear dolls and marmalade sandwiches. Someone even left a Superman T-shirt. I'm not sure what connection the Queen had to Superman, but everyone grieves in their own way.
"Harrison really appreciated it. He wrote a note and left it in amongst the other tributes. He found it very interesting."
The queue to see the Queen's coffin has gone as far back as five miles, with people waiting 11 hours to see it.
Paula and Harrison didn't join the queue. "We got there early at 7.45am but saw the queue forming and thought 'that's not something we want to be stuck in'. When we got back later the queue was even bigger."
