The coffin of Elizabeth II left Buckingham Palace on Wednesday, su official residence in London for seven decades, for a massive popular tribute, in the last stage of his long goodbye before the funeral and burial on September 19.
With British punctuality, the entourage that accompanies the coffin, covered with the royal banner on which flowers and the imperial crown rest, began to leave at 2:22 p.m. (1:22 p.m. GMT) from Buckingham towards the burning chapel installed in the Palace of Westminster.
(Also read: Elizabeth II: they foresee queues of up to 30 hours to see the coffin in Westminster Hall)
Coffin leaves Buckingham Palace.
The coffin, placed on a horse-drawn mount, began to travel through some crowded streets of London, followed on foot by Charles III and his brothers Ana, Eduardo and Andrés, as well as by the sons of the new monarch, William and Harry, together just behind his father.
As required by protocol for a procession of this type, King Carlos III wore a ceremonial uniform with the rank of field marshal and carried the marshal’s baton that his mother had given him in 2012, as well as the decoration of the Order of Merit.
While his son and heir, William, wore a Royal Air Force (RAF) uniform and several medals awarded by his grandmother.
Further back, but in a royal limousine, were the queen consort, Camila; the Princess of Wales, Kate; the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan, and Prince Edward’s wife, the Countess of Wessex, Sophie.
(You may be interested in: Carlos III: dozens of his employees were fired after becoming king)
Queen Elizabeth II leaves Buckingham Palace for the final time.
Her coffin is borne by the Gun Carriage of The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery to the Palace of Westminster.
The Imperial State Crown rests on the coffin. pic.twitter.com/AVzGgBE1ph
— Royal Central (@RoyalCentral) September 14, 2022
The procession was accompanied by a band of the Scots Guards and the band of the Grenadier Guards who performed the funeral marches of Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Chopin, the third movement of his Piano Sonata No. 2, which was already played at the funeral of the president American John F. Kennedy, and British Prime Ministers Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher.
The 38-minute, 15-kilometre journey was accompanied every 60 seconds by a cannon shot from Hyde Park and the pealing of bells from Big Ben in tribute to the UK’s longest-serving ruler.
Walking behind members of The Royal Family in the procession are members of the Royal Household who serve under King Charles and Queen Camilla pic.twitter.com/6qRboG4HTy
— Royal Central (@RoyalCentral) September 14, 2022
“It is a historic event and since we have had the opportunity to come to London, what better than to see all this,” Cristina García, a 44-year-old Spanish tourist, told AFP.
(Also: Prince Andrew, insulted at Queen Elizabeth’s wake; he was not even in military dress)
![Isabel II](https://www.eltiempo.com/images/1x1.png)
King Charles III and Prince William accompany the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II.
Once in the Parliament of Westminster, the coffin will be placed on a catafalque in a burning chapel, where it will remain guarded -in shifts- by members of the royal guard and the “Yeoman” guardians of the Tower of London, and can be visited by the citizens.
The funeral chapel of Elizabeth II, who died on Thursday at the age of 96, will open its doors at 5:00 p.m. (4:00 p.m. GMT) in Westminster Hall, where citizens will be able to say their last goodbye until the funeral and burial scheduled for September 19.
INTERNATIONAL WRITING*
*With information from AFP and EFE
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