LONDON —
To the strains of a military band,
King Charles III on Wednesday led his family
in procession behind Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin as she left Buckingham Palace
for the final time to lie in state until her funeral.
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The king, his siblings, and sons, princes William
and Harry, walked at 75 steps a minute behind the horse-drawn gun carriage
carrying the queen’s body to Westminster Hall, where hundreds of thousands of
people will pay their last respects.
Soldiers in red dress uniform played Beethoven’s
Funeral March and Big Ben tolled out each minute as the casket — covered by a
royal standard and topped with the Imperial State Crown — passed in front of
hushed crowds lining the route.
The grand
procession through the flag-lined heart of London represented the latest
spectacular step in the 11 days of intricately choreographed national mourning
across the UK that will culminate with the funeral on Monday of its
longest-reigning monarch.
The public, some
of whom began queuing on Monday, will begin filing past the coffin from 5pm,
with mourners already warned they will face an endurance test to wait in lines
that could tail back 8km.
Strict rules and
airport-style security measures have been put in place, with “far more” people
expected than the 200,000 who filed past the coffin of the queen’s mother when
she died in 2002, according to Prime Minister
Liz Truss’ spokesman.
Hotel rooms in
the British capital are increasingly hard to find, with even budget rooms going
for £300 per night, while transport bosses and police are under pressure to
keep the city moving and safe in exceptional circumstances.
“It’s a massive
challenge for the Metropolitan Police and for me personally, but we have been
preparing for many, many years,” the newly appointed head of the London police
force, Mark Rowley, told Sky News on Tuesday.
UK tour
The body of the late 96-year-old queen, who died “peacefully” at her
Balmoral estate in Scotland on Thursday, was flown to London on Tuesday evening
from Edinburgh. It was then driven to Buckingham Palace.
The procession
on Wednesday mirrored a similar ceremony in Edinburgh on Monday when her coffin
was driven through the hushed streets of the city to lie “at rest” at St Giles’
Cathedral.
After Scotland
and England, Charles continued his tour of the four nations of the UK on
Tuesday by visiting Northern Ireland for the first time as king. He visits
Wales on Friday.
The 73-year-old
new head of state has won wide praise in the British media for his dignified
and often heartfelt reaction to his mother’s death, which has led to a rare
moment of public unity in Britain.
Members of the Blues and Royals take part in the ceremonial procession of Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster, in London on September 14, 2022.
He has seen his
popularity recover since the death of his former wife
Diana in a 1997 car crash
— and his ratings have surged in recent days, according to a new survey on
Tuesday.
The mourning has
also obscured — albeit briefly — the broader country’s sharp political
divisions and a severe cost-of-living crisis that is expected to cause a major
increase in poverty over the winter.
Criticism
The procession on Wednesday meant another prominent role for the
queen’s scandal-hit son Andrew, who settled a case in the US earlier this year
in which he was accused of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old.
Not everyone
shares the public mood of sadness and remembrance sparked by the queen’s death,
with royal fatigue increasingly evident on social media in the face of blanket
media coverage.
British police
have also faced criticism from civil liberties groups over their treatment of
anti-monarchy protesters who have publicly challenged Charles’ accession to the
throne.
Video footage
and witnesses have drawn attention to police arresting or intimidating people
who shouted slogans against the monarchy or held up placards reading “Not My
King”.
The queen’s
funeral will take place in Westminster Abbey in front of 2,000 VIP guests, with
the day declared a public holiday in Britain.
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