The exercise promises to be delicate as the emotion is immense. This Friday, King Charles III must address the British and respond, in one of the first public acts of his reign, to the tsunami caused by the death of Elizabeth II beyond the borders of his kingdom.
A period of national mourning begins in the United Kingdom until the funeral, in ten days, of the sovereign who died “peacefully” Thursday at the age of 96 in her residence of Balmoral in Scotland. Sporting and cultural events have been cancelled, department stores have decided to keep their doors closed and railway and postal workers have suspended their planned strikes in the face of the cost of living crisis.
“Grief is the price we pay for love”
Portraits of Elizabeth II with a benevolent smile and at all ages of her life appear in the front page of the British press on Friday, testifying to the void left by her disappearance after 70 years and seven months of reign. “Grief is the price we pay for love”, is displayed on the front page of the Daily Telegraphtaking up the words that Elizabeth II had addressed to the American people after the attacks of September 11, 2001 in New York.
“Goodnight Ma’am”, headlines the Sun“Our hearts are broken” headlines the DailyMail, while other newspapers published a photo of the Queen at the time of her coronation soberly stamped with the dates “1926-2022”. At 73, the new King Charles III succeeds Elizabeth II with much less popularity, and inherits a kingdom hit by a major economic crisis and shaken by internal dissension, between the consequences of Brexit, the desire for independence. and tensions in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Message recorded and broadcast in the evening
The schedule for the next few days, meticulously prepared for a long time, has yet to be confirmed by the palace, but the main lines are known. After returning to London with Camilla, now queen consort, on Friday, the new king, whose image has not been shown since the announcement of the death of Elizabeth II, will address the British for the first time on television, in a message recorded and broadcast in the evening.
A little before, he will meet with the new Prime Minister Liz Truss, whose enthronement on Tuesday by Elisabeth II constituted the last constitutional act of a life dedicated to her role to the end. Charles had become much more present in recent months, replacing more and more often, with his eldest son and now heir William, his mother diminished by her health problems.
“Very great sadness”
He spoke for the first time Thursday evening in a press release to express the “very great sadness” of his family after the death “of a dear sovereign and a beloved mother”. “I know his loss will be deeply felt across the country, the realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world,” he added.
At midday, 96 cannons will be fired from several locations around the country and the bells of St. Paul’s, Westminster Abbey and Windsor Castle will ring. Such tributes have already begun on the other side of the globe, in Australia and New Zealand, which are part of the 15 kingdoms of which Charles III is now head of state. Charles must then be officially proclaimed king on Saturday by the succession council, meeting at St. James’s Palace in London.
Unanimous tributes
From Joe Biden to Vladimir Poutine via Emmanuel Macron, Pope Francis, Xi Jinping, footballer Pelé or rocker Mick Jagger, tributes have been unanimous for Elisabeth II. The death of the sovereign had limited appearances for a night in the hospital in October 2021. Since the announcement of her death Thursday at 7:30 p.m. (French time) and from the early hours of Friday, thousands of Britons follow one another in front of the Buckingham Palace in London to pay homage to him and to meditate.
The late monarch, known for her sense of duty and deadpan humor, is omnipresent in the lives of the British, present on banknotes and stamps, which will have to change their face. Many are those who only knew her on the throne.
“Difficult to reign after her”
“I loved her, she was the only leader worthy of the name left in this country,” regrets Paul White, 48, newspaper in hand in a London train station on Friday morning. “Charles III… It will be difficult to reign after her, but I will support him and his family”. Charles will have a lot to do to preserve the attachment of the British to the monarchy, an institution that some consider outdated but whose prestige Elizabeth II had managed to maintain.
He succeeds him as head of state of 15 kingdoms, from New Zealand to the Bahamas, which his mother had traveled over the course of her reign, always dressed in matching outfits, often in bright colors. In the former British colonies that remained kingdoms, criticisms are expressed on the colonialist past, and republican tendencies are reinforced.