A planetary audience will contemplate this Monday, September 19, the solemn farewell of the most famous woman in the world. A funeral ceremony in Westminster Abbey, prepared and rehearsed for decades, in which there will be psalms, hymns, words of William Shakespeare and many other details carefully chosen by Elizabeth II herself. From the funeral of Winston Churchill In 1965 there had not been a state funeral in the UK, the highest honor in British protocol, nor a meeting of world leaders like the one now in London.“The world is better because of her” the president of the United States, Joe Biden, said of the sovereign after visiting the burning chapel.
Half of the world’s population
The funeral honors of the longest-reigning monarch gather the largest concentration of international dignitaries since the farewell of the South African president, Nelson Mandela, in a stadium in Johannesburg in December 2013. 2,200 attendees However, the funeral will be a tiny part of those who will watch on television and through social networks every moment of the historic day. Around 4.1 billion people, half of the world’s population, will follow, according to experts, the funeral that will be broadcast by the British channels BBC and ITV. The audience can exceed that of Diana of Wales in 1997.
At 6.30 in the morning it will be closed to the public westminster hall, after four days of huge queues and waits that at times reached 25 hours. Since Saturday afternoon, the authorities warned that the saturation level had been reached and the quota had been closed. From that moment they asked the citizens not to come to try to join the line.
A million in the streets
The authorities expect this Monday around one million people in the vicinity of Buckingham Palace. Many of those present will have come from other parts of the country, which is why rail services have been reinforced and there is fear that they will be overwhelmed. Citizens will be able to follow the funeral live on the big screens installed in the center of many cities. In London, four of them are in Hyde Park and the Vue cinema chain will also open its theaters for rebroadcasting. The day of mourning this Monday has been declared a holiday throughout the United Kingdom and the country will remain paralyzed. The London Stock Exchange closes, as do chain stores, supermarkets, fast food, official institutions, and educational centers. Medical dispensaries have canceled scheduled patient appointments, prompting complaints.
Security measures in the capital are unprecedented. To the reinforcement of the police force, some 10,000 men, a similar number of members of the three armies will be added. The operation, “is huge & rdquor ;, the admiral confirmed to the BBC Tony Radkin, Chief of the Defense Staff. “10,000 members participate, including soldiers, sailors and airmen. It is a huge effort & rdquor ;. Six hundred of these soldiers will accompany the procession with the coffin of Elizabeth II when, at the end of her funeral, her remains will go to Windsor, 40 kilometers from London, where she, at the last minute, will be buried.
Reception at Buckingham Palace
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The international leaders have been arriving during the last two days for an appointment that is also a great diplomatic event. The Kings of Spain, Felipe and Letizia, landed in London early on Saturday afternoon and after passing through the Spanish embassy where they spent the night, they visited the funeral chapel. The kings did not approach instead to sign the official book of condolences in Lancaster House. Felipe VI had already done so at the British embassy in Madrid. At six in the evening they joined the rest of the personalities and members of royalty at Buckingham Palace where Carlos III and Camila queen consort, offered a receptionto which the emeritus kings were also invited, Juan Carlos and Sofia. The four will meet again at the funeral. The controversial Saudi prince, Mohammed Bin Salmanwould have chosen not to travel to London.
Prime Minister Liz Truss received in Downing Street, among others, the President of Poland, Andrzej DudaPrime Minister of Ireland, Michael Martinand that of Canada,Justin Trudeau. Truss’s meeting with Bidenwas postponed to Wednesday in New York, when both attend the General meeting of the United Nations Assembly.