King Charles III and his son Prince William made a surprise visit on Saturday to meet people queuing to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth, as the British government urged people to avoid joining. The massive influx of public has meant that people have to queue for at least 24 hours to get to the venue.
Between chants of “hip, hip, hooray” and shouts of “God save the King,” Charles III walked alongside a part of the line waiting to see the queen, asking several of them how long they had been there and if they were warm enough.
Her son and heir, Prince William, also chatted with the crowd who wanted to honor the queen, who died at the age of 96 last Thursday.
Tens of thousands of people have already passed the coffin in a steady and solemn stream, queuing for hours in the dark and cold to pay their respects to Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, a testament to the affection they had for him.
This Saturday, September 17, the Department of Culture stated that it would suspend entry to the queue if the demand was too high, adding at 1 a.m. (0000 GMT): “Please do not travel.”
The queen’s death on September 8 at her summer estate in the Scottish highlands has sparked an outpouring of emotion across the country and ten days of highly choreographed acts.
After staying 24 hours in the Scottish capital, the coffin was flown to London, where tens of thousands of people lined a normally busy road in pouring rain to watch as the flag-wrapped coffin was carried. to Buckingham Palace.
On Friday night, King Charles III joined his three siblings, Princess Anne and Princes Andrew and Edward, in a silent vigil at the coffin,while his eight children, including William and Harry, organized their own ceremonial guard for this Saturday.
Like many, Sarah Boniface, a 60-year-old estate agent, left the great Westminster Hall with tears in her eyes on Friday night, having stood for 14 hours, having watched the new king make the vigil when passing by the coffin.
“It’s been worth every minute. Every minute,” he said, visibly holding back tears. “I am very fortunate to have paid my respects to the queen and to have seen our new king.”
Indebted to the queen
For retiree Hasmukh Vara, 62, his decision to stand for 13 hours to watch the wake reflected his desire to thank the late monarch, and the UK, after moving to the country from Kenya in the decade. from 1970.
Walking out of the light and airy room into the cool darkness of a Friday night by the River Thames, he described feeling “very, very high”.
“We came as refugees to this country,” he explained to the Reuters news agency. “For my whole life, I owe her a debt because she gave us a home. It’s something we can never, ever forget. It’s something very important to me and my family.”
The queen’s children have been overwhelmed by the reaction to their mother’s death.
The state funeral next Monday, which will be attended by nearly 100 presidents and heads of government, including those of the United States, France, Australia, Japan, Jamaica and Canada, will probably be one of the largest ceremonial acts ever held in the United Kingdom. .
On Friday, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern walked past the coffin, one of the first leaders to arrive. The Premier of the Canadian province of Alberta, Jason Kenney, described the crush in central London as a “huge and diverse gathering of people from all over the world”.
This Saturday, King Carlos II held a meeting with the prime ministers of the other 14 countries in which he is head of state. He also met with emergency services workers who are helping organize the funeral.
At night, the focus is on the younger royals and their vigil.
Heir to the throne William and his brother Harry, who have grown estranged in recent years after Harry moved to the United States, stand guard over the coffin in military uniform.
Harry twice served in the British Army in Afghanistan, but has so far appeared in processions in morning dress after he lost his honorary military titles when he stepped back from royal public duties.
The vigil takes place next to the oak coffin, which stands on a purple-lined catafalque, draped in the Royal Standard and with the jeweled Imperial Crown of State placed on top.
The two brothers are accompanied by their cousins Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall, children of Princess Anne; Princesses Beatriz and Eugenia, children of Prince Andrew; and Luisa and Jaime, children of Prince Eduardo.
The police explained that a man had been arrested after a disturbance near the coffin on Friday night, being implicated in an offense under the public order law.
With AFP and Reuters, adapted from the original in English
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