Linda Nolan to be buried in 'bright pink and sparkly' coffin
Linda Nolan will be buried in a "bright pink and sparkly" coffin but her family have rejected her request they wear black lace veils to mourn her.
Linda Nolan will be buried in a "bright pink and sparkly" coffin.
The 65-year-old star died last week following a long battle with breast cancer and though she confided in her family the plans she wanted for her funeral, her sister Coleen Nolan admitted they have decided to ignore one of her more outlandish requests, though they will make sure she gets a "pure showbiz" send-off.
The 'Loose Women' star told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "She wanted everyone in black, wearing mantillas, those little lace veils that cover your face. I remember saying, 'You are joking, Linda! If I see all my sisters in mantillas, I’m going to laugh the whole way through the funeral!'
"We’ve decided not to do that, but we are wearing black.
"Her coffin is pure showbiz – bright pink and sparkly, just as she wanted. The one thing my sister loved was bling – her trainers had bling on them, her handbags, her tops, her walking stick – so it feels right that she has a glittery pink coffin."
Coleen joined her older sisters Anne, 74, Denise, 72, and Maureen, 69, at Linda's bedside for her final hours and though the 59-year-old star wasn't there when her sibling took her final breath, she is comforted by her memories of their last day together.
She said: "I’m holding on to the memory of the last day I spent with her in hospital, which was full of love and laughter.
"My daughter Ciara and I sat with her and we said everything we needed to say to each other. She told us how much she loved us and we told her we loved her. I think she knew it would be the last time she’d see us, but there were no tears.
"Although she had double pneumonia and was on oxygen, she was cracking jokes, being her usual funny self and eating the chocolate people had brought her. She wanted to hear about my new grandson and I showed her lots of photos of him.
"So many people came to see her, including her best friend of 60 years, Suzanne, and her stepdaughter Sarah, and the whole family were at her bedside. The nurses kept telling her to rest, but Linda, being Linda, would not stop talking!
"When I left that evening, I told her I’d come and visit the next day and she said, “Oh, you don’t have to” and I said, “I know, but I will” and then she said, 'Col, I really love you'."
But Coleen eventually had to leave to drive home and knew she was saying goodbye to her sister for the final time.
She added: "We were all exhausted and my sisters told me to go, as I had a two-hour drive home, so I gave Linda a big hug and a kiss, and I knew it would be the last time.
"When Maureen called the next morning to say Linda had died, I didn’t feel sad that I wasn’t there when she took her last breath because we’d got to spend that precious day together and I’m grateful for that."
