Correspondent’s Comment | Elizabeth was given a funeral that was like a queen herself

Foreign countries|Correspondent’s Comment

London

In the British it is customary to be proud of the fact that nowhere else does one know how to organize as handsome and smooth ceremonies as in the island kingdom.

And they are absolutely right.

Queen of Elizabeth II the state funeral on Monday was a good example of this.

The London part of the funeral was like the queen herself during her 70-year reign: thoroughly restrained and controlled – and at the same time British-looking.

All went according to plan in Westminster Abbey and the funeral procession that followed. And why wouldn’t it have worked out.

The funeral had been prepared for years in advance. The oak chest had already been made thirty years ago. The queen herself had been closely involved in the preparations.

No big outbursts of emotion were seen in the London part of the funeral, neither in the church nor on the streets. The queen herself would probably have been more than happy about that.

I’m restrained there are three reasons for the controlled atmosphere.

First of all, the biggest emotional storm caused by the queen’s death had already had time to be channeled into other activities during the ten days before the funeral.

Queuing for the Queen’s coffin became the biggest phenomenon of this time of mourning.

Mourners were ready to stand in line for up to 24 hours just to say goodbye to the Queen’s coffin. An official program was also organized for each day in memory of the monarch.

Another reason for the low-key funeral atmosphere was that the death of the 96-year-old queen could not be considered a big surprise in the end. Of course, many British interviewees told Helsingin Sanomat about their sadness and shock, but everyone knew at the same time that even Queen Elizabeth could not go on forever.

Third the reason is related to the most important condition for the preservation of the monarchy: what is essential is continuity, not the individual.

The funeral ceremonies and even the choices of hymns and wreaths referred to past events and figures in the history of Britain and the Royal Family. Thus the queen became just one link in a long chain.

For the British court, this is a matter of fate. In terms of the continuity of the monarchy, it would be dangerous to imply that with the queen something ended once and for all.

Puberty however, the British monarchy cannot be avoided.

Queen Elizabeth was a monarch and matriarch, whose status and importance in Britain were hardly questioned, even by those who otherwise alienated the monarchy. The older the queen got, the quieter the critics became.

The follower means the king by Charles III won’t be as easy. According to opinion polls, the majority of the people think that the king has started well. However, even Charles’s reign is over for just under two weeks.

Everyday life Britain moves again on Tuesday. Then familiar everyday problems such as the energy and cost of living crises are also in front.

The world-class funeral spectacle took the attention away for a while. At the same time, Britain’s longest-serving ruler received a well-deserved farewell. The people and the public elsewhere also saw a show of skill in ceremonial organization.