LONDON (Sept. 20, 2022) – It was like a pilgrimage: In a ceremony unprecedented in scale, Great Britain and the entire world bade farewell to Queen Elizabeth II. For many of the masses who had come to witness history up close, it was an empowering experience. For the United Kingdom, it marked the beginning of a new era.
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As befitting the late head of the Church of England, the funeral was held according to religious protocol, but the public rites of the masses gathered out in the streets were national rites. During Queen Elizabeth's long reign, most Britons left organized religion. The passions that were on display during the long farewell and which reached a peak in yesterday's funeral showed just how much patriotism, and even more so the faith that there is something great, strong, and righteous in British identity and its symbols, have remained part of the self-identification of the citizens of the UK. The public expression of these processes reached its peak during Monday's funeral procession.
From the early hours of the morning, tens of thousands of people streamed into the streets surrounding Westminister Abbey, where the official ceremony took place. We walked with them: Families with small children; groups of schoolchildren; residents of London and those who had come from around the country; those old enough to remember the young queen's coronation alongside youth who have never known a world without Elizabeth as queen. Despite the crowds and the long distances they had to walk along the closed streets, the masses march in silence that spoke loudly.
Many carried bouquets of flowers, others wrapped themselves in British flags and portraits of the queen. Standing out were the veterans of the British army and navy, many of them in full regalia wearing their ranks, berets, and medals, who had come to pay last respects to the monarch they had sworn allegiance to in their service. There were also athletes who had represented Great Britain in international games: among them Olympians who turned out in uniforms adorned with the Union Jack.
As the hours passed, and the day's pinnacle edged closer, more people joined the human river flowing to no particular place, just hoping to get as close as possible and "touch history."
"When our children are asked where they were when Queen Elizabeth was laid to rest, they will know exactly what to reply," the marchers said.
By the time the ceremony commenced at Westminster Abbey, tens of thousands of people had gathered on the lawns of Hyde Park. Almost everyone who had wanted to get close to the closed ceremony but hadn't managed to grab a spot during the night had come to the Park, where the funeral was broadcast on large screens. The crowds participated in the funeral as if they were there: They stood for the prayers and sat for the hymnal they closed their eyes and embraced their loved ones. At the entrance to the park, the atmosphere was like that at a rock concert, but the stunning silence left no room for doubt: this was a mass farewell ceremony. Many such ceremonies were held throughout the kingdom.
The pinnacle of the church ceremony came at its end when the crowd stood for a minute's silence. The silence ended with the blast of trumpets and the crowd clapped spontaneously. In a ceremony that was so meticulously planned, it was a beautiful moment of spontaneous, popular appreciation. When the queen's casket began the long procession from Westminister Abbey through the streets of London, the booms of cannon fire were heard across the town. A shot went off every minute until the Queen's casket was transferred to a hearse for its final journey to Windsor Castle outside the capital.
In the evening, as life in London began to return to normal, the royal family and senior officials gathered for the committal service at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. As the Queen's coffin was carried up the famous West Steps, the public eye focused on the tears of Kate and Meghan, the tensions between William and Harry, and especially on the strained look on the face of King Charles. He had waited many years for this moment and knew that it would come along with deep sorrow. Now a new era is beginning and challenges and tests await beyond the period of mourning. With a new, not as popular king, a new prime minister, raging inflation, and an energy crisis, they will come faster than expected.
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