Great Britain
Long queue for the Queen’s coffin
People line up in London to pay their last respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II. photo
© Martin Meissner/AP/dpa
The stream of people who want to say goodbye to their monarch at the Queen’s coffin continues. The eight grandchildren want to honor their deceased grandmother with a wake in the evening.
The people of Great Britain have another opportunity this weekend to say goodbye to their monarch with a visit to the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II. The coffin lay in state in Westminster Hall in London until Monday morning, before the state funeral for the Queen, who sat on the throne for 70 years. Her eight grandchildren – including Princes William and Prince Harry – are holding a 15-minute vigil tonight.
There was an incident at the coffin yesterday. A man was arrested who, according to witnesses, ran towards the coffin. A witness told Sky News that someone pushed her seven-year-old niece out of the way, ran to the coffin and tried to lift the royal standard lying over the coffin. The police seized him “within two seconds”. The live television broadcast was suspended at the time and a view from outside Parliament was shown instead. The Metropolitan Police said the man had been arrested for breaching the Public Order Act, according to the British news agency PA.
Royal Family attends wake
Previously, King Charles III. and his siblings – also for a quarter of an hour – took over the wake at the coffin. King Charles III (73), Princess Anne (72), Prince Andrew (62) and Prince Edward (58) positioned themselves in the evening – all in uniform – around the coffin, put their hands together and looked down. Many other members of the Royal Family also attended the wake from a podium on the edge of Westminster Hall in Parliament.
The wake was reportedly the only occasion at the funeral ceremonies that Prince Andrew was allowed to wear a uniform. The Queen stripped her second eldest son of all military ranks earlier this year for his involvement in the abuse scandal surrounding the late US multi-millionaire Jeffrey Epstein. He has been dressed in civilian clothes for all other ceremonies so far.
Charles III ends the journey of mourning
With a visit to Wales, Charles had previously completed his funeral journey through all four parts of the United Kingdom – in addition to Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Countless people have taken the opportunity to pause at the coffin of Elizabeth II since Wednesday. To do this, they have to queue for hours in a kilometer-long queue along the Thames. On Friday morning, the Ministry of Culture briefly stopped access to the queue when it reached a length of around eight kilometers. Ex-soccer star David Beckham was also spotted in the queue: the 47-year-old told Sky News that he had queued up at night and waited for around twelve hours. “It’s a sad day, but an unforgettable one,” he said. On Friday evening, the waiting time was estimated at at least 22 hours.
Even at night the queue didn’t stop. At least those waiting can probably leave their umbrellas at home at the weekend. The British Weather Service forecast sunny weather for today with highs of 17 degrees Celsius in the British capital, the PA news agency reported. It should also remain dry on Sunday.
William and Harry are in military uniform
When the Queen’s grandchildren keep the wake at the coffin tonight, Prince William, who has become heir to the throne, should stand at the head and Prince Harry at the foot, as the British news agency PA reported, citing palace sources. At the request of her father King Charles III. both brothers will wear their military uniform. At previous ceremonies, unlike his brother, Harry, who served in Afghanistan, wore a frock coat – he had to relinquish his military titles with his self-imposed farewell from the closer circle of the royal family. Harry now lives in the United States with his wife Meghan and their children Archie and Lilibet.
The Queen’s other granddaughters will wear formal black suits or dresses at the wake, it said. The children of Queen’s daughter Princess Anne, Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips, are said to be at William’s side. Flanking Harry are Prince Andrew’s daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie. The Queen’s youngest grandsons, Lady Louise and Viscount Severn, Prince Edward’s children, are positioned in the middle of the coffin. The grandchildren are very anxious to pay their respects to the dead queen, it said.
Elizabeth II died on Thursday September 8th at the age of 96 at her Scottish country estate of Balmoral Castle. Her coffin was brought to Scotland’s capital Edinburgh on Sunday and then to London on Tuesday evening. There, the closest family to Charles led him on Wednesday afternoon in a solemn procession from Buckingham Palace to Parliament, where he has been laid out ever since.
Funeral with many distinguished guests
Hundreds of monarchs, heads of state and government from all over the world are expected in London for the state funeral this Monday. After a service at Westminster Abbey, the coffin is taken in a procession to Wellington Arch, the route takes in The Mall and past Buckingham Palace. Such a ceremony has not taken place in Britain since the death of Winston Churchill in 1965, the BBC reported.
The actual burial will not take place in London, but in Windsor to the west. The coffin will be taken there in a hearse. The Queen is to receive her final resting place on Monday evening at a private funeral in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle – alongside her husband Prince Philip, who died last year.