Westminster Abbey: Focus for nation's grief

Nation Falls Silent for Final Tribute

In Manchester a maroon flare fired by mortar from the roof of the Victorian Town Hall signalled the start of the minute's silence ended by the pealing of a single muffled bell.

Mourners stood in small groups, heads bowed in the city's Albert Square in front of the Town Hall. At the end of the silence the Lord Mayor, Gerry Carroll, laid the city's official tribute, a bouquet of lilies tied in a yellow ribbon.

During the morning a steady stream of people, many in tears, entered the Town Hall to add their names to 5,000 already in a book of condolence.

In Bolton a special multi-denominational memorial service took place with leaders from all churches in the town. Another memorial service took place in Blackburn Cathedral.

In Southampton there were fewer people about than on a Christmas morning. Car parks, normally overflowing, were empty and the precinct, where the Union Flag hung at half mast, was virtually deserted as shops remained closed for the morning.

Funeral watched by millions

The picture was repeated across Britain. The streets of Liverpool were shrouded in an eerie silence. In a city all too familiar with tragedy following the Hillsborough disaster, mourners from all walks of life gathered at the Parish Church of Our Lady and St Nicholas.

The streets of Leeds city centre were virtually deserted. Most shops were closed, many with touching notices expressing their grief posted outside.

The few that remained open were empty, and in some staff joined the nation in mourning by watching the funeral on television or listening to the radio. There was little traffic. Empty buses pulled in and out of Leeds bus station, and just a few cars dotted the normally packed city car parks.

Tributes in Scotland

Scotland pays tribute to Princess

In Scotland, hundreds of people gathered in Edinburgh as live pictures of the funeral service were relayed on big screens to mourners at the Ross Theatre in Edinburgh's Princes Street gardens.

A service in tribute to Diana, conducted by the Queen's chaplain in Scotland, the Rev Charles Robertson, followed the nationwide minute's silence just after midday.

More than 300 people sat in blustery, overcast conditions in the amphitheatre in the shadow of Edinburgh Castle, where the Union Flag flew at half mast. Others, including many of the city's traffic wardens lined an eerily silent and deserted Princes Street above the gardens.

Ulster United in Grief

Wreath lies on Diana's coffin

Northern Ireland came to a sad and silent standstill. Shops were shuttered, roads deserted - hardly a vehicle moved as Catholic and Protestant alike marked the passing of their most popular Princess.

The population remained in their homes watching in private the moving scenes from the funeral in Westminster Abbey.

In a part of the United Kingdom where loyalty to the Royal Family is a crucial part of the very being of the loyalist majority, nationalists too joined them in mourning.

In the Falls Road, the heart of nationalist west Belfast, hardly a shop was open, those that did said they had hardly a customer. Across the peaceline the loyalist Shankill Road was like a ghost town.

Symbolic of the united grief was a simple ceremony in the often divided city of Londonderry, where the nationalist Mayor and unionist Deputy Mayor put aside their differences to honour the Princess, laying a wreath at the city Cenotaph.

Emotional Farewell in Wales

Wales bade an emotional farewell to its Princess as large crowds gathered in Cardiff to watch a live TV relay of her funeral.

Mourners packed the green outside Llandaff Cathedral which became an extension of Westminster Abbey and a focus for Wales's grief at the loss of Diana.

Led by the Welsh Secretary Ron Davies and Cardiff's Lord Mayor Max Phillips around 700 invited guests, MPs and volunteers from Diana's charities followed the Abbey service.

But outside, families with children watched on other huge screens and joined in the hymn-singing. Many were in tears.

The ancient 12th century cathedral was a poignant setting for Wales' tribute, recalling memories of Diana's visit there on St David's Day in 1991 when she and Charles proudly introduced Prince William on his first public engagement.

Across Wales, shopping centres were deserted, firms closed and most other events were cancelled. Churches in towns and villages were opened for private prayer.

Toll booths on both Severn Bridges were closed during the national minute's silence after the funeral.