Britain’s longest reigning monarch, Elizabeth Alexandra Windsor, officially known as Queen Elizabeth II has been laid to rest. The Queen who died on September 8, 2022, at age 96, was laid to rest on Monday 19th September, 2022.
The Queen was laid to rest on the grounds of Windsor Castle, where her father, King George VI, sister, Princess Margaret and husband, Prince Philip were buried.
As the coffin was lowered, a lone piper played a haunting lament. The queen’s titles were read publicly for the last time: “The late Most High, Most Mighty, and Most Excellent Monarch, Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, and Sovereign of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.”
According to reports, about four billion people viewed the televised proceedings of the state funeral held for the Queen. The event had been projected to smash other TV records.
It was reported that the crowd, which gathered around the royal palaces and in central London to pay their last tribute to Queen Elizabeth II was about a million. Reports also have it that numerous mourners who had planned to see the Queen’s state funeral and procession were left stranded at London’s Paddington station, as there were no trains running in or out of the region.
Local reports stated that that about two million people lined the streets to watch the Queen’s coffin make its final journey. Behind the coffin were the Queen’s children, King Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward. Behind them were Prince William, Prince Harry and Peter Phillips, and other members of her family.
Meanwhile, about 2,000 people, including royalty, world leaders, politicians and members of the royal household attended the funeral at Windsor Castle. However, the list was reduced to 800 guests during the committal ceremony held at St George’s Chapel.
According to reports, the world leaders who graced the event included members of the Commonwealth, Heads of State, Governors-General, Prime Ministers, and foreign royal families.
It was also reported that no fewer than 100 presidents and heads of government across the globe were reported present at the funeral, including United States President Joe Biden and wife, Jill Biden; Polish President Andrzej Duda and wife, Agata Kornhauser-Duda; French President Emmanuel Macron and wife, Brigitte; UK Prime Minister Liz Truss and husband, Hugh O’Leary; German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier; Italian President Sergio Mattarella, and Irish President Michael D. Higgins. Others were Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, Israeli President Isaac Herzog and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
The United Kingdom’s seven surviving prime ministers attended Westminster Abbey to bid farewell to the Queen. Recently elected Prime Minister Liz Truss was joined by Boris Johnson, Theresa May, David Cameron, Gordon Brown, Sir Tony Blair, and Sir John Major. All seven were pictured seated alongside one another at the funeral with their spouses.
It is germane to note that the Queen’s reign spanned the tenure of 15 prime ministers in total, the first of which was Sir Winston Churchill.
The service saw Truss deliver a Bible reading, John 14:2, which recounts Jesus’ farewell address to his disciples at the last supper.
It reads “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you”.
In the absence of President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osibanjo led the Nigerian delegation to the burial. Other African leaders included Gabonese President Ali Bongo; Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo; Kenyan President William Ruto; Rwandan President Paul Kagame; Senegalese President Macky Sall; South African President Cyril Ramaphosa; and Sudan’s military leader, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.
It was reported that Monarchs who attended the ceremony included King Philip and Queen Mathilde of Belgium; King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck; Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah; Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary; Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako of Japan; King Abdullah and Queen Rania of Jordan; Crown Prince Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Sabah of Kuwait; King Letsie III of Lesotho; Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein; Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg; Malaysia’s Sultan Abdullah of Pahang; Prince Albert II of Monaco; Crown Prince Moulay Hassan of Morocco; King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands; King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway; Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said of Oman; Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani of Qatar; Prince Turki bin Mohammed al Saud of Saudi Arabia; King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain; Juan Carlos, former king of Spain, and former Queen Sofia; King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden; King Tupou VI of Tonga; Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, president of the UAE and ruler of Abu Dhabi; Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president, prime minister, and minister of defence of the UAE and ruler of Dubai.
Meanwhile, reports have it that invitations were not sent to some countries, while some were asked to send only ambassadors, not heads of state. Russian President Vladimir Putin was not invited to the funeral. Belarus was snubbed for aiding the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Afghanistan was not invited. Myanmar, which was sanctioned by the UK for the repression of the Rohingya community, was asked not to send representatives. Also, leaders of Syria and Venezuela were not invited because they lack full diplomatic relations with the UK.
On the other hand, Chinese President Xi Jinping, who received an invite to attend the ceremony rather sent a delegation. Pope Francis didn’t attend the event but was reportedly represented by the Vatican diplomat, Archbishop Paul Gallagher. India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi was absent despite receiving invitation. Also Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman didn’t turn up for the funeral.
In his tribute, Nigeria’s Vice President, who described the departed Queen Elizabeth II as a monarch for all seasons, said “in the 70 years that she has been Queen, it’s obvious that through practically every cycle – war, peace, economic decline, apartheid, all the various cycles, where truly major things were going on, she held her own and she was always able to bring a certain degree of understanding.
“And just the gravity of someone who doesn’t hold political office is so well respected and well regarded. In so many ways, she was a factor in practically all of the various cycles that we have experienced, not just in the Commonwealth, but in the world itself.
“I think she was a stabilizing force, that was why I thought the description (borrowed from the man for all seasons) that she was the Queen for all seasons.”
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