Crown Prince to visit Britain for condolences

This news has been read 18904 times!

KUWAIT CITY, Sept 17, (Agencies): The Representative of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al- Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, along with an accompanying official delegation, is scheduled to travel to the United Kingdom on Sunday. His Highness the Crown Prince, along with his entourage, is due to present condolences on the demise of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and the North Ireland.

All eight of Queen Elizabeth II’s grandchildren stood in silent vigil beside her coffin Saturday, capping another huge day in which thousands came to pay their respects to the monarch. Many had huddled in line amid waits that stretched up to 16 hours, enduring London’s coldest night in months. A tide of people wanting to say goodbye streamed into Parliament’s Westminster Hall, where the queen’s coffin is lying in state, draped in her Royal Standard and capped with a diamond-studded crown.

The numbers have grown steadily since the public was first admitted on Wednesday, with a queue that snakes around Southwark Park and stretches out at least 5 miles (8 kilometers). Honoring their patience, King Charles III and his eldest son Prince William made an unannounced visit Saturday to greet people waiting to file past Elizabeth’s coffin, shaking hands and thanking mourners in the queue near Lambeth Bridge. Later, all the queen’s grandchildren stood by her coffin. William and Prince Harry, Charles’ sons, were joined by Princess Anne’s children, Zara Tindall and Peter Philips; Prince Andrew’s daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie; and the two children of Prince Edward – Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn. William, now the heir to the throne, stood, his head bowed, at the head of the coffin and Harry at the foot. Both princes, who are military veterans, were in uniform.

Silence
Mourners continued to file past in silence as the grandchildren stood vigil. Harry, who served in Afghanistan as a British army officer, wore civilian clothes during the procession of the queen’s coffin from Buckingham Palace because he is no longer a working member of the royal family. He and his wife Meghan quit royal duties and moved to the United States in 2020.

The King, however, requested that both William and Harry wear their military uniforms at the Westminster Hall vigil. Before the vigil, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie issued a statement praising their “beloved grannie.” “We, like many, thought you’d be here forever. And we all miss you terribly. You were our matriarch, our guide, our loving hand on our backs leading us through this world. You taught us so much and we will cherish those lessons and memories forever,” the sisters wrote. People queuing to see the queen have been of all ages and come from all walks of life.

Many bowed before the coffin or made a sign of the cross. Several veterans, their medals shining in the spotlights, offered sharp salutes. Some people wept. Others blew kisses. Many hugged one another as they stepped away, proud to have spent hours in line to offer a tribute, even if it lasted only a few moments. Overnight, volunteers distributed blankets and cups of tea to people in line as temperatures fell to 6 degrees Celsius (43 degrees Fahrenheit). Despite the weather, mourners described the warmth of a shared experience.

Overnight
“It was cold overnight, but we had wonderful companions, met new friends. The camaraderie was wonderful,’’ Chris Harman of London said. “It was worth it. I would do it again and again and again. I would walk to the end of the earth for my queen.” People had many reasons for coming, from affection for the queen to a desire to be part of a historic moment. Simon Hopkins, who traveled from his home in central England, likened it to “a pilgrimage.” “(It) is a bit strange, because that kind of goes against my grain,” he said. “I’ve been kind of drawn into it.”

The public kept silently streaming into Westminster Hall even as the queen’s four children – Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward – stood vigil Friday night around the flag-draped coffin for 15 minutes. A baby’s cry was the only sound. The lying-in-state continues until early Monday morning, when the queen’s coffin will be borne to nearby Westminster Abbey for a state funeral, the finale of 10 days of national mourning for Britain’s longest-reigning monarch. Elizabeth, 96, died at her Balmoral Estate in Scotland on Sept. 8 after 70 years on the throne.

This news has been read 18904 times!