The popular parade is nearing its end, the official delegations are flocking: the public has only a few hours left on Sunday to gather at the coffin of Queen Elizabeth, before the state funeral on Monday in the presence of leaders from around the world.
Arriving in London on Saturday evening with his wife Jill, US President Joe Biden will join foreign heads of state, including Frenchman Emmanuel Macron, brought together by Charles III on Sunday at the end of the day, the first major diplomatic meeting of the new 73-year-old ruler.
They will meet Monday morning among the 2,000 guests of Westminster Abbey, where Elizabeth II was crowned in 1953, for the culmination of tributes paid in immense emotion since the death on September 8 of the monarch to popularity. planetary.
The public will still have until 6:30 a.m. (7:30 a.m. in Switzerland) that day to gather in Westminster Hall, the oldest room in the British Parliament in front of the coffin of one who has crossed the ages with the same sense of duty. But given the considerable waiting time to parade in front of the coffin – 5 p.m. announced on Saturday evening – the queue should be closed by the end of the day on Sunday to new arrivals.
>> The details in the 12:30 p.m.:
An organizational challenge
The organization of the state funeral, the first since that of Winston Churchill in 1965, represents an unprecedented challenge for the London police. “The biggest operation” ever carried out by the London police, underlined the mayor of the capital Sadiq Khan, on the occasion of the visit of Charles and William to a command center on Saturday.
After a final procession, Elizabeth II will be buried privately on Monday in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, west London, next to her father King George VI and her husband Prince Philip.
furr with afp
