PEOPLE came from across the district on Sunday on the eve of the state funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for a moving service of commemoration and thanksgiving at Ripon Cathedral.

Extra seats had to be provided for the crowds of people who started arriving for the afternoon service at the ancient church more than an hour before it started.

Civic representatives from Skipton and Otley joined clergy from across Ripon and Craven, while Richard Compton, deputy lieutenant for North Yorkshire, was there to represent His Majesty the King.

The sermon was given by the Right Reverend, Nick Baines, Bishop of Leeds, who had just returned from an official visit to Kazakhstan. There were also contributions and readings from Bishop of Ripon, the Right Rev Dr Helen-Ann Hartley and the dean of the cathedral, the Very Rev John Dobson DL.

There was a reading from Baroness Angela Harris of Richmond, member of the House of Lords and high steward of the cathedral.

And, to the tune of the patriotic hymn 'I Vow to Thee, My Country', the congregation sang new words by Dominic Grant specially written to mark the death of the Queen.

It included the lines: "We stand to mourn a sovereign, a nation's guide and friend, who through long years of tumult was faithful to the end."

The Right Rev Baines described the late Queen as a monarch who had fulfilled her obligations with 'grace and wisdom'.

He said: "Politicians might be driven by different factors and even Prime Ministers might be able to get away with poor behaviour, but our late Queen quietly and confidently held herself – and, therefore, the country – to a different standard of accountability. We all benefitted from this, whether we recognised it or not – whether we acknowledge the Christian roots of it or not.

"This sense of grace and accountability – which I think goes to the heart of who the late Queen was and permeates the stories that have been replayed on loop since her death – must, as part of her legacy, speak to us in our own lives as we navigate ever-changing circumstances and pressures."

Chris Dawson, from Skipton, said it had been a very moving service. "I think the death of the Queen has caught a lot of people by surprise. It was good to come here today for this very moving service, to be with so many others, to show our respect and to be part of history."

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