PRICEY TEARS - Professional mourner would charge more than $80-M to cry at Queen’s funeral

Professional crier Dalkeith 'Kingston 11' Wright would love the opportunity to bawl at Queen Elizabeth's funeral, not because he is an admirer of the monarch, but because it could mean a good payday.

However, the Waterhouse, St Andrew man, who travels all over Jamaica to cry at funerals for people he does not even know, concedes 'Operation London Bridge' protocols would bar him for working at the Queen's send-off.

Operation London Bridge is the code name for the funeral plan for Queen Elizabeth II. The plan includes the announcement of her death, the period of official mourning, and the details of her state funeral.

The Queen's funeral will take place on Monday September 19 at Westminster Abbey, aroyal church in the centre of London. Wright said that if he were to be a specially invited guest to the monarch's funeral, he would take along a Kumina group so they could beat drums and evoke ancestral spirits. He is, however, realistic that it is highly unlikely to happen. About 2,000 specifically invited guests are set to attend the funeral at Westminster Abbey.

"Me nuh really think dem would make me come because when dem a keep fi dem ting, dem private ting, anuh any and anybody dem welcome, worse my complexion, my hair and the Rastaman ting. So when dem see a man like me, dem nah go want me there," the crier told THE STAR.

However, in the unlikely event that he is contacted, Wright said that he would accept no less that PS500,000 (approximately J$87.3 million) for his services. This is significantly higher than his going rate, which ranges from $3,000 to $10,000.

"A weh yuh a talk bout man, fi sing and bawl me woulda tek bout PS500,000. A di Queen that enuh. Fi sing, bawl and roll and hug up the coffin, she a get the full package. Me will all keep a set up fi har," Wright said.

The professional mourner is known for the catchphrase, 'As yuh dead call me'. He said that he is opened to the idea of participating in local mourning activities that may he held in observance of the Queen's passing. The Government has announced that beginning September 8, there would be an official period of mourning to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II, with a day of mourning set for September 18.

"If say [Olivia] Babsy [Grange] or one a dem government people deh call me, me would just ask fi like $100,000. Me woulda bawl like she was my mada," said Wright, who has been a professional mourner since 2006.