It’s not just Brits in the long line that winds its way from Westminster Abbey to the banks of the Thames to pay homage to the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, who died at 96 years after 70 years of a reign that will have marked an entire country. In the middle of John, Annie, Chris, Tracy and Vicky, crossed in the first meters of the tail, is Baptiste, 25 years old, from Caen. “I said to myself ‘I have to go’says the Frenchman. I never had the opportunity to see her in person. So this was my chance to honor him.”
Because Baptiste is a big fan of Elizabeth II. “Since small”, he follows the news that concerns him, as well as that of the royal family. For example, he did not miss anything from the jubilee of the Queen of England. This passion comes to him from his childhood, “without really knowing how to explain it”. He quotes “his presence”, “her looks” – “When I was young, I remember wondering if she sometimes wore the same outfit twice because she had so many” – and then “the historical side, all the years it has gone through”. In his family, no one is really a fan of the royal family. But “books, series, films” allow him to know her better.
“The series ‘The Crown’ brought me even closer to her. She was someone who touched me, I have the strange feeling of being close to her.”
The Caennais decided at the last moment, when he had been following the queen’s funeral procession on TV for two days, from Balmoral to London. He had planned to be in Paris, and found a plane ticket to London for 50 euros. He therefore flew towards Orly airport, where he spent the night to catch his plane at 6:50 am. He then went directly to the banks of the Thames, where he spent the day, armed to wait twenty hours if necessary, “with something to eat, two sweaters, a raincoat, sunscreen”, details the young visual artist. Not many people know that he came to London for this hastily organized pilgrimage, “apart from a friend who has the same passion”confides the young man, who has just graduated from the Beaux-Arts de Lorient. “Maybe I should call my mum to let her know I’m in London”he notes.
Of the imagined twenty hours, he actually only waited two after the opening of the abbey to the public.“It was much stronger than my expectations, really very strongsays Baptiste. The word is truly surreal. Jwas quite surprised at how strong it was. I’m having a hard time coming out of this moment.” He recounts the interior of the abbey: “Everything is very soft with the carpet. The place is sublime, we arrive a little high up so we have time to really see the coffin, framed by eight guards. Above, there is his crown, a scepter, lilies. With diamonds, it sparkles the eyes.”
“It’s very difficult to leave the place.”
In front of the coffin, Baptiste “just lowered his head to show his respect”. The last tribute from a Frenchman to the one who was not his queen but “an icon” for him. As for the rest of the royal family, they will continue to follow their news from afar. For Baptiste, it was the queen, and no one else.