LONDON | The public began to gather on Monday in front of the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, exhibited for the first time at St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, four days following the death of the sovereign at the age of 96, noted an AFP journalist.
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The body, in its closed coffin covered with the Scottish royal standard, will remain 24 hours in the Scottish capital before reaching London by plane on Tuesday evening. From Wednesday evening, she will rest at the Palace of Westminster, where hundreds of thousands of people are expected, until her state funeral next Monday.
Earlier, King Charles III led the procession on Monday, in silence and surrounded by his brothers and sister, carrying the coffin of Elizabeth II to St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, where it will be displayed for the first time at the public, at the start of a week’s farewell to the monarch.
Four days following the death of Elizabeth II in her Scottish castle of Balmoral and a week before her funeral in the presence of some 500 foreign dignitaries and millions of visitors, the emotion remains strong in the United Kingdom, and the public numerous to accompany the last voyage of the popular sovereign.
After joining Edinburgh on Sunday through the Scottish countryside, her funeral procession left the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Queen’s official residence in Scotland where the coffin spent the night, at 2:35 p.m. to go to Saint-Gilles Cathedral.
In line, the four children of Elizabeth II followed the hearse on foot for more than a kilometer in the old town of the Scottish capital: Charles III, Princes Andrew and Edward as well as Princess Anne marched in rhythm, all in military uniform with the exception of Andrew, in withdrawal from the monarchy following the sexual assault charges which he ended by paying millions of dollars.
A particularity which confirms the sidelining of the one who has often been called the “favorite son” of Elizabeth II.
During the religious ceremony following the procession, the crown of Scotland, in solid gold, will be placed on the coffin. Then the remains of Elizabeth II, a symbol of stability during decades of upheaval, a planetary icon that reassured the British in times of crisis, will remain on display in the cathedral for 24 hours, which should lead to a massive influx.
“I will stay as long as it takes,” Sam Whitton, a Scotsman in the long queue to see the coffin, told AFP. For him, the queen represented “a piece of history, probably the last time it will happen in our lifetime.”
“It’s something I won’t get to see once more. I needed to do something,” said Steve Crofts, 47 and living near the Scottish capital.
“I’m torn, it’s the end of an era, but following listening to Charles in recent days, I think he’s ready,” said Sue Stevens, a 79-year-old Englishwoman.
“Weight of History”
Charles III installs himself as monarch with the difficult task of succeeding his very popular mother in the context of serious social crisis and divisions in the United Kingdom, but also of contestation in the face of the colonialist past in his 14 other kingdoms.
He is 73 years old, older than all the British sovereigns on their accession to the throne.
After the religious service in Edinburgh, Charles III is to receive the first Scottish independence minister, Nicola Sturgeon. Then, at 7.20 p.m., a private funeral wake will begin for the royal family.
The new king received condolences from the Speakers of the House of Lords and the House of Commons on Monday in the British Parliament in London.
“As I stand before you today, I cannot help but feel the weight of history that surrounds us and reminds us of the vital parliamentary traditions to which Members of both Houses are dedicated,” the Sovereign said in a short speech.
He claimed his mother was “an example of devotion which, with God’s help and your guidance, I am resolved to follow faithfully.”
Elizabeth II remained during her 70 years of reign a head of state with irreproachable neutrality, fulfilling without ever publicly expressing her opinions her constitutional functions, opening Parliament, promulgating laws, validating appointments, and still enthroning, two days before dying at the age of 96, his 15th head of government.
Withdrawn from the monarchy since the resounding “Megxit”, Prince Harry joined in the tributes to Elizabeth II, whom he called a “compass”, thanking his “granny” for her sense of duty and her “contagious smile “: “You are already sorely missed”.
“Moment of reflection” on Sunday
On Sunday, the curious waited for hours to be sure of being in the front row so as not to see, if only for a few seconds, the oak coffin passing aboard the hearse which covered the 300 kilometers between Balmoral and Balmoral in six hours. and Edinburgh.
After being presented for 24 hours to the population, the body will be embarked Tuesday evening at Edinburgh airport on board a royal plane bound for London.
It will once more be on public display 24 hours a day, enclosed, draped in the royal standard, on a dais at the Palace of Westminster from Wednesday evening.
Long queues – which might reach eight kilometers – are expected while 750,000 people might try to see the coffin, according to the newspaper The Times.
The remains of Elizabeth II will remain in Parliament for five days before the state funeral. Some 500 foreign dignitaries are expected – a considerable security challenge for the police – including US President Joe Biden, his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, as well as many crowned heads.
The day before the event, Sunday, the public will be called to mark a minute of silence at 8:00 p.m., Downing Street said, “a moment of reflection” in memory of the sovereign with unequaled longevity in the history of the United Kingdom. .
