Little girl tells of Queen Mother grief

Destini was among a million to line the streets

A five-year-old girl who provided one of the enduring images from the Queen Mother's funeral has spoken about her grief.

Destini Brown, from Kent, was photographed with her head bowed in prayer amid the crowds lining the route of the cortege on its way from the Abbey to Windsor.

The famous photograph

She said the day was "very sad" and her mother Debbie said the picture captured a moment to be treasured forever.

The photograph was taken by the Press Association's John Giles as the hearse passed along The Mall in central London.

Mrs Brown, 32, said: "It is something we will never forget. We went to be part of history and the kids will never see anything like that again.

"It was an amazing thing to do, even though we were all standing there freezing."

The sight of the picture in national newspapers afterwards moved the mother-of-four to tears.

'Little monkey'

She said: "It brought a lump to my throat. Of all the people, they decided to take a picture of my daughter."

Destini said: "It was very sad. I looked at all the flowers and saw the Queen Mother's necklace."

Mrs Brown and her husband Gary left their home in the early hours of Tuesday morning with their three other children Letania, 12, Duane, 11, and Aaron, eight.

They stood in the street for hours - grateful for their packed lunch - to watch the historic event.

All my children go to church on Sunday and they are going to be so amazed when they take that picture in

Debbie Brown

Destini, got her unusual name because she was lucky to survive her birth, having stopped breathing for two minutes, Mrs Brown said.

She said: "She is so different from the rest of them. She has got her own personality.

"She is a little monkey most of the time but she is a good girl.

"She likes drawing, dressing up and make-up. She's five going on 15."

Mrs Brown added: "All my children go to church on Sunday and they are going to be so amazed when they take that picture in."