The funeral of Elizabeth II in Westminster, an emotional ceremony with British punctuality | International

Punctuality, precision, pomp. Nothing has been missing, all the ingredients announced by the British royal house for the funeral of Elizabeth II, held this Monday, September 19, at Westminster Abbey (on a day declared a holiday throughout the United Kingdom), have been present. Also, with some surprise after more than 10 days of exhausting mourning, the emotion. The four children of the queen, her eight grandchildren (and her partners) and two of her great-grandchildren have been, with the permission of the late monarch, the protagonists of the act.

The Dean of Westminster Abbey has conducted a sober and complete ceremony where prominent members of the Commonwealth, the current Prime Minister, Liz Truss, heads of the Church of Scotland, the Archbishop of London and the Archbishop of Canterbury have also read and spoken. The music, too, has been chosen with precision: from a hymn composed for the coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953, to the power of the royal piper’s music and the inevitable God save the king.

At 10:44 a.m. London time and as marked for days, the queen’s coffin left the Palace of Westminster to the abbey of the same name. Behind him, King Carlos, his other three children (Ana, in military uniform) and three of his grandchildren: Guillermo, the heir and also dressed in military uniform; Enrique, without him, and Peter Phillips, Ana’s eldest son, also in a dark suit. Upon arrival at the cathedral, the spouses of Princess Ana and Eduardo, as well as Guillermo and Enrique (Catalina, Princess of Wales, and Meghan Markle, both, like Camila, with jewels lent or given by the queen), and the rest of grandchildren, have processioned after the coffin of the queen. The presence of two children stood out: Jorge, nine years old, eldest son of the already Welsh princes and second in line to the throne, wearing a suit and tie; and the third, Carlota, dressed in black and wearing a hat similar to hers, only seven years old. The ceremony and its protocols were the same for everyone, regardless of age.

After 55 minutes of religious service, readings and hymns, the closing was the highlight of the ceremony. The two minutes of silence shortly before 12 o’clock in the morning, London time, together with the final song of God Save the King, have been the final touch to a solemn but also very personal funeral, with the figure of the queen and his family being central. And this despite having gathered 2,000 guests, including 500 heads and former heads of state, to whom the cameras of the impeccable BBC (which has given the global broadcast signal) have wanted to give due importance during the act. The kings Felipe and Letizia have been seen together with the emeritus Juan Carlos and Sofía; Harald and Sonia from Norway; Alberto de Monaco with Charlene; Guillermo and Máxima of the Netherlands with the emeritus Beatriz… but only in the broad plans of the cathedral. They were part of the landscape that gave shape to the ceremony, but they have not been highlighted as protagonists; in fact, the cameras have not captured his arrival at the event. At the end of it, emotion has been seen in the queen’s children: the more serious face than ever of King Carlos, the sadness of Camila, the queen consort, and even the tears of Eduardo (the youngest son of Elizabeth II) and his wife, Sofia.

Leaving Westminster to continue on foot through London for an hour, with the coffin followed by the entire royal family (including Jorge and Carlota, who later continued by car with Camila and Kate), has closed a round ceremony, full of of all the British pomp and pageantry. The closure has been put by a one-hour procession through the Mall of London, passing in front of Buckingham Palace, to then march on the way to Windsor, where the final burial will take place and they will end, after more than 10 days, the official mourning and Farewells A loving and grandiose last farewell to Her Graceful Majesty just as she had planned and as she would have wanted.

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