Today, hundreds of fans gathered to pay their respects as the late Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, as her body was put on public display in gold casket in Detroit, USA.
The body of Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, on Tuesday, arrived in Detroit to begin lying in state as thousands of fans gather for a final goodbye, according to BBC.
Her body was delivered in a vintage white Cadillac hearse to the African-American museum in her home town where it will remain for two days.
A week of mourning is being held in the Detroit city, where fans have descended from across the US to see the late singer one last time.
A 1940 white Cadillac LaSalle hearse delivered Franklin’s body to Detroit’s African-American museum
The body of the 76-year-old, who died of pancreatic cancer nearly two weeks ago, will be on public view on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Charles H Wright Museum of African American History.
“She’s the queen,” said Melissa Howard, who flew from Texas on Monday to pay her respects. “She’s royalty. She’s worth it.”
The venue was reportedly chosen because Rosa Parks’s viewing took place there in 2005 and because it needs to accommodate the thousands of people expected to attend.
The singer will then be laid to rest at the city’s Woodlawn Cemetery on Friday, as the funeral service will be held at the Greater Grace Temple which is for family and friends only, but Chaka Khan, Jennifer Hudson and Stevie Wonder are among those due to sing there.
Former US President, Bill Clinton will be among the speakers.
It was gathered that embroidered in the lining of her casket in gold thread were the words: “Aretha Franklin, The Queen of Soul”.
The 1940 Cadillac LaSalle hearse was also used to transport the body of her father, Rev CL Franklin, funeral director O’Neil Swanson II told CNN.
The vehicle also carried the bodies of Rosa Parks in 2005 and Temptations singer, David Ruffin in 1991, he said.
“I was so stunned when we took the body out of the hearse, people all over the crowd were tearful and saying, ‘I love you Aretha,”‘ Swanson said.
“They really loved her, and she loved Detroit.”
He said the casket where Franklin rests is 24-karat gold plated. “God didn’t make a better singer and there isn’t a better casket,” Swanson said. “She deserves the very best.”
For the funeral, the streets outside are expected to be lined with pink Cadillac cars, in a tribute to Franklin’s 1985 hit Freeway of Love.
Watch a video from the open casket viewing below courtesy of Dailymail;
