LONDON, Sept 19 (Reuters) – Leaders and monarchs from around the world gathered in London on Monday to say goodbye to Queen Elizabeth at a grand state funeral, marking the death of a beloved figure who was in At the age of 70, the country was unified. years of rule.
Thousands of people lined the streets to witness the Queen’s coffin travel from historic Westminster Hall to nearby Westminster Abbey and finally to Windsor Castle, where she will be laid to rest with her late husband.
U.S. President Joe Biden has paid tribute to Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, at 96, whose contribution to the country has earned almost universal respect as Britain’s role in the world wanes and changes.
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“You’re lucky to have her for 70 years,” Biden said. “We are all.” read more
Amid crowds from across the UK and beyond, people climbed lampposts and stood on barriers and ladders to get a glimpse of the royal procession.
Millions of people will be watching TV at home during the public holiday announced for this. The funeral of a British monarch has never been broadcast on TV before.
Along the shopping centre on one of London’s grand ceremonial boulevards, there were 15-20 people standing deep in the crowd.
Some wore nice black suits and dresses. Others wore hoodies, leggings and tracksuits. A woman with dyed green hair stood next to a man in morning clothes, waiting for the parade to begin.
Alistair Campbell Binnings, 64, said he left his Norfolk home at midnight for London.
“It’s a one-off. We’re only here for the Queen. We just feel like we have to be here. She’s someone we’ve always needed in a time of crisis,” he said.
Shortly before 11am (1000GMT), the oak coffin covered with the Royal Standard flag and topped with the Imperial Crown will be placed on the gun wagon and pulled by naval personnel to Westminster Abbey for her funeral .
The 2,000-strong congregation will include some 500 world leaders, from Biden and Japan’s Emperor Naruhito to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown.
The Queen’s great-grandchildren, Prince George, 9, and Princess Charlotte, 7, now the two eldest sons of heir to the throne, Prince William, will also be in attendance.
“As we all prepare to say goodbye, I just want to take this opportunity to thank all the countless people who have given my family and myself support and comfort during this sad time,” Elizabeth’s son of Charles and the new king, said in a statement.
‘Invincible’
Elizabeth died in September. 8 At Balmoral Castle, her Scottish summer home.
Her health has been declining and the monarch, who performed hundreds of official functions before turning 90, has withdrawn from public life for months.
However, out of her sense of duty, she was photographed two days before her death, looking frail, with a cane in her hand, as Liz Truss was appointed her 15th and final prime minister.
Members of a marching band walk on the day of Queen Elizabeth’s state funeral and funeral in London, England, on September 19, 2022. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis/Pool
Such is her longevity and her inseparable connection to the UK that even her own family finds her horrified.
“We all thought she was invincible,” Prince William told well-wishers.
The 40th monarch’s lineage dates back to 1066, and Elizabeth, who came to the throne in 1952, was Britain’s first post-imperial monarch.
She oversaw her country’s attempt to carve out a new place in the world, and she was instrumental in the emergence of the Commonwealth, now a bloc of 56 nations.
Winston Churchill was her first prime minister when she succeeded her father, George VI, and Joseph Stalin led the Soviet Union. She met important figures from politics to entertainment and sports, including Nelson Mandela, Pope John Paul II, The Beatles, Marilyn Monroe, Bailey and Roger Federer.
Despite being purportedly 5ft 3in (1.6m) tall, she dominated the room with her presence and became a towering global figure, celebrated in death from Paris and Washington to Moscow and Beijing. In countries with little direct contact with her, Brazil, Jordan and Cuba have all held national mourning events.
“There is no doubt that Queen Elizabeth II is the most famous person in the world, the most photographed person in history, the most recognizable person,” historian Anthony Selden told Reuters.
Transport chiefs said a million people were expected to attend the funeral in central London, while police said it would be the largest security operation ever undertaken in London.
King Charles, his siblings and sons Princes William and Harry and the rest of the Windsor family will slowly walk behind the coffin, which is brought to Westminster, led by around 200 bagpipers and drummers On the gun cart in the church.
The Abbey’s tenor bell – the coronation, wedding and burial site of England and England’s kings and queens for nearly 1,000 years – will ring 96 times.
“Here, where Queen Elizabeth was married and coronated, we gather from all over the country, the Commonwealth and the world to mourn our passing and honor her long and selfless life,” Dean David Hoyle said. ) or Westminster would say.
As well as dignitaries, the congregation will include those who have been awarded Britain’s highest military and civilian medal for valor, representatives of Queen-backed charities, and those who have made “extraordinary contributions” to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
two minutes of silence
The funeral will end with a final post horn salute before two minutes of silence from church and state.
The coffin will then travel through central London, past the Queen’s Buckingham Palace, to Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner, where the monarch and royal family again follow on foot in a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) procession.
From there, it will be placed in a hearse and taken to Windsor Castle in west London for service in St Petersburg. George Church. This will culminate with the crown, orb and scepter – a symbol of the monarch’s power and governance – being removed from the coffin and placed on the altar.
Lord Chamberlain, the crown’s most senior official, will break his “office wand” to mark the end of his service to the monarch and place it on the coffin.
Then, with the monarch’s piper playing lamentations, it will be lowered into the royal vault and slowly walked away until the music in the church fades away.
Later in the evening, in a private family ceremony, the coffins of Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip, who died last year at 99, will be buried together at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, where her parents and sister will be buried . , Princess Margaret, also rested.
“We’re so glad you’re back with Grandpa. Goodbye dear Grandma, it’s been the honor of our life to be your granddaughter and we’re very proud of you,” granddaughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie said.
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Additional reporting by William James, Kylie MacLellan, Estelle Shirbon, Andrew MacAskill, Paul Sandle, Alistair Smout, Muvija M, Sachin Ravikumar, Farouq Suleiman, Angus MacSwan, Richa Naidu, Peter Hobson, Julia Payne, Natalie Grover, Lindsay Dunsmuir, Elizabeth Piper; Edited by Mike Collett-White and Janet Lawrence
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