London begins Queen Elizabeth II’s farewell | world and science

The king’s body arrived on Tuesday evening in the capitalJane Barlow / Agence France-Presse

Posted on 09/14/2022 08:50 | Updated on 09/14/2022 08:53

Thousands of Britons began bidding farewell to Elizabeth II this Wednesday, 14, in London, after the coffin arrived on Tuesday evening, 13 – 14:55 GMT – in the English capital, the first day of homage to residents. Queen and icon for seven decades. He came from Scotland, where she died last Thursday, the eighth.

“Welcome home ma’am,” reads The Sun’s headline, while the Daily Express highlights: “Home… for the last time.” Newspapers publish on their front pages a photo of the sarcophagus of the Queen entering Buckingham Palace, where she spent the night.

After a moment of prayer at the palace in the presence of King Charles III, Queen Camilla and the royal family, the body will be carried from 2:22 pm (10:22 GMT) in a procession through central London to the Palace of Westminster.

Charles III and his brothers Princess Anne, Princes Edward and Andrew, as well as six children William – the new Prince of Wales – and Harry, will accompany the courtiers on foot during the 40-minute journey to the Houses of Parliament.

To mark the occasion, Big Ben’s bells will ring and a cannon barrage will be launched in Hyde Park in honor of the longest-serving monarch in UK history, who played a reassuring role during the COVID-19 pandemic after decades on the throne.

The cremated chamber of Elizabeth II, who died at the age of 96, will open at 5:00 pm (13:00 GMT) in Westminster Hall, where citizens will be able to pay their respects before the state funeral and burial scheduled for September 19. .

British media are speculating that as many as 750,000 people are expected to pass through the Queen’s farewell, which means queues of nearly 10km along the banks of the Thames day and night until September 19.

On Wednesday morning, the first in line had blankets, camping chairs, tents, and coats, indicating that they had spent the night there. Other people began arriving at the scene, under the watchful eyes of the police.

said Dan Ford, a 52-year-old retired police officer, who arrived Tuesday afternoon wearing gloves and a hat.

London is preparing to welcome an unprecedented crowd. “I’ve never seen anything like this… You can say they’re coming and it’s going to be huge,” Romesch, the guard stationed near Westminster, told AFP.

On Tuesday, thousands of people braved the rainy day to accompany the ark’s arrival in Buckingham, with applause and mobile phone lights. Nearly 33,000 people passed through the combustion chamber set up in Edinburgh on Monday and Tuesday.

Authorities urged people in London to dress “appropriately” and warned that the wait could take several hours, even overnight. The public will only be able to enter the venue with a small backpack, but without water or food.

Crowded hotels, turbulent transport system, crowded pubs: the British capital prepares for the big popular celebration that will end on Monday, the 19th, at 6:30 (02:30 GMT), before the ‘funeral of the century’ at Westminster Abbey. .

More than 100 heads of state and government are expected to attend the funeral, including Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, US President Joe Biden, Spain’s King Felipe VI and Japan’s Emperor Naruhito I.

Although an organization document leaked to the press hinted that authorities would have to take a bus to the monastery, organizers made it clear that the UK’s closest allies could use their own transport.

The King who met 15 Prime Ministers – the first, Winston Churchill, born in 1874 and the current, Liz Truss, born in 1975 – will be buried on the same day at Windsor Castle in a private ceremony, marking the end of an era.

At the same time, Charles III takes power, but his first steps have also sparked controversy, as during Tuesday’s visit to Northern Ireland, part of a UK tour that will end on Friday in Wales.

Released photos show the new king annoyed with using a pen to sign an honor roll that appears to have run out of ink. “Oh, my God,” said the king, “I hate it! (…) I can’t stand this damn thing.”