Britain bids last farewell to Queen Elizabeth in state funeral
The state funeral for Queen Elizabeth II took place in London on Monday, with some 500 leading figures from around 200 countries and territories reportedly attending, including the Japanese emperor and empress.
With U.S. President Joe Biden and other world leaders in attendance, local reports said more than 10,000 police officers were mobilized, making it one of the country’s largest-ever security operations for a single event.
Buckingham Palace did not make public a list of funeral attendees, but Reuters and other media said some 2,000 people attended.
Following the service, the queen’s coffin was carried in a glass-topped hearse from central London to Windsor Castle west of the city in a journey that took about three and half hours.
The queen was laid to rest in St. George’s Chapel at the castle.
Crowds watched the funeral procession including cavalry and a musical troupe proceed down the wide tree-lined avenue toward the castle, known as the Long Walk.
Britain last held a state funeral for former Prime Minister Winston Churchill in 1965.
On the eve of the funeral, Japanese Emperor Naruhito visited Westminster Hall to pay tribute to the queen. Empress Masako did not accompany him in consideration of her physical condition.
The British royal family invited Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako to visit Britain after he ascended to the throne upon his father’s abdication, but the plan was canceled due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“I quietly conveyed farewell with heartfelt gratitude,” the emperor was quoted by his aide as saying.
Prior to the visit, the Japanese emperor, among other dignitaries, joined a reception hosted by King Charles III at the palace to offer condolences for the queen’s death at the age of 96 on Sept. 8.
At the event, Emperor Naruhito also conveyed condolences entrusted to him by former Emperor Akihito and former Empress Michiko, according to a senior official of the Imperial Household Agency.
The emperor also had the opportunity to exchange words with royals from Europe including the Netherlands and the king and queen of Bhutan, the official said.
The imperial couple arrived in London on Saturday on their first overseas trip since the emperor’s ascension to the throne in May 2019. The trip marks a break from convention as emperors do not usually make appearances at funerals at home or abroad.
The Japanese and British royal families have shared a long-standing bond, with the queen’s 70-year reign overlapping that of three Japanese emperors.
The funeral was preceded by a 10-day period of national mourning in Britain, with flags flown at half-staff and usual governmental operations suspended.
During the period, the queen’s coffin was transported from Balmoral Castle in Scotland, where she died, to the Scottish capital of Edinburgh. From there the coffin was brought to London to lie in state.
The coffin had been placed on public view for four days ahead of the state funeral to allow the public to pay their final respects
People joined a kilometers-long queue through central London to pay their respects, with many waiting more than 12 hours to file past the coffin.
The St. George’s Chapel complex is also the final resting place of the queen’s parents, King George VI and Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. It is also where her husband Prince Philip, who died in April last year aged 99, is buried.
SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES