London, Sept. 18 (BNA): Thousands of police, hundreds of British troops and an army of officials made final preparations on Sunday for the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, a stunning display of national mourning that will also be the largest gathering of world leaders. For years, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
US President Joe Biden and other world leaders traveled to London for the funeral, where about 500 royals, heads of state and heads of government from around the world were invited.
With the influx of dignitaries, the clock was ticking for those looking for a place in the largest queue any of them had ever seen to pass the Queen’s Coffin as it is located in Westminster Hall. The mile-long waiting list for new arrivals is expected to close later on Sunday so everyone in line can see the coffin before Monday morning, when it will be taken to Westminster Abbey for the Queen’s funeral.
Thousands of people, from family to family, were queuing around the clock, braving cold temperatures all night long and waiting up to 17 hours in a queue that stretched for more than 5 miles (8 kilometres).
Lauren Wilson, a 36-year-old student, was on the much shorter waiting list for people with mobility issues. She said she wanted to experience the coffin in its personal condition.
“The world is in such a strange place and then this happened. It feels more important,” she said.
She was concerned that the festivals surrounding Elizabeth’s death would deprive the Queen’s relatives of the ability to come to terms with their loss.
“The family is not allowed to grieve,” she said. “I find that very heartbreaking.”
The Queen’s eight grandchildren, led by heir to the throne Prince William, rotated the coffin and stood with their heads bowed during a silent vigil on Saturday evening.
Among the foreign leaders in London was New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who told the BBC she was humbled to represent her nation at the funeral and to witness the national outpouring of grief and respect for the late Queen.
“The thing I will take away from this period is just the beauty of the audience’s response, the kindness you see from members of the audience, the patience, the camaraderie. It was to me the most touching tribute the British people have ever reacted.”
King Charles III hosted a reception for heads of state and other leaders on Sunday evening at Buckingham Palace.
People across the UK will also pause on Sunday evening for a nationwide minute of silence to remember the Queen, who died on September 8 in 96 after 70 years on the throne. Monday has been declared a public holiday, and the funeral will be broadcast to a huge television audience around the world and shown to crowds in parks and public spaces across the country.
Police officers from all over the country will be on duty as part of the largest one-day police operation in London history.
Crowds also gathered Sunday near Windsor Castle, where the Queen will be laid to rest at a private family party on Monday evening.
“I think it was great,” said Anna Pettigrew, a 55-year-old teacher. “It was very emotional, and I think it was a very fitting tribute to a wonderful Queen.”
Camilla, the queen’s new wife, paid tribute to the queen in a video message, saying the queen “carved her role” as a “recluse woman” on the male-dominated world stage.
“I will always remember her smile. That smile is unforgettable,” said Camilla, who is married to Charles.
Prince Andrew also paid tribute to his mother, saying he will forever appreciate “your love for the Son, your compassion, your care, and your self-confidence.”
“I will miss your insight, your advice, and your sense of humor,” he said.
Andrew, the third of the Queen’s four children, was relieved of official royal duties and stripped of his honorary military titles due to his friendship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
After the Queen’s four children Charles, Princess Anne, Andrew and Prince Edward held a vigil Friday around her coffin, it was the grandchildren’s turn Saturday night.
William and Prince Harry, Charles’s sons, joined by Anne’s children, visited Tindall and Peter Phillips. Andrew’s daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie; and Edward’s two children, Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn.
William stood with his head bowed on top of the coffin and Harry at his feet. Both princes, who are military veterans, were in uniform. The crowd kept advancing slowly and silently.
“You can see that they were thinking very seriously of their Queen’s grandmother,” said Ian Mockett, a civil engineer from Oxford in southern England. “It was nice to see them all together as a group of grandkids, given the things that have happened over the past few years.”
Before the vigil, Beatrice and Eugenie released a statement praising their “beloved grandmother.”
We, like many, believed you would be here forever. And we all miss you dearly. You were our mothers, our guide, and our loving hand guiding us through this world. You taught us so much and we will cherish. “Those lessons and memories are forever,” the sisters wrote.
The silence in Westminster Hall was briefly broken on Friday when a man rushed toward the coffin. London police said Sunday that Mohammed Khan, 28, of London has been charged with conduct aimed at “causing panic, harassment or anxiety”. He will appear in court on Monday.
The lie in the country continues until early Monday morning, when the Queen’s coffin is carried on a cannon cart towed by 142 Royal Navy sailors to nearby Westminster Abbey for the funeral, the conclusion of 10 days of national mourning for Britain’s longest reign. monarch.
After Monday prayers at the Abbey, the late Queen’s coffin will be carried through the historic heart of London on a government cannon cart. She will then be taken to Windsor, where the Queen will be buried alongside her late husband Prince Philip, who died last year at the age of 99.
AOQ