As the queue to see Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin in London was temporarily suspended due to heavy crowds, Charles III traveled to Wales, the final stop on his tour of the Kingdom as new king -United. He returned in the evening to London to watch over his mother’s remains.
Access to the queue to see the coffin of the queen was suspended Friday morning in London, due to high attendance, said the government.
Initially, he announced that this suspension should last “at least six hours”. “The slots for the afternoon have been filled,” he then clarified. “Do not try to join the queue before it reopens”.
Before this announcement, the waiting time had risen to 2 p.m., people waiting night and day for miles to be able to gather briefly in front of the coffin of the sovereign exhibited in Westminster Hall.
When the queue reopened in the afternoon, the government warned of a wait exceeding… 24 hours.
Charles III in Wales
For his part, Charles III visited Wales on Friday, the last stage of his tour of the new king in the United Kingdom, three days before the state funeral of his mother Elizabeth II where hundreds of leaders from around the world are expected. .
King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla in Cardiff. [Jacob King/PA via AP – Keystone]
He is completing a tour of the four constituent nations of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales) in Cardiff, where he attended a church service with Queen Consort Camilla, before a planned reception with representatives local policies.
The new king, who was himself Prince of Wales from the age of 9 to last week, does not arrive on conquered ground.
A petition protesting against the passing of the title – for some a symbol of English oppression – to the new heir to the throne William rather than to a Welshman has collected more than 27,000 signatures. An anti-monarchy demonstration is also planned in front of Cardiff Castle.
princely vigil
Finally, King Charles III and the three other children of Elizabeth II watched over her coffin on Friday evening, surrounded by many anonymous people who braved the very long wait to greet their queen before her funeral.
King Charles III, his sister and his brothers watched Friday with their backs turned and in military parade clothes on the coffin of their mother, Queen Elizabeth II. [Dominic Lipinski/Pool – REUTERS]
Placed around it, turning their backs head down, Charles, Anne, Andrew and Edward, all in military uniform, gathered for only a quarter of an hour near the coffin draped with the royal standard and adorned with the imperial crown, deposited on an imposing catafalque in the oldest chamber of the British parliament, without interrupting the presentation of the remains to the public.
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