Thousands of Britons begin to say goodbye this Wednesday in London to Elizabeth II, whose coffin arrived the day before from Scotland, where she died, on the first day of popular tribute to herQueenand symbol for seven decades.
"welcome home mom"The Sun tabloid titled this Wednesday, along the lines of the Daily Express: "At home… for the last time". The newspapers featured a photo of the coffin of theQueenentering Buckingham Palace, where he spent one last night.
After a moment of prayer in the palace in the presence of King Carlos III, theQueenConsort Camilla and the royal family, his remains will be moved from 2:22 p.m. (1:22 p.m. GMT) in procession through central London to the Palace of Westminster.
King Charles III and his brothers, princes Ana, Eduardo and Andrés, as well as their sons Guillermo -the new Prince of Wales- and Enrique, will accompany the delegation on foot during the journey of about 40 minutes to the seat of Parliament British.
To mark the occasion, the bells of Big Ben will ring and cannons will fire salvos from Hyde Park in tribute to the UK’s longest-serving sovereign, who played a calming role during the Covid-19 pandemic after decades on the throne.
The funeral chapel of Elizabeth II, who died on Thursday at the age of 96, will open its doors at 5:00 p.m. (4:00 p.m. GMT) in the Westminster Hall, where citizens will be able to say their last goodbye until the funeral and burial scheduled for 19 of September.
The British media speculate that some 750,000 citizens will wait patiently to say goodbye to theQueenin queues that will stretch for about 10 kilometers along the banks of the River Thames day and night until September 19.
"Better than others!"
Early on Wednesday, the first in line woke up with blankets, camping chairs, tents and raincoats, signs that they had spent the night. Behind them began to arrive people who slept at home, under the watchful eye of the deployed agents.
"The night was pretty humid, cold and wet, but I have a small chair and a big umbrella so I stayed pretty dry. Better than others!"joked Dan Ford, a 52-year-old retired police officer, who arrived Tuesday afternoon equipped with gloves and a hat.
London prepares to welcome a human tide for the procession and the burning chapel. "I have never seen anything like it (…) you can feel that it is coming and that it is going to be huge"Rumesh, a security guard stationed near Westminster, told AFP the day before.
The day before, thousands of people already braved the rainy day to welcome the arrival of the coffin to Buckingham with applause and with the flashlights of their cell phones. And, for the first burning chapel installed in Edinburgh, 33,000 people passed Monday and Tuesday.
The authorities asked people in London to wear "appropriately" and warned that the wait could last for hours, even overnight. The public will only be able to enter the funeral chapel with a small backpack, but without food or water.
"funeral of the century"
Full hotels, disturbed transport, crowded pubs… The British capital is preparing for the massive popular tribute that will end on Monday at 06:30 (05:30 GMT), before the "funeral of the century" in Westminster Abbey.
More than 100 dignitaries and other personalities are due to attend, including US President Joe Biden; the King of Spain, Felipe VI, and his father Juan Carlos I; or the Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, announced a government source.
Although a document from the organization that was leaked to the press implied that the dignitaries would have to take a bus to go to the abbey, the organizers explained that the closest allies of the United Kingdom could use their own means.
The burial of the sovereign who saw the passage of 15 prime ministers – the first, Winston Churchill, born in 1874 and the current one, Liz Truss, born in 1975 – will take place on the same day at Windsor Castle in a private ceremony, confirming the end of an era.
Meanwhile, Carlos III is installed in power, but his first steps are not without controversy as during his visit to Northern Ireland on Tuesday, as part of a tour of the nations of the United Kingdom that will end on Friday in Wales.
The images released show the new king angry with a pen used to sign in the book of honor that seems to lose ink."Oh god I hate it! (…) I can’t stand that damn thing"says the monarch, reputed for his capricious character.
