British military veteran joins line to see queen
A British military veteran has traveled greater than 160 miles to hitch the lengthy line of individuals in London ready to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth II.
Sporting a chest filled with medals from his years of navy service, Bob Thompson, 61, stated he and his spouse had come from Somerset, in southwest England, for the funeral.
“We made the final minute choice to hitch the queue,” Thompson stated. The military veteran added that he doesn’t thoughts ready in line for the estimated 14 hours it might take to get to Westminster Corridor in central London, the place the queen is mendacity in state.
“I’m turning 62 tomorrow,” he stated. “I’ll spend it with the queen.”
Bidens pay respects to the queen at Westminster Corridor
President Joe Biden and first girl Jill Biden traveled to Westminster Corridor Sunday to pay their respects to the queen as she lay in state.
After they arrived, the Bidens have been seen with the U.S. ambassador to the U.Ok., Jane Hartley, on a balcony overlooking mourners. The president, who’s Catholic, made the signal of the cross to the gang.
Royal mendacity in state traditions endure a century of change
When Queen Elizabeth II’s grandfather, King George V, died 86 years in the past, many properties in Britain had little or no electrical energy and huge components of the inhabitants nonetheless lived in slums.
Life in 1936 is unrecognizable to Britons as we speak. However regardless of nearly a century of change, the pictures from the queen’s mendacity in state this week are nearly actual copies of these from when George V lay in state.
Each used the identical huge, medieval Westminster Corridor with the coffin resting on a royal purple platform within the center. A brass cross is at one finish of the coffin, the royal normal is draped on prime, and tall candlesticks and scarlet and gold-clad ceremonial guards are rigorously positioned round it.
Historians say sustaining such traditions constantly via time is essential to preserving reverence for the monarchy.
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Chinese language officers barred from visiting the queen’s mendacity in state
Chinese language officers have been barred from visiting the Westminster Corridor for the queen’s mendacity in state, Home of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle informed the BBC on Sunday.
The choice to bar the Chinese language ambassador and accredited officers from attending Westminster Corridor in Parliament got here after seven members of the British Parliament and a peer have been sanctioned by Beijing final yr.
“To carry a reception within the Home of Commons when MPs and a peer have been sanctioned isn’t acceptable,” he stated.
‘You are doing nice!’ Steward cheers as hundreds line up
Because the lots marched via mazes at Southwark Park to choose up their wristbands to permit them to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster, steward Rabia Sheikh cheered them on.
“Good afternoon, stunning folks,” Sheikh, 33, stated, smiling, and with an more and more hoarse voice, “You’re doing nice! Nicely carried out.”
A muffled Large Ben to punctuate final days of mourning
Parliament’s iconic clock bell, often known as Large Ben, will ring Sunday at 8 p.m. (3 p.m. ET) to mark what the federal government has referred to as a nationwide second of reflection.
The bell will then be rung once more after the top of the minute of silence, in response to a press release from Parliament, with a muffler getting used to provide a quieter tone. Large Ben will once more toll on Monday at one-minute intervals as an enormous procession departs after the state funeral service.
‘Expensive Mummy’: Prince Andrew’s private tribute to the queen
Prince Andrew, the third little one and second son of Queen Elizabeth II, launched a private tribute to the late monarch on Sunday.
“Mummy, your love for a son, your compassion, your care, your confidence I’ll treasure eternally,” the Duke of York stated in a press release.
In recent times, Andrew has defended himself towards allegations of sexually abusing underage ladies via his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, who was convicted of procuring a toddler for prostitution.
In January, Buckingham Palace introduced that Andrew was returning his navy affiliations and royal patronages to his mom the queen. In February, he settled a lawsuit with Virginia Giuffre, who alleged that she was 17 years outdated when she was trafficked by Epstein and abused by Andrew.
‘Price it’: Mourner who joined line at 2:30 a.m. has no regrets
Dave Wheeler of Birmingham stated he picked up a wristband that may permit him to see the queen mendacity in state at round 2:30 a.m. on Sunday (9 p.m. Saturday ET) in Southwark Park in South London.
By 10 a.m. he’d gotten close to the London Eye, which is a brief stroll from Westminster Corridor the place Elizabeth’s casket is. He figured he had one other dozen hours of gradual strolling to go earlier than he reached the queen.
“It’s value it,” Wheeler, 71, stated. “The largest problem dealing with King Charles is holding the Commonwealth collectively. The queen was the glue.”
Greater than 1,000 mourners in line have obtained medical therapy
Greater than 1,000 folks in line to see the queen’s coffin and in surrounding areas have obtained medical therapy since Wednesday, London’s ambulance service stated Sunday.
Out of just about 300 sufferers, 17 had been taken to the hospital on Wednesday, it stated. That quantity had climbed to 55 out of 400 on Saturday. Mourners have been within the lengthy line for hours, enduring the chillier climate.
Queen’s love for animals went past corgis
They’re maligned in the US as rats with wings. However in the UK, pigeons maintain a extra revered place as completed racers and little-known favorites of Queen Elizabeth II.
Lengthy earlier than the queen turned Britain’s longest reigning monarch, the younger princess took a eager curiosity in animals of all sizes and shapes, together with pigeons, horses and, in fact, corgis.
She was additionally an avid sportswoman, typically pictured angling in Scotland with Prince Philip or driving herself to the horse stables at Sandringham Property. Her trademark printed headscarves, tweeds and galoshes used on searching, taking pictures and fishing expeditions have been as recognizable as her purses.
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King Charles III to host international leaders, new U.Ok. prime minister
Britain’s new King Charles III, Camilla, the Queen Consort, and different members of the royal household will host a reception for international friends and heads of state at Buckingham Palace on Sunday night.
Forward of the reception, the king will meet with the primeministers of Tuvalu, Antigua and Barbuda, and Papua New Guinea.
And at lunchtime, the king will host the newly elected prime minister of the U.Ok., Liz Truss, additionally at Buckingham Palace.
Lining up in a single day to pay their respects
Queen Elizabeth’s difficult LGBTQ legacy
In 1952, when Queen Elizabeth II took the throne after the dying of her father, same-sex sexual relations have been criminalized in Britain. The identical legal guidelines have been additionally dropped at the Commonwealth international locations that it colonized.
By the point she died, the panorama for lesbian, homosexual, bisexual, transgender and queer rights appeared dramatically totally different — at the very least in the UK — partially as a result of she permitted of many pro-LGBTQ measures, equivalent to same-sex marriage.
That help has led some to argue that she was a “quiet” supporter of LGBTQ rights, however to others she was simply doing her job.
Learn the complete story right here.
The general public proceed to pay their respects
Man charged in incident close to queen’s coffin
A person has been charged in reference to an incident Friday at Westminster Corridor, the place the queen has been mendacity in state, London police stated Saturday.
A 28-year-old man was arrested and charged with transferring to trigger alarm, harassment or misery, in response to a press release from London’s Metropolitan Police. He was scheduled to seem on the Westminster Magistrates’ court docket Monday.
A Parliamentary spokesperson stated an individual had “moved out of the queue and towards the Catafalque,” or raised platform.
The particular person was faraway from the corridor and the queue resumed with “minimal disruption,” the spokesperson stated.
The platform the place the queen’s coffin is displayed was being guarded always by the Sovereign’s Bodyguard, Foot Guards or the Family Cavalry Mounted Regiment.
