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After a state funeral attended by international leaders and a historic final ceremonial procession through crowded London streets, Queen Elizabeth II, the country’s longest-serving queen, will be laid to rest on Monday. Among the foreign leaders present at the burial is President Droupadi Murmu, her American counterpart Joe Biden, and French President Emmanuel Macron.
On behalf of the Indian government, President Murmu, who is in London on a three-day visit to attend the state funeral, signed a condolence book on Sunday. At Lancaster House in London, where international leaders are coming by to sign a book of condolences in remembrance of Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away at the age of 96 in Scotland on September 8, the President was joined by Acting High Commissioner Sujit Ghosh.
The Queen was praised for her generosity and hospitality by US President Joe Biden. According to him, she will leave a lasting impression on both the history books of Britain and the world. Biden, who first met the Queen in 1982, crossed himself and placed his hand over his heart as he watched the flag-draped coffin in London’s enormous Westminster Hall with his wife Jill.
Anthony Albanese, the anti-monarchy Prime Minister of Australia, met with King Charles on Saturday and attended the lying-in-state. He described the queen as “a continual reassuring presence,” according to news agency AFP.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand, which now counts King Charles as its sovereign along with Australia and 12 other Commonwealth states, also received a special audience at Buckingham Palace.
Flags were ordered to fly at half-mast by the kings of Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman, while Jordan’s King Abdullah II, whose mother was British, extended his sympathies as well, according to news agency AFP.
However, the 2,000 visitors did not include the leaders of Russia, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Syria, or North Korea. China won’t be present at the abbey but was denied entry to the lying-in-state by parliamentary leaders.
The 11 days of national mourning in the United Kingdom will come to a close with Queen Elizabeth’s state burial today, the first since the passing of her first prime minister Winston Churchill in 1965. During this time, the royal family’s private grief was exposed to great international scrutiny.
