A unique funeral for a unique queen. In Westminster Abbey, temple of British monarchs, Elizabeth II received a funeral reserved only for giant figures, marked by the presence of presidents, kings, princes, prime ministers, ambassadors and special guests from around the world.
With the pomp and solemnity that state funerals demand and amid strong security measures, Isabel II was fired this Monday by hundreds of representatives of countries with whom she had to maintain and strengthen diplomatic relations during her seven decades as head of state of the United Kingdom.
When she assumed the throne on February 6, 1952, at just 25 years of age, Elizabeth II helped foster these ties after the country began to rebuild after participating in World War II to defeat Nazi Germany.
Led by King Carlos IIIwho ascended the throne on the death of his mother, the entire British royal family, including the Princes of Wales, William and Catherine, with two of their three children -Princes George and Charlotte-, and the Dukes of Sussex, Henry and Meghan, Elizabeth II was fired with full honors.
Felipe VI and Juan Carlos I
The King and Queen of Spain, Felipe VI and Letizia, seated in the abbey together with the emeritus, Don Juan Carlos and Doña Sofía, were among the more than 2,000 guests at this religious ceremony, of which 200 were heads of state and dignitaries.
The kings of Spain sat in the temple with the emeritus, the first joint image of the four kings since 2020.
The president of United States, Joe BidenAnd his wife, Jill Biden; the president of France, Emmanuel Macronand his wife, Brigittewere not lacking in this Anglican Gothic church, where Elizabeth II married the Duke of Edinburgh in 1947 and where she was crowned in 1953.
Nor was the Prime Minister of Canada absent, Justin Trudeauthe head of government of Australia, AAnthony Albaneseand the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda ardernwhose countries belong to the British Commonwealth of Nations (Commonwealth, former colonies).
In the abbey were the emperors of Japan, Naruto and Masako; the President of the European Commission (EC), Ursula von der Leyenand other sovereigns of European royal houses, such as the kings of Belgium, Philip and MatildaY Willem-Alexander and Maxima from the Netherlands.
However, the United Kingdom did not invite representatives from Syria and Venezuela because it does not have diplomatic ties, nor from Russia and Belarus, due to the invasion of Ukraine.
Elizabeth II’s influence
The presence of the dignitaries has been a reflection of the scope and impact of Elizabeth II’s influence throughout her 70-year reign.
The British political class was represented by the Prime Minister, Liz Trussand the ministers of his Government, while all the former chief executives of the country were not absent, such as the Labor Tony Blair Y Gordon Brownand the conservatives JohnMajor, Theresa May, david cameron Y Boris Johnson.
Outside the temple, thousands of people on both sides of the funeral procession gave the last goodbye to the queen.
In the impressive procession, which toured the center of London, members of the three bodies of the armed forces – the Navy, the Army and the Royal Air Force -, the Royal Guard and representatives of various organizations, including public health, they marched behind the coffin, covered with the Royal Standard.
The coffin was transported around London on a 1901 British Navy gun carriagewhich had also been used at the funeral of his father, George VI, and which was pulled with ropes by more than a hundred sailors to the sound of a funeral march.
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