Charles reflects on 'dear mother' ahead of funeral

September 19, 2022 09:40

Britain's King Charles III reflected upon his late mother's lifelong service in a thank you message ahead of Queen Elizabeth II's funeral at Westminster Abbey in London on Monday morning.

President Droupadi Murmu, who is representing India at the state funeral, and the heads of state and government from around the world including US President Joe Biden attended an official state event hosted by the King and Queen Consort Camilla at Buckingham Palace on Sunday evening.

Queen Elizabeth II, 96, passed away peacefully at her Scottish residence of Balmoral Castle on September 8 and has been Lying-in-State at Westminster Hall, where Murmu and the world leaders joined thousands of mourners to pay their respects to the late monarch.

"Over the last 10 days, my wife and I have been so deeply touched by the many messages of condolence and support we have received from this country and across the world," Charles said in a statement, in the wake of a one-minute silence as a national moment of reflection in memory of the Queen at 20:00 local time on Sunday.

"In London, Edinburgh, Hillsborough and Cardiff we were moved beyond measure by everyone who took the trouble to come and pay their respects to the lifelong service of my dear mother, the late Queen," he said.

"As we all prepare to say our last farewell, I wanted simply to take this opportunity to say thank you to all those countless people who have been such a support and comfort to my family and myself in this time of grief," he added.

Westminster Hall will close to the public early on Monday morning as preparations are made for the coffin to be conveyed in procession to Westminster Abbey nearby, where a congregation of around 2,000 will gather for a sombre ceremony starting at 11 am local time and concluding with a two-minute silence around an hour later.

Besides the visiting foreign dignitaries, hundreds of people who were recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours list in June this year will also join the congregation, including those who made extraordinary contributions to the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. British Prime Minister Liz Truss and Commonwealth Secretary-General Baroness Patricia Scotland will be among those reading lessons during the service.

The Archbishop of York, the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and the Free Churches Moderator will say prayers and the sermon will be given by the Archbishop of Canterbury, who will also give the Commendation. Around 4,000 military personnel have been rehearsing for days for one of the UK's largest state events in decades, with the last state funeral at the Abbey held in 1965 for Britain's war-time Prime Minister Winston Churchill. -- PTI

« Back to LIVE

TOP STORIES

'Balak buddhi, 99 out of 543': Modi mounts stinging retort on Rahul

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the people have given his government a mandate for stability and continuity for the third consecutive term after seeing its work of 10 years and accused the Congress of trying to build a...

Women, children among 116 killed in stampede at UP satsang

The stampede took place as people headed home after a satsang in the district's Phulrai village, conducted by a preacher known as Bhole Baba. Twenty-seven bodies were brought to a hospital in neighbouring Etah district. Senior...

Stampede victims' bodies scattered at Hathras hospital; O2 shortage emerges

Locals blamed the administration's negligence for the tragedy.

New base years for macros likely to kick in from Jan-Feb 2026

Updated new base years for national accounts and other macro-indicators are expected to come into effect from January-February 2026, coinciding with the first and second advance estimates of national income for FY26, senior official...

LS passes resolution condemns Opposition's disruptions during PM speech

The Lok Sabha passed a resolution on Tuesday condemning Opposition's disruptions during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address, with Union minister Rajnath Singh saying these actions 'shredded' parliamentary norms.