ABBA Voyage concertgoer recalls moment she met Queen Elizabeth II during her 1977 Silver Jubilee

An ABBA Voyage concertgoer shared the emotional moment she met the Queen during her Silver Jubilee in 1997 as she paid tribute to the late monarch following her death during a visit to London’s Buckingham Palace on Friday.

She and some of her fellow music fans stood outside the royal residence less than 24 hours after learning of the Queen’s death at Balmoral in Scotland on Thursday to pay tribute.

After watching ABBA’s virtual concert residency at the purpose-built venue at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in East London, one pop fan was asked what the Queen meant to her, prompting her to explain: ‘What she meant to me – I’m very royalist – is stability, someone to look up to, aspire to, that she represented our country really well.

‘I met her once on a walkabout and she just came over and spoke to me, and she was a normal person. It was so lovely, you know, she was the Queen, she just came over and just chatted generally, and it was really nice.

‘She was amazing. I was giving some flowers to her and we spoke about the flowers, and it was so amazing. It was a long time ago but it’s just come back to me.

‘It was 25 years that she’d been on the throne, it was her Silver Jubilee.’

Farewell: She and some of her fellow music fans stood outside the royal residence less than 24 hours after learning of the Queen’s death at Balmoral in Scotland on Thursday (the Queen pictured in February)

Earlier she explained: ‘We did come down yesterday for the ABBA concert yesterday and then when she died we decided to come up this morning to pay our respects because we’re in London and it’s the right thing to do.’

When asked how they were feeling, another member of the group said: ‘Just shocked, and it’s sad because she’s always been there, hasn’t she.

‘She just held herself with so much class and so much dignity, and I just don’t think you see that anymore.

Heartfelt words: After watching ABBA’s virtual concert at the purpose-built venue at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, one pop fan was asked what the Queen meant to her

Looking back: The ABBA fan said she’d met the Queen during her Silver Jubilee in 1977 (the Queen pictured on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with the late Earl Mountbatten of Burma (left), and the late Duke of Edinburgh (right) during the Silver Jubilee in 1977)

‘She was a great head of state and we wanted to come here and pay our respects.’

On the moment she learned of the Queen’s death, the group member continued: ‘I got a message and it I put on the news and it came up.

‘We were all in the room and we were about to leave and it was breaking news, and Huw Edwards on the BBC said it, so we just took a moment because it was just shocking.’

Another member of the group explained how she and her friends did a toast to the Queen, adding: ‘We were a bit emotional because we were excited for out event but they did a minute’s silence before the concert.’  

Toast: The group said they made a toast to the Queen as the news of her death broke on Thursday before heading to the ABBA concert where there was a minute’s silence

It comes as Britain is today mourning the death of its beloved Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. After a remarkable 70 years on the throne, the country’s longest-reigning royal yesterday died ‘peacefully’, aged 96, at Balmoral in Scotland.

Her death sparked an immediate and huge outpouring of emotion, with thousands of heartbroken mourners gathering outside the gates of Buckingham Palace and other royal buildings yesterday evening.  

At one point, a rendition of ‘God Save The Queen’ rang out among the mourners, followed by cheers of ‘Long Live The King’.

ABBA: The 95-minute digital stage show is held at the former Olympic Park in London [L-R Benny Andersson, Agnetha Fältskog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Bjorn Ulvaeus]

Venue: ABBA’s virtual concert is held at the purpose-built venue at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in East London 

Others laid flowers outside Windsor Castle – where The Queen had spent much of her time following the death of her beloved husband, Prince Philip, in April last year.

And in a sign of the Queen’s considerable worldwide influence and appeal, royal fans laid flowers outside British embassies including in Washington, Berlin and Oslo.

Senior royals dashed to be at the Queen’s bedside on Thursday, but did not reach Balmoral in time before she passed, it is believed.

Only her eldest children, Prince Charles and Princess Anne, who were already in Scotland at the time of the Monarch’s sudden turn for the worse, were able to make it to the royal estate before her death, sources said.

Rest in peace: It comes as Britain is today mourning the death of its beloved Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II  

Tragedy:  Her death sparked an immediate and huge outpouring of emotion, with thousands of mourners gathering outside the gates of Buckingham Palace on Thursday evening (pictured)

Prince Andrew, Prince Edward, his wife Sophie, and Prince William all flew in from Berkshire via private jet to Aberdeen on Thursday as they dashed to Balmoral to see her. But it is understood that they did not reach the estate before she passed.

Prince Harry, who was due to attend a charity event with wife Meghan in London on Thursday, also attempted to reach Balmoral in time. But he arrived at 8pm, nearly an hour-and-a-half after the public were informed of the Queen’s death.

The Queen’s son Charles, the former Prince of Wales, is now King Charles III, while Prince William has inherited his father’s title and is now, along with his wife, styled The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and Cambridge. William is also now the ‘heir apparent’ to the British throne. 

Announcement: Buckingham Palace announced the sad news of the Queen’s passing on Thursday