Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin was carried on the shoulders by a Royal Guard picket of honor inside Westminster Abbey. Thus began the solemn state funeral of the sovereign who reigned for 70 years, more than anyone else, on the throne of the United Kingdom and who died on 8 September at 96 years of age.
The coffin was also followed along the central nave inside the abbey by the princes George and Charlotte, great-grandchildren of the sovereign, who joined with Queen Camilla and the other consorts in the procession – behind King Charles, his brothers and sons – only inside the church. Reverend David Hoyle opened the liturgy after the singing of a first solemn hymn, recalling with his voice initially cracked with emotion the symbolic value of Westminster Abbey in the long life of Elizabeth II: which here was united in marriage with the prince Filippo still as hereditary princess in 1947 (inaugurating what would have been a union that lasted 73 years); and again here she was solemnly crowned queen in June 1953, just over a year after taking the 26-year-old British throne upon the death of her father, King George VI: the sovereign linked with Winston Churchill to victory in World War II
It is entrusted to the leaders of the Anglican Church, the Christian confession of which Elizabeth II was faithful and nominally head for 70 years of reign, the office of the solemn funeral service for the queen, in Westminster Abbey. The reverend David Hoyle, rector of the abbey, presides over the liturgy, while the sermon is entrusted to the archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, primate of the Church of England. There will also be recitation of prayers in an ecumenical key by dignitaries of other Christian denominations, starting with Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Catholic Archbishop of Westminster. In the front row there is no shortage of religious representatives of other faiths present in the United Kingdom: from Islam to Judaism, from Hinduism to Buddhism
Elizabeth II “has dedicated her life to serving the nation and the Commonwealth,” as she promised on her 21st birthday radio show. This was stated by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, primate of the Church of England, in his sermon during the solemn liturgy at Westminster Abbey in memory of the late queen. Welby also recalled the ‘We’ll Meet Again’ that the sovereign sent in a message to her subjects in the midst of the lockdown for the Covid pandemic, reiterating it now in the name of faith in the afterlife. Prior to her sermon, British Prime Minister Liz Truss had read a passage from the Gospel of John about the promise made by Jesus Christ to his disciples of a place in heaven.
Deep emotion at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth also among the benches of the Royal Family: while reading a passage from the writing entrusted to Baroness Patricia Scotland, British high diplomat and Commonwealth secretary general, we saw Prince Edward, fourth child of the sovereign, blatantly wipe a few tears from his eyes with a white handkerchief. Edoardo sits in the very first row, beside the bier on which his mother’s coffin rests, next to King Charles with his wife Camilla; to Princess Anna, second royal child with her husband Tim Laurence; and his wife Sophie ..
The funeral procession started from Westminster Hall and traveled a few tens of meters to accompany the coffin of the sovereign lying on a Victorian-era cannon carriage at Westminster Abbey where the solemn liturgy is held with the leaders and dignitaries arriving from all over the world. King Charles and the other Windsors, Anna, Edoardo and Andrea, followed by William and Harry, after leaving Buckingham Palace in their car, are leaving on foot at the tolling of the bells from Westminster Hall to follow the coffin. The princes George and Charlotte, unlike what was anticipated by the media, are already in church with the queen and the princesses consorts.
The solemn state funeral of Queen Elizabeth it could become the most watched TV show of all time, with 4.1 billion viewers. These are estimates all to be confirmed circulated in these days on the British tabloids and relaunched today by the Daily Mail.
King Charles III expressed thanks last night, also on behalf of the queen consort Camilla, for the acts of homage and the testimonies of “respect for the spirit of service of my dear mother” manifested in these 10 days in the 4 nations of the United Kingdom and in the world. “As we prepare for our last farewell – writes Charles in relation to the funeral of Queen Elizabeth and as the entrances to the funeral home of Westminster Hall are closing – I simply want to thank all the countless people who have been so much support and comfort to me and to my Family in this time of pain “.
And to parade in front of the coffin of the sovereign of a lifetime, who took leave of history on 8 September at the age of 96, 70 of which spent on the throne of the United Kingdom. A country that – although not without the conspicuous exception of those who do not love the monarchy – is sealing the long farewell to the daughter of George VI in the sign of tribute, emotion, memory. And a twilight silence to be observed compactly when Big Ben tolls at eight in the evening.
The hour when the people’s greeting to His Majesty gives way to the first collective appointment of the official and solemn homage of the powerful of the Earth: about 500 dignitaries from all over the world to honor a woman who in 1952 wore the crown at the age of 26 on a planet where the leaders of the States were still all occupied by men, as recalled by the new queen consort Camilla: a woman who in the words of the moving London praise of American President Joe Biden helped to leave behind “a better world” .
ANSA agency
Queen consort Camilla paid homage to Elizabeth II by defining her as a “lonely woman” who had to “carve out her role” in a world dominated by men and recalling the memory of “big blue eyes” and the “unforgettable” smile of .. . (ANSA)
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Dignitaries who will close the circle of funeral ceremonies with the grandiose state funeral arranged in Westminster Abbey, the first since those granted to Winston Churchill in 1965 and the most impressive in the contemporary history of the globe. But already in the evening – in the program planned for the highest ranking leaders, such as Biden or Sergio Mattarella among others – they are called to participate in a traditional welcome reception at Buckingham Palace, offered by Charles III, the new monarch and eldest son of Elisabetta, with Camilla at her side.
An opportunity to exchange scraps of memory, messages of condolence and glimpses of the future. Not without some background geopolitical controversy. And some curiosities about the internal fibrillations of the Royal Family: at the head of the yellow on the invitation to Harry and Meghan, first delivered by the ceremonial and then revoked, to give credit to the press, as the dukes of Sussex are no longer active members of the dynasty after the transfer to the USA. An event in which Carlo, 74 years old and a very long public life as an heir behind him, now has to play the role of main actor in every way. With the political leaders of the island next door, starting with the new Tory prime minister, Liz Truss, forced to debut on the scene in the midst of an epochal transition, as well as an increasingly alarming international and internal crisis. While the echo of the controversy over the invitations made or denied remains to make noise.
From that confirmed to China, in the person of Vice President Wang Qishan, despite the protests on the “genocide of Uyghurs in Xinjiang” recently denounced black and white by the British Parliament. To the one who disappeared from the table to the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, an embarrassing ally of the Gulf. And above all to that which Vladimir Putin’s Russia refused from the beginning: excluded just like Afghanistan, Belarus, Burma, Syria and Venezuela. This exclusion is evidently burning in Moscow, where spokeswoman Maria Zakharova did not hesitate to accuse Downing Street of having wanted to “exploit a national tragedy, which has touched the hearts of millions of people around the world to settle some accounts against the our country”. And to act in a “profoundly immoral”, even “blasphemous” way against the very memory of Elizabeth II. Tones that ooze irritation, at a time when the war in Ukraine has brought relations between London and Moscow to a Cold War stage, if not worse.
While the effect of the slap in the Kremlin is multiplied by the treatment as head of state reserved by the Kingdom of the Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska: parade in Westminster Hall in front of the royal bier immediately after the stop with the sign of the cross by Biden and his wife Jill; received with full honors at the palace for the evening banquet; and met face to face first of all by Kate, the new princess of Wales and consort of the heir to the throne. In the frame of a mourning reflected in the ritual black dresses that on the occasion did not seem worn only in honor of the death of a queen.
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ANSA agency
London is expected to be armored as perhaps never before, at least in the central area, for the solemn state funeral of Queen Elizabeth: between processions, floods of people on the street and protection of the approximately 500 leaders and various dignitaries invited from many countries (ANSA )
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