It’s a historic moment that we live together
throws me a drinker. The monarchy, its tragedies and sorrows, that’s what we do best in England
he continues, staring at the screen, like all the customers who have invaded the premises to experience the moment.
An hour before the speech of Prince Charles, now King Charles III, we were talking hard on the sidewalk in front of the pub in this trendy district of London where ties are loosened, the time of a few pints. For or against the monarchy? The question is on everyone’s lips on this balmy September evening.
Ian Mills, 49, who works in the field of new technologies, opens a small black umbrella as only a few drops of rain fall. It’s always raining in London”,”text”:”Ah! You did not know it? It’s always raining in London”}}”>Ah! You did not know it? It’s always raining in Londonhe lets go, tongue-in-cheek. Like everyone else, I loved her
he said more seriously. I loved her, as one loves an old lady, not as a queen.
Ian otherwise finds the monarchy an outdated and ridiculous concept. This type of power cannot be conferred on a human being, by definition mortal. It’s an archaic concept that Britain needs to get rid of.
Ian does not hesitate to prophesy that Charles’s speech, in an hour, will be a historic moment, because it will mark, in his opinion, the beginning of the end of the English monarchy.
Ian caustically evokes the scenes broadcast on television from Buckingham Palace, where tearful Britons, who have swapped their traditional phlegm for carnations, parade with tears in their eyes. He puts forward the hypothesis that the English experience, through the death of Elizabeth, the mourning of their own youth, but also that of a fantasized, united country.
There’s a lot more expressed in this than the queen’s strict departure
. Ian said again, pursing his lips, looking mischievous: It’s all David Bowie’s fault. When Bowie died in 2016, everything fell apart. Trump was elected in the United States, the COVID arrived and there, the queen dies
. Ian laughs, quietly takes a sip of Bowie’s beer.
A few steps away, on the pavement, a group of three young men with the milk complexion characteristic of British postcards of yesteryear. One is 25 years old, the other 29 years old and the last 33 years old. Their names are respectively Lewis, Jamie and Tom. And they are all for the monarchy. The reason is simple: it is the only thing that unites their torn country at the moment.
The fracture left by Brexit still haunts everyone and British society, they tell me, continues to divide. The economy, galloping inflation, rising fuel prices, immigration… To this, each politician brings a solution that does not really satisfy anyone. To all this, the royal family opposes a symbol of continuity and unity
thinks Tom, whose last name is…Windsor!
But all three are skeptical of Charles’ ability to do as well as his mother, even though Tom is a fan. Charles has inspiring environmental beliefs. I believe it can launch us into a new, greener chapter in our history.
At 6 p.m., Lewis, Jamie and Tom enter the pub to join the other patrons gathered in front of the giant screen to listen to the new king. The usual hubbub of the place dies down, the moment becomes solemn. One of them lets out, suddenly, a very virile: I think I’m going to cry.
Azzy Brauu et Andrew Farrclough
Photo : Radio-Canada / Ivanoh Demers
In the East End, just about everyone we spoke to was on edge, even the misfits. Azzy Brauu has tricolor hair. She sports huge false eyelashes and conceals her true eye color with colored contact lenses that make her look like a cat.
She tells us that she has been crying since Thursday and candidly confides to us: The queen was like my grandmother. I feel like an orphan
. Son boyfriend nod. He understands her. His name is Andrew Fairclough. But I believe Charles should cede the throne to William.
Who says punks can’t have an opinion on palace intrigue?
Sisters Akva and Abana Appiah were eager to listen to Charles III’s speech.
Photo : Radio-Canada / Ivanoh Demers
In all of the city’s bus shelters, large signs were put up yesterday with a picture of the Queen, her year of birth and her year of death. The Akva and Abana Appiah sisters wait for the bus in front of the image of the deceased. When we met them, the eldest was hurrying home to listen to Charles’ speech.
It’s going to be very strange to call him “King Charles”. Elisabeth, she had always been there, it went without saying. Without it, will it work?
Mural in London’s East End depicting the late Queen stopping a soccer goal.
Photo : Radio-Canada / Ivanoh Demers