London: On Friday, churches across Britain took to the streets as King Charles III prepares to address the mourners as he prepares to address the first full day of his new reign after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. A bell rang.
Elizabeth II reigned for a record-breaking 70 years and was a source of stability in an era of extraordinary change, and her death was met with heartfelt mourning from around the world.
“During this time of mourning and change, my family and I will be comforted and supported by knowing the respect and deep affection that was widely held by the Queen,” Prince Charles said in a statement.
Buckingham Palace said the king and other members of the royal family will extend the period of mourning from now until seven days after the funeral.
The date of the funeral, which will be attended by the heads of state and government, has not yet been officially announced, but it is expected to be on Monday, September 19.
world leader
As Britons adjust to the shock of the resignation of their only head of state since World War II, tributes have poured in for one of the most famous figures on the planet.
U.S. President Joe Biden described the Queen, whom he met for tea at Windsor Castle last year, as “a politician of unparalleled dignity.”
New York’s Empire State Building lit up in silver and royal purple after sunset, while Paris’ Eiffel Tower dimmed its lights in tribute.
News of the death of the only British monarch that most people alive today have ever known dominated headlines around the world, but the popular British tabloid, the Daily Mail, said: Our hearts are broken,” he declared.
Flowers were left in British embassies around the world, including Moscow. It is currently at odds with London over the war in Ukraine.
“Times are changing: Mikhail Gorbachev the first, Elizabeth II now. The world is changing,” 18-year-old historian Mikhail Afroshin said of the last Soviet leader, who died last month at the age of 91.
The new king was scheduled to hold his first audience with Prime Minister Liz Truss on Friday.
In the Queen’s posthumous televised address on Thursday, Truss offered Charles’ national endorsement – an endorsement that was unanimously backed by her Cabinet on Friday.
“We give him our loyalty and devotion, just as his mother has served many for so long,” she said, adding, “God save the king.”
On Friday, Truss kicked off a two-day special tribute in parliament, saying the Queen was “one of the greatest leaders the world has ever known.”
“Her legacy will endure through the countless people she met, the world’s history she witnessed, and the lives she touched.
Prince Charles was also scheduled to meet officials responsible for arranging an elaborate state funeral before his mother was buried in the George VI Memorial Chapel at Windsor Castle.
Church bells rang out at Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral, Windsor and elsewhere, and flags were flown at half-mast across England.
The Queen’s annual gun salute was fired Friday from Hyde Park in central London and the Tower of London along the River Thames.
The government has said that organizations are under no obligation to suspend operations during the period of national mourning, but many do so out of respect.
The Premier League has postponed all matches this weekend, the TUC affiliate of trade unions has postponed parliament due to start on Sunday, and rail and postal workers have called off their strike over wages.
The Queen’s death and the aftermath of her ceremonies came at a time when the government was rushing through emergency legislation to deal with the kind of war-fueled economic deprivation that marked the beginning of Elizabeth’s reign in 1952. occurs in
tearful tribute
Elizabeth’s public appearances have become rare in the months since she spent an unscheduled night in the hospital for an undisclosed checkup in October 2021.
She was seen smiling in the final official photo on Tuesday, which appointed Truss as the 15th prime minister in her reign that began with Winston Churchill of Downing Street.
But the queen was visibly thin and slouched, leaning against her cane. Her hands also had blue-purple bruises, which worried her.
Photographer Jane Barlow, who took the Queen’s final public photos on Tuesday, said she was “frail” but “fine.”
“I got a lot of smiles from her,” said Barlow, who works for the British National Press Association News Agency.
The Queen’s closest families rushed to her bedside at Balmoral, a private residence surrounded by thousands of acres (hectares) of rolling grouse moors and forests in the Scottish Highlands.
Her body will initially remain there before being taken to the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh on Sunday.
From the Scottish capital, her coffin will be flown to London on Tuesday to be shown to the public.
Officials expect more than a million people to queue past the catafalque of Westminster Hall, the oldest part of the Houses of Parliament, before a televised funeral in Westminster Abbey across the street.
Since news of her death broke, crowds have gathered outside London’s Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle west of the capital to lay flowers and mourn the Queen’s long reign.
On Friday morning, Joan Russell, a 55-year-old project manager from Hackney, north east London, was in tears when she saw flowers outside her palace.
“I think I’ve come to say my prayers. She’s been our monarch all my life, she’s been our example, she’s learned, she’s listened, and wherever she goes she’s our stamp,” she said. told to
“Charles has a great example to follow. I believe he will do his best to carry on the legacy left before him by his parents – his mother and father.
At the gates of Balmoral, a contingent of monks chanted in honor of the late Queen.
consistently popular
Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the throne at just 25 in the exhausting aftermath of World War II, joining a world stage dominated by politicians from Churchill to Mao Zedong to Joseph Stalin.
In the decades that followed, the last vestiges of Britain’s vast empire crumbled.
At home, Brexit shook the foundations of her kingdom and her family endured a string of scandals.
However, he was consistently popular and was head of state not only in Great Britain, but in 14 former British colonies, including Australia and Canada.
New Zealand proclaimed Charles the new king. But Australia’s new government appears to be reviving the move to abolish the monarchy, mourning her queen but also questioning his legacy.
The final official farewell party at London’s Westminster Abbey will be a public holiday in the form of National Day of Remembrance.
The coronation of Prince Charles is an elaborate ceremony steeped in tradition and history, taking place in the same historical setting for centuries, though the date is yet to be determined.
