Britain Bids Farewell to Queen Elizabeth with An Outpouring of Emotion

Image Source: Bloomberg

Britain will bid farewell to Queen Elizabeth II on Monday with a majestic funeral steeped in tradition and a send-off reflective of the broad popularity she managed to retain over her remarkable seven-decade reign.

Thousands of people are expected to flock to Westminster Abbey and streets along the 25-mile (40-kilometre) procession route from central London to Windsor, hoping to catch a glimpse of the sovereign's flag-draped coffin as it travels by hearse to her final resting place in St. George's Chapel, within the grounds of Windsor Castle.

Though the death of Queen Elizabeth, Britain's longest-reigning monarch, had been anticipated and carefully planned for years -- funeral arrangements, codenamed "Operation London Bridge," were long the subject of speculation -- the magnitude of this moment of mourning and the public outpouring of emotion has still caught many off guard. Even for those who are not fans of the royal family, her death marks the end of an era, a shift in the national landscape.

At 96, the Queen had become an almost mythical symbol of stability amid constant change. Her 70-year rule was bookended by war and pandemic, punctuated by uncertainty about Britain's role on the world stage. She came to power as the sun had started to set on the British Empire, and her death renewed a conversation about the country's dark colonial past. It comes at a time of great political and economic upheaval, not only in the United Kingdom but across the globe.

Presidents, prime ministers, princes, an emperor and empress, and other public figures will sit side-by-side in pews at Westminster Abbey to pay their last respects -- a testament to her far-reaching appeal and deft diplomacy. The funeral, which serves as both a state and religious service, will honour the Queen with the sort of pageantry that she used to promote the royal family and "brand Britain" throughout her life.

The funeral service takes place in the same abbey nave where, 69 years ago, the Queen was crowned and where, 75 years ago, she was married to her husband, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, who died last year. A sovereign who knew the soft power of spectacle, her coronation was, at her request, broadcast for the first time on television, bringing the splendour of the monarchy to millions around the world. On Monday, all eyes are on her once again.

Head of state of 15 countries in the Commonwealth realm, including the UK, and Supreme Governor of the Church of England, her appeal as a figurehead lay in her extreme sense of duty, diligent work ethic, and ability to appear neutral yet personable. Admiration for the Queen has staved off a major reckoning of the crown's brutal legacy in former colonies -- including its historic links with the slave trade -- but that already appears to be changing as some Commonwealth countries look to break away. Last week, Antigua and Barbuda announced plans to hold a referendum on whether to become a republic and last November, Barbados became the first realm in nearly 30 years to remove the British monarch as head of state.

Many of the Queen's subjects felt as though they knew her -- the woman whose image is on coins and postage stamps, who surveys say appears most frequently in people's dreams.

An almost familial sense of loss was palpable among mourners in a queue that snaked from Westminster Hall, where the monarch's body lay in state, for miles along the south bank of the River Thames over the last four days. In quintessentially British fashion, thousands lined up to say goodbye to the Queen, waiting up to 20 hours to file past her coffin.

Queen Elizabeth's children, King Charles III, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward, on Friday, entered the cavernous chamber, heads bowed, joining guards to hold silent watch over the velvet catafalque bearing her coffin, adorned with the sovereign's jewel-encrusted crown, orb and sceptre. A day later, Prince William and Prince Harry, dressed in military uniform, held their own sombre vigil, standing alongside the Queen's six other grandchildren.

On Monday morning, the King and other members of the royal family will follow the coffin as it is conveyed from Westminster Hall to the abbey, carried on the same gun carriage used for the funeral of the Queen's father, King George VI, and Winston Churchill, the first of 15 British prime ministers who served under her.

The service will be conducted by the Very Rev. David Hoyle, the Dean of Westminster. UK Prime Minister Liz Truss, who the Queen appointed just two days before her death, will read lessons at the service and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, will deliver a sermon. The service will conclude with 2 minutes of silence and the national anthem, "God Save the King," played by the Queen's piper.

The day's events are a display of centuries-old rituals -- a royal cavalcade flanked by guards in braided uniforms, kilted bagpipers and drummers, streets lined with soldiers saluting as the coffin passes. Minute guns will be fired in Hyde Park and Big Ben will toll throughout the procession to Wellington Arch, where the coffin will be lifted into a hearse and transported to Windsor.

In a committal service Monday afternoon, attended by members of the royal family and the Queen's household staff past and present, her coffin will be lowered into a royal vault in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. Later in the evening, in a private burial, she will be reunited with her husband of 73 years, "her constant strength and guide," the Duke of Edinburgh. The couple will be interred together in the King George VI Memorial Chapel, an annexe of St. George's Chapel that also houses the remains of the Queen's father, her mother the Queen Mother, and her sister Princess Margaret.

Source: CNN