A page of history turns: the time has come to bid farewell to Elizabeth II

With a meticulously planned pomp and circumstance, this religious funeral in front of 2,000 guests at Westminster Abbey brought to a close a national mourning period marked by an immense wave of collective emotion since the death of Elizabeth II on September 8 in her Scottish castle of Balmoral.

At dawn, the very last members of the public bowed before the Queen's coffin, on display 24 hours a day for five days on an imposing catafalque, surmounted by the glittering imperial crown, in the eldest chamber of the British Parliament, Westminster Hall.

A last tear or curtsy, and the feeling of having made history: like hundreds of thousands of other people, they had waited for hours in the sun or the cold of the night. "It's unbelievable", confided the very last visitor, Chrissy Heerey, to AFP, before joining the crowds that had poured into central London to watch the funeral on big screens or catch a glimpse of the funeral procession. It will be "a long day, but well worth it. It's nothing compared to what the Queen has done for the country," says Mrs. Heerey, a member of the Royal Air Force.

"I was there!"

For the first state funeral since Winston Churchill's in 1965, a host of world leaders attended, from US President Joe Biden to Japanese Emperor Naruhito and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Following the invasion of Ukraine, Russia was not invited. However, Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska was present. Not for years has London seen such an influx of dignitaries, and the capital's police force has never faced such a security challenge.

Representatives of European royal families, including King Philippe of Belgium, King Felipe VI of Spain and Prince Albert of Monaco, will also take their seats beneath the Gothic arches of the abbey so closely linked to the fate of Elizabeth II, who died at the age of 96. It was here that, as a 21-year-old princess in November 1947, she married the dashing Philip Mountbatten, before being crowned on June 2, 1953.

The coffin will arrive in procession, followed by King Charles III and members of the Royal Family on foot. It will leave at 11:00 GMT for a final journey to Windsor, 35 km west of the capital, where the Queen will be laid to rest. Hundreds of thousands of people, young and old, will not want to miss a minute of this historic event. The day is a public holiday, and some have slept in to secure the best possible position. For millions of Britons, Elizabeth II was the one, the only, reassuring anchor of stability in the convulsions of a changing world. "This is history, never in my life will there be another queen," says Bethany Beardmore, 26, after a sleepless night. Elizabeth II was "an admirable person who did so much". "I'll tell my children about this moment: I'll say: I was there!" says 14-year-old Jack, who came to Hyde Park Corner, not far from Buckingham Palace, in the early hours of the morning with his parents.
For Thay, a 59-year-old man, the Queen brought "stability" to a "chaotic" life. He hopes Charles will do the same "because we need something to hold on to".

Historic procession

After the ceremony at Westminster Abbey, scheduled to last an hour and during which dozens of flights have been cancelled to avoid noise disturbing the solemnity of the moment, the country will freeze for two minutes of silence. The coffin will leave the Abbey, followed by King Charles III, Queen Consort Camilla and members of the Royal Family, and will again be placed on a Royal Navy gun carriage before a historic procession, with great pomp, through the streets of central London to the Wellington Arch, from where it will depart by hearse for Windsor Castle.

Over 6,000 military personnel will be taking part. Increasingly frail in recent months, suffering from mobility problems, Elizabeth II was still smiling when, two days before her death, she received the brand-new Prime Minister Liz Truss, her last public photo.

She was the world's oldest sitting leader. During her lifetime, she lived through the Second World War, saw the dissolution of the British Empire, and entered and left the European Union.

Accessible King

Elizabeth II turns the page on the last global queen, whose reign was unique in its length and endurance. At the time of her death, she was queen of 14 kingdoms in addition to the United Kingdom, including Australia, Canada and New Zealand. Some of these countries have made no secret of their desire to see their ties with the monarchy evolve.

She will be laid to rest on Monday evening in the George VI Memorial, an annex of the castle chapel where she spent her last years. She will be laid to rest beside her parents and Prince Philip, who died in April 2021. They had been married for 73 years.

After 12 exhausting days of travel to the four nations that make up the United Kingdom, and of mourning the loss of a mother, Charles III, 73, will have to write his own history. Some had dreamed of a swift transition to the new Prince of Wales, his 40-year-old son William. But Charles III promised, like his mother, to serve for the rest of his life.

Solemn, unifying, accessible and inclusive, his first steps have been reassuring, with the soothing presence of Camilla at his side. His popularity rating has soared, now at 70% according to a new YouGov poll, which puts William at 80%. But the challenges are only just beginning. The United Kingdom will then resume the thread of its life, suspended since September 8.

The cost-of-living crisis and social unrest should soon be back in the headlines.