Britain 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.
Royal family members and dignitaries gathered at Westminster Abbey for a somber service. Presidents, prime ministers, princes and princesses, and other public figures sat side-by-side to pay their last respects — a testament to her far-reaching appeal and deft diplomacy.
The funeral, which served as both a state and religious service and marked the culmination of 10 days of mourning, honored the Queen with the sort of pageantry that she used to promote the royal family and “brand Britain” throughout her life.
Though the death of Queen Elizabeth, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, had been anticipated and carefully planned for 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 was crowned as the sun had started to set on the British Empire, and her death has 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..
More than 200 foreign dignitaries were invited to her funeral at Westminster Abbey, including US President Joe Biden and Commonwealth leaders like Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Many traded limos for buses to arrive at the funeral, just one part of a plan that amounts to the single largest security operations that British authorities have seen since World War II.
Representatives of some of the many charities of which the Queen was patron, along with emergency service workers and public servants, were also among the 2,000-strong congregation.
The service took 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 splendor of the monarchy to millions around the world. On Monday, all eyes were 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 an 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.
BBC
