Travellers have come together for the funeral of TV personality Paddy Doherty’s mother.
Hundreds of mourners joined the Big Fat Gypsy Wedding star to say goodbye to Elizabeth Doherty, known as Queenie, who died earlier this month.
Close family wore red ties and scarves during the service at the Sacred Heart Church in Cobham, Surrey, on Saturday.
Ahead of the funeral the 59-year-old described his mother as the “Queen of my heart”. He said she was always smiling and was loved within the travelling community.
“She is missed and loved by everyone, she is our Queen,” he told the Press Association.
Rolls-Royces lined the street outside the church and were decorated with flags which said “Our Queenie” on them.
And her casket, which family members kissed and placed their hands on inside the church, was adorned with an image of the Virgin Mary.
The Big Brother star said his mother suffered a massive heart attack just days after a headstone was placed on the grave of her much-loved spouse, Simon.
Known as Simey, he died last year after battling an ongoing illness – his funeral also drew hundreds of mourners as he was remembered as the “father of all travellers”.
Doherty said his parents would have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary this year, and that his mother “definitely a million per cent” died of a broken heart.
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