A long wait, for a kiss, a tear, a bow: the public began to parade on Wednesday in front of the coffin of Elizabeth II in London, for several days of final tributes where hundreds of thousands of people are expected before her funeral Monday.
After an emotionally charged procession from Buckingham Palace, the home where she spent part of her childhood and which was her official residence during her 70-year reign, the Queen’s coffin, which died last Thursday at age 96, arrived at Westminster Hall in the early afternoon.
Arranged on an imposing catafalque, he will remain there in the oldest room of the British parliament, which will remain open without interruption until 6:30 a.m. (local time) Monday, the day of the funeral at Westminster Abbey.
Parading on both sides of the coffin, the public sends kisses or bows to the queen, their eyes often red with tears.
Sue Harvey, a 50-year-old accountant, describes an “incredibly moving” experience, “lots of people crying”, but in “total silence”. “I wanted to be sure to see her, whatever the length of the queue”, she continues, before going to lay flowers near Buckingham Palace: “apparently the smell is incredible”.
Nina Kaistoffioson, a 40-year-old artist who came to say “thank you” to the queen for “her service to the nation”, felt “at peace”, describing “emotion” and “tears”. She waited two days in the rain, but, like others who were patient with her, had planned a change of clothes before returning to the cathedral.
With wet eyes, Vickie Wicks, 36, would not have hesitated to wait “30 hours if necessary” for a brief moment near the coffin.
Harry and William together
After leaving Buckingham Palace on a horse-drawn cannon carriage, the sovereign’s coffin was followed on foot to reach Westminster, at the rate of 75 steps per minute, by her four children, King Charles, Princess Anne and their brothers Andrew and Edward.
Next, side by side, were Princes William and Harry, Charles’ two sons with difficult relationships, who appeared together for the second time since the death of Elizabeth II almost a week ago in Scotland.
Topped by the imperial crown resting on a purple velvet cushion and a wreath of white, pink and dahlia flowers, accompanied by foliage from Balmoral and Windsor castles, the coffin made its slow progress to the sound of funeral marches by Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Chopin.
The British are expected in their hundreds of thousands to gather in Westminster closer to their adored monarch, hailed for her total devotion to the Crown during her reign.
But it will be necessary to be patient, with a long queue – five kilometers on Wednesday at the start of the evening – which could stretch up to fifteen kilometers.
They were thousands Wednesday to wait on the bank opposite the parliament. The first to arrive spent the night there, those arriving on Wednesday at the end of the day are ready to do the same.
“In a way I feel like we owe something to the Queen, because she’s been there all our lives,” says Andrew Clyde, 53, who came especially with two friends from Northern Ireland. . A region where the queen has helped “bring together the two communities” Protestant and Catholic, shaken by three decades of violence, explains this pensioner equipped with a large backpack with food, water and iced tea.
A rock of stability in crisis and change, the Queen has been a reassuring image for millions of Britons during her reign.
Much weaker, the popularity rating of Charles III has skyrocketed since his accession to the throne. According to a YouGov poll on Tuesday, three in five people think he will make a good king, up from just over 30% a few months ago.
But his annoyance was noticed when signing official documents in Belfast, the king, on a very busy schedule since the death of his mother, getting angry at a leaky pen.
Logistic challenge
Tensions in Northern Ireland, separatist desires in Scotland, galloping inflation: Charles III, the oldest British sovereign to accede to the throne, takes office at a critical moment.
He spoke by telephone on Wednesday with US President Joe Biden, announced at the funeral, who sent him his condolences and expressed his “desire to continue a close relationship”.
Mr. Biden is one of some 500 foreign dignitaries expected for the funeral of Elizabeth II, the first national funeral since 1965 – those of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill (1874-1965). A few countries, including Russia, Afghanistan, Syria and Burma, were not invited.
Full hotels, disrupted transport, crowded pubs: the British capital is feverishly preparing for this event, a huge security challenge for the police and a change of era in the United Kingdom and the 14 other states of which Elizabeth II was the head of state .