The Duke of Norfolk told magistrates that losing his license would cause “exceptional hardship” because he needs to driveto organize the coronation of King Charles III.
A senior peer who organized the Queen’s funeral has been handed a six-month driving ban for using his mobile phone behind the wheel.
The Earl Marshal, the Duke of Norfolk, 65, argued in court that he should be spared a ban because he needs his licence to organize the coronation of King Charles III.
A lawyer for the duke – a descendant of Queen Elizabeth I believed to be worth £100m – told magistrates on Monday that losing his license would lead to “exceptional hardship”.
The Oxford-educated father-of-five, who is also responsible for arranging the State Opening of Parliament, pleaded guilty at Lavender Hill Magistrates’ Court to using his mobile phone behind the wheel in Battersea, southwest London.
The duke, also known as Edward Fitzalan-Howard, was stopped by police after he was spotted using his phone while driving his BMW on 7 April.
The offense comes with a compulsory six-point endorsement – but he already had nine penalty points on his licence for previous speeding offenses.
Passing the sentence, bench chair Judith Way, said: “We accept that this a unique case because of the defendant’s role in society and in particular in relation to the King’s coronation.
“The hardship needs to be exceptional and although we find inconvenience may be caused, we don’t find it exceptional hardship.”
The duke’s lawyer, Natasha Dardashti, made an application for parts of the hearing to be held “in camera” – excluding the press and public – over “national security” concerns regarding “very sensitive” information.
Image:The Duke of Norfolk arriving at Lavender Hill Magistrates’ Court
She told the court: “In relation to the exceptional hardship argument, his grace will need to provide some detail and information about the preparation of the coronation of His Royal Highness King Charles III.
“The application for this matter to be in camera is for reasons of national security and because details of this will be provided which have not yet been discussed with His Royal Highness, and not yet discussed with the prime minister and not yet discussed with the Archbishop of Canterbury.
“It would be unacceptable for these details to be made public or made known to risk the escape of that information of a very sensitive nature.”
Image: The Duke of Norfolk, far right, at the Accession Council ceremony at St James’s Palace where King Charles was formally proclaimed the new monarch
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Outlining the facts of the driving offense, prosecutor Jonathan Bryan said: “Officers were stationary at traffic lights, which turned green.
“A BMW cut across them and on that basis, the officers assumed it must have gone through a red light because their light was green.
“One of the officers noticed the driver was using a mobile phone while doing this and didn’t seem to be paying attention.
“The officers drove up to the BMW and saw through the window that the driver was using his mobile phone.
“They spoke to the driver, who was his grace. He said he had not been aware of going through the red light but accepted this was because he was using his mobile phone.
As the new head of The Firm, Charles now oversees some $42 billion in assets and inherited $500 million from Queen Elizabeth, including her castles, jewels, art collection and a horse farm—all of it tax-free.
When you’re a member of the House of Windsor, going into the family business may come with a lifetime of prestige and privilege, but it doesn’t always bring great wealth.
Even members of The Firm—as high-ranking royals have been known since the days of King George VI—are often dependent on their elders for allowances, gifts and other blue-blooded handouts.
But it’s still good to be the king.
After training for the position for more than 70 years, King Charles III inherited large swaths of land, regal estates, rare jewels, paintings and other personal property—some going back centuries—from his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
He also now oversees the late monarch’s $42 billion portfolio of assets held in trust for the kingdom, including billions in investments—and other opulent palaces, glittering jewels and priceless art that he will never actually own.
Her Majesty’s will is expected to be sealed for at least 90 years so the exact distribution of her assets will not be known for several generations. But as her eldest son, Charles inherited the Queen’s private estates—her much-loved castle in Balmoral, Scotland, where she died, as well as Sandringham in eastern England, home to the thoroughbred horse farm known as the Royal Studs.
King Charles is also expected to inherit her enormous private collection of jewelry, art, rare stamps and any personal investments. Altogether, Forbes values these personal assets at $500 million. And Charles won’t have to pay a shilling of inheritance tax, thanks to a 1993 agreement with the British government that exempts transfers of property from one sovereign to another.
The 73-year-old monarch also accedes the throne with a king’s ransom of his own, largely through the lucrative annual income he received from the Duchy of Cornwall, which earned him some $27 million this year and which his eldest son, Prince William, will now inherit.
As Prince of Wales, Charles launched several ventures to protect the environment and foster organic farming. Through his Charitable Foundation (which William also inherits now), Charles owned the largest organic food brand in the U.K., as well as a nature retreat and crafts center in Transylvania that each operate as bed and breakfasts.
Prince William will now take possession of the Duchy of Cornwall, a conglomerate with $1.2 billion in net assets including the Oval cricket ground in London, Charles’ former residence at Highgrove House (where he first began farming organically in 1985) and the Isles of Scilly, but the new King will not exactly be left wanting for prime real estate.
As the new monarch, Charles assumes ownership of institutions that manage an estimated $42 billion in assets, including some of the world’s most famous royal palaces and the Crown Jewels.
These assets—which include Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and the Tower of London—aren’t held directly by the King, but are instead owned by the reigning monarch “in right of the Crown” for the duration of their reign. They are also held “in trust” for his successors and the nation—meaning they can’t actually be sold.
In contrast to the various estates, which file annual reports, the palaces and jewels are often thought of as priceless. So what’s it all worth? Forbes gave it a royal effort.
The single most valuable asset held by King Charles is the Crown Estate, a sprawling real estate portfolio with $17.5 billion in net assets. Those properties include Regent Street, London’s prime shopping destination, as well as Ascot Racecourse (a favorite of the Queen) and virtually the entire seabed of the U.K. All of the Crown Estate’s net profit—$361 million in fiscal year 2022—goes to the British Treasury.
But the royal family also gets a cut: They receive an allowance from the Treasury known as the “Sovereign Grant,” equal to 25% of the net profit for the financial year two years earlier. In 2022, the Sovereign Grant amounted to $99.6 million, based on the Crown Estate’s net profit in the 2019-20 financial year.
That enormous windfall doesn’t go directly to Charles, however. A 10% cut of that net profit—$39.8 million for 2022—is set aside for maintaining Buckingham Palace, and an additional 15% is used to finance the royal family’s annual travel, formal events, housekeeping and payroll. And those bills add up fast.
The most expensive trip taken by the royals in the past year, for instance, was Prince William and Kate’s nine-day visit to Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas in March, which cost roughly $260,000, including planning prior to the visit.
The Sovereign Grant isn’t Charles’ only source of income. For one, it doesn’t cover physical security. As King, he also gains control of the Duchy of Lancaster, a private estate with $753 million in net assets that is owned in trust by the monarch.
The Duchy’s net revenues go directly to the King as an allowance called the Privy Purse, which covers any other official expenditures. (In 2022, that amounted to $24 million, pre-tax.) Unlike the Sovereign Grant, which is tax-free, the Queen agreed in 1993 to voluntarily pay income tax on the portion of the Privy Purse not used for official purposes—and Charles agreed to maintain the same policy upon his accession.
In addition to the Crown Estate and the Duchy of Lancaster, Charles also holds the Crown Estate Scotland, a portfolio with some $570 million in net assets, including the Scottish seabed, rural estates and the rights to fish wild salmon and extract naturally occurring gold and silver in Scotland.
The rest of the Crown’s holdings—at least nine former and current royal residences and the Royal Collection, which includes the Crown Jewels—are the most difficult to value because they would never reach the open market and they don’t file annual reports.
The Crown Jewels are perhaps the most identifiable asset associated with the British royal family. As part of the Royal Collection, they are “held in trust by the monarch for the nation.” The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors estimated their value at $4 billion in 2019, using the sale of the French Crown Jewels in 1887 and the sale of the late Princess Margaret’s jewelry in 2006 as a comparison.
The overall value of the Royal Collection, which includes works by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Caravaggio and Leonardo Da Vinci, is unquestionably much higher. According to a 2017 report by Brand Finance, a U.K.-based brand valuation firm, the Royal Collection—including the Crown Jewels—is estimated to be worth $12.7 billion.
There are also at least nine palaces, castles and residences owned by the King in trust as sovereign or “in right of the Crown.” According to estimates provided by Lenka Dušková Munter, a sales specialist for historical properties at Czech real estate agency Luxent, and Colby Short, co-founder and CEO of estate agent website GetAgent.co.uk, Forbesestimates the combined value of these properties at $9.5 billion.
The most valuable property in the collection is, of course, the King’s official London residence, Buckingham Palace, estimated at $4.9 billion. On the lower end, there’s Clarence House, Charles’ formal residence in London when he was Prince of Wales, valued at $72 million.
Balmoral and Sandringham, which are now personally owned by the King after he inherited them from Queen Elizabeth, are worth $118 million and $73 million, respectively.
Most of these assets cannot be sold. But in choosing Charles as his regnal name, the new King would be wise to remember what happened to King Charles I’s worldly possessions—after he was beheaded by his people in 1649.
Following Charles I’s death during the English Civil War, his assets were promptly auctioned off— Richmond Palace in London reportedly sold for £13,000 (or about $1.8 million today) before ultimately being demolished. Parliament also sold Charles I’s art collection, considered at the time to be one of the greatest in the world. The appraised value of £35,000 for the paintings alone—some $5 million adjusted for inflation—is a fraction of the $450 million paid at auction for just one of those works, Leonardo Da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, when it became the most expensive painting ever sold in 2017.
Presumably Charles III’s reign will go a little more smoothly than his regal namesake. The new King has seen a surge in support since his mother’s death. A YouGov survey for the Times of London published Tuesday found that his approval rating has jumped to 63% since May, when only 32% of respondents believed he would do a good job as the monarch.
“The queen was obviously very well regarded globally and inside the U.K.,” says David Haigh, chief executive of Brand Finance. “She did an extremely good job. And the jury’s out as to whether or not Prince Charles will live up to her example.”
THE KING’S PERSONAL ASSETS
As the new King, Charles inherits the Queen’s personal assets, which Forbesestimates at $500 million. That includes Balmoral and Sandringham, the Royal Philatelic Collection—which includes “the world’s finest and most comprehensive collection of British and Commonwealth stamps”—personal investments, horses, jewelry and artworks Her Majesty inherited from her mother in 2002.
The prize painting in that collection is said to be Claude Monet’s Study of rocks, Creuse, reportedly worth as much as $17.3 million. And assuming Charles’ late father, Prince Philip, had a smart estate tax attorney, the Duke of Edinburgh would have bequeathed his own art collection—estimated at $2.3 million by the late royal commentator and journalist David McClure—to the Queen upon his death in April 2021 to avoid paying inheritance tax. If he did, those assets also likely passed on tax-free to Charles.
There is also a vast collection of cars, watches and other extravagant toys held by the King and the royal family. On Sunday, on the first full day of his reign, King Charles turned up to greet crowds at Buckingham Palace wearing an 18-carat gold Parmigiani Fleurier Toric Chronograph watch that he’s owned since the mid-2000s, the Swiss watchmaker told Forbes. Parmigiani Fleurier no longer produces the Toric Chronograph, but a similar model sold at Christie’s for $8,125 in 2019.
The King’s vehicle of choice for his London debut was his mother’s Rolls Royce Phantom VI, which was presented to her for her Silver Jubilee in 1977. While the car is not for sale, a similar model from 1976 can be purchased for $225,000.
Charles also inherits the Bentley State Limousine, originally designed for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 2002 to commemorate her half-century on the throne.
In his 64 years as Prince of Wales, Charles also learned how to build his own outrageous fortune. He largely depended on income from the Duchy of Cornwall, which expanded under his tenure to $1.2 billion in net assets, including nearly $400 million in commercial properties and more than 52,000 hectares of land, or about a third the size of Greater London. Between 2011 and 2022, the Duchy’s net assets grew by 51%.
The profits from those assets provided Charles with enough income to be independent of the Sovereign Grant: In the fiscal year ending March 31, 2022, the then-Prince of Wales earned some $26.6 million (pre-tax) from the Duchy of Cornwall, compared to $1.2 million from the Sovereign Grant.
That valuable asset is now in the hands of Prince William, who succeeded his father as the Prince of Wales. With Cornwall, William will no longer have to ask his father for a cut of his income anymore. Prince Harry, on the other hand, is forging ahead with his own business ventures along with his wife, Meghan Markle.
In December 2020, the couple signed a three-year podcasting deal with Spotify that could be worth between $15 million and $18 million. The couple also has an Apple TV+ series on mental health that Harry executive produces with Oprah Winfrey for an undisclosed sum and a $100 million, five-year Netflix deal, which was signed in September 2020.
After all, leaving the royal family isn’t usually a smart financial move: When Queen Elizabeth’s uncle, King Edward VIII, abdicated in 1936 to marry the twice-divorced Wallis Simpson, he was cut off from the Civil List, the royal funding stream now known as the Sovereign Grant. Instead, he negotiated a deal with his brother, King George VI, to receive £25,000 a year ($1.4 million adjusted for inflation.) Still, at the time of his death in 1972, the Duke of Windsor (as he became known) left behind a fortune worth nearly $2.5 million—$17.7 million today—including a villa in Paris.
Charles’ personal assets before he became king are far murkier. He’s also received scrutiny for investments made through the Duchy of Cornwall. In 2017, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists’ Paradise Papers investigation revealed that the Duchy of Cornwall had invested millions of pounds in offshore funds and companies, including a business registered in Bermuda run by Hugh van Cutsem, an old friend from the University of Cambridge in the 1960s.
At the time, the Duchy said Charles didn’t have any “direct involvement in investment decisions.”
As King, Charles now holds $500 million in personal assets with another $42 billion held in trust as the sovereign. Despite an obviously luxurious lifestyle with access to multiple castles, fleets of cars, private planes and a pretty great collection of tiaras and other jewelry, there is one thing that King Charles III shares with every commoner—death and (some) taxes.
The black burial stone has been set into the floor of the George VI Memorial Chapel, where the monarch was buried on Monday.
The stone is engraved in memory of the Queen, her parents, and her late husband, the Duke of Edinburgh.
It replaces a previous slab dedicated to George VI and the Queen Mother.
The fresh stone now reads “George VI 1895-1952” and “Elizabeth 1900-2002” followed by a metal Garter Star, and then “Elizabeth II 1926-2022” and “Philip 1921-2021”.
All four royals were members of the Order of the Garter, the most senior order of knighthood in the British honours system. The order of chivalry dates back to medieval times and is made up of the monarch and other senior figures, including ex-prime ministers and former military chiefs.
The freshly installed stone is also surrounded by floral tributes and wreaths to mark the Queen’s death. It is made of hand-carved Belgian black marble with brass letter inlays, to match the previous ledger stone.
The Queenwas laid to rest in a private burial at George VI Memorial Chapelattended by King Charles III and immediate family members on Monday, when the late monarch joined her parents, her sister and her husband. The service in the evening followed the public elements of the day – the Queen’s state funeral at Westminster Abbey and committal service in Windsor.
Members of the public will be able to pay to see the ledger stone in person from Thursday.
The chapel will reopen to visitors that day, and will be open every day excluding Sundays when it is only open for worshippers.
Entry to the castle is £28.50 for adults on Saturdays and £26.50 on other days, according to the chapel’s website.
IMAGE SOURCE,REUTERS
The chapel was commissioned by the Queen in 1962 as a burial place for her father King George VI and was designed by George Pace. The pale stone annexe was added on to the north side of the building behind the North Quire Aisle and was completed in 1969.
The Queen’s sister Princess Margaret, who died in 2002, was cremated and her ashes were initially placed in the Royal Vault of St George’s Chapel, before being moved to the George VI memorial chapel with her parents’ coffins when the Queen Mother died a few weeks later.
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA Image caption, The new stone replaces this one, which was dedicated to the Queen’s mother and father, George VI and Elizabeth, the Queen Mother
Prince Philip has only recently been relocated to the chapel, however.
When he died in April 2021, his coffin was interred in the Royal Vault, ready to be moved to the memorial chapel to join his wife upon her death.
The royal family is observing a seven-day period of mourning for the Queen, which will draw to a close at the end of Monday.
In our series of letters from African journalists, Elizabeth Ohene compares the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II to those in her home country, Ghana.
We do not have any personality that ranks on the scale of Queen Elizabeth II, so it is probably not fair to compare her funeral with how we do funerals here in Ghana.
But since we pride ourselves on being world leaders in funerals, it is not surprising that we have been watching the spectacle of her funeral with keen interest.
The first major departure from a grand funeral, as we know it, is to have buried the Queen within 10 days of her death.
In Ghana, the greater the status of the dead person, the longer the wait for the funeral. We seem to think that to bury someone quickly after her death is to show disrespect.
To illustrate with a personal experience, my siblings and I are still seen in a bad light in our home village because we buried our mother three weeks after her death. We are told with disgust that we buried our mother like she was a fowl!
IMAGE SOURCE,FELLIPE ABREU Image caption, Ghanaians are known for their elaborate coffins, which represent an aspect of the deceased’s life – like a love of chilli pepper
Then there is the question of the long silences that characterised her funeral events.
Over here, funerals are extremely noisy affairs – on the funeral grounds and even in the church.
The noise level at our funerals is meant to be high. If we play music, we play it loudly. If we are drumming, it is very loud and any number of groups can do it at the same time.
We cry. We wail to show our grief. We are expected to demonstrate the pain of our loss by crying out loud and often hysterically.
Indeed, we hire professional wailers to provide an adequate backdrop to the funeral, so it might not be said that there was no crying at your mother’s funeral. It is the ultimate insult.
At the Queen’s funeral, if tears welled up in someone’s eyes, it was something to comment on. If a daughter-in-law wiped a silent tear, it made headlines.
People in the crowds kept apologising for being “emotional”, which is a code word for tears or for being on the verge of breaking down.
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Image caption, Ghanaian funerals are characterised by loud crying and wailing
Everybody around here has been impressed by how orderly everything was at the funeral.
There were straight lines. Of course, we do not expect anything less from the military and since they took centre stage at the events, the regimented order was to be expected. Our funerals are more like organised chaos.
We know from long association with the British that they are generally punctual and do things on time, rigidly on time.
This is disconcerting for us here, where, in relation to funerals, time is at best an approximation.
To lie in state, the Queen’s coffin left Buckingham Palace at exactly the announced time – 14:22.
The state funeral service lasted for an hour. That certainly is disconcerting for a Ghanaian audience – it would have taken at least that long to introduce the VVIPs present. And with the whole world watching, the Archbishop of Canterbury gave a homily of less than six minutes!
All these considerations have led me to conclude that the main difference between our funerals and that of the Queen can be summed up as: They march and we dance.
A march is performed by a group and watched by multitudes. A march is rigid. It requires practice and rehearsals over and over again as you cannot put one foot wrong. You can’t join in. Emotions are out of place.
A dance is an art form that can be performed by a group and watched by multitudes, but it is participatory and all can join in. We make it up as we go along. There is room for mistakes and organised chaos.
I suspect we shall be taking some lessons from the marching to incorporate into our future funerals. I wonder if the British can take some lessons from our dancing?
Prince William, Prince of Wales. and King Charles III walk behind the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II
The royal family is required to follow an extensive list of rules and pieces of royal protocol.
However, King Charles and his family members also enjoy a number of royal perks.
They’re exempt from things like taxes and jury duty, and the king is allowed to break any law.
The British monarch can’t be arrested or be the subject of civil and criminal proceedings, meaning he is effectively exempt from the law.
Queen Elizabeth II and the then-titled Prince Charles during the State Opening of Parliament at the Palace of Westminster in 2019.Paul Edwards – WPA Pool/Getty Images
King Charlesenjoys sovereign immunity, meaning he can’t be prosecuted under a civil or criminal investigation.
This rule also applied to the late Queen Elizabeth II. According to previous guidance on the royal family’s official website, “although civil and criminal proceedings cannot be taken against the Sovereign as a person under UK law,” the Queen was careful to ensure that activities in her personal capacity were carried out in strict accordance with the law.
The royal family does not have to obey legal speed limits, but only when they’re driven by police on official royal duties.
Queen Elizabeth II in her Range Rover at the Royal Windsor Horse Show on July 2, 2021.Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images
When the king, prime minister, and other members of the royal family are driven by police officers on official royal business, they can drive as fast or as slow as they please.
According to The Sun, the Road Traffic Regulation Act gives permission for police, fire, ambulance, and other enforcement agency vehicles to break speed limits. Since the royals are always driven by police escorts while completing royal duties, their vehicles are thus exempt from following speed regulations.
The Queen didn’t have to use a passport to travel, and this is likely to also be true for King Charles.
King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla arrive in Belfast, Northern Ireland, ahead of the Queen’s funeral.Liam McBurney/pool via AP
Every passport in the United Kingdom is issued with the Queen’s name. As a consequence, the Queen didn’t need her own passport to travel, according to the royal family website.
Following the Queen’s death, passports are likely to be altered to reflect King Charles as the new sovereign. However, much like the process of altering British money and stamps, this will be a gradual change and could take a number of years, Euronews reports.
All other members of the royal family hold their own passports, the royal family website adds.
Her Majesty was never required to have a driver’s license.
Queen Elizabeth II driving a vehicle.Carl De Souza/Stringer/Getty Images
At the age of 18, Queen Elizabeth II trained as a driver and mechanic for the Women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service during World War II.
The Queen was never required to take an actual driving test and was also able to drive without a number plate because all driver’s licenses in the UK are issued in the Queen’s name, according to the Daily Express.
The Mirror reports King Charles is no longer required to use a driver’s license because he is the new monarch.
The royals don’t have to use their legal last names.
King Charles and Prince William.The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge/Twitter
The royals are not required to use their legal last names, even though they technically do have one.
Before 1917, members of the British royal family had no surname, but now, the male-line descendants of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip bear the last name Mountbatten-Windsor, according to the royal family website.
While regular grandparents have to go through the courts if they want custody of their grandchildren, the king has automatic legal custody of all of his descendants and his minor grandchildren.
Prince Charles, Prince George, and Prince William at Trooping the Colour 2015.Samir Hussein/Contributor/Getty Images
The monarch has legal custody of their grandchildren, royal historian Marlene Koenig told News.com.au. in 2018.
This means Charles technically has custody of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s three children, Prince George, Prince Charlotte, and Prince Louis, and Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s children, Archie and Lilibet.
This 300-year-old rule may seem odd, and though it’s unlikely the king would ever take his grandchildren away from their parents, the law is still technically there.
Members of the royal family are exempt from paying taxes in certain instances.
Queen Elizabeth II, Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, and Prince William at an official royal engagement.Getty Images
Though the monarch is not legally required to pay taxes, the Queen made voluntary payments on income, assets, and gains not used for official purposes, Insider previously reported.
Other parts of the royal family’s income, like the Prince of Wales’ income from the Duchy of Cornwall, are also exempt from taxes. However, he also “voluntarily pays income tax on all revenue from the estate,” according to the official website.
The royals are also able to skip out on jury duty.
Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles.Chris Jackson/Getty Images
One royal perk is that members of the king’s family do not have to take part in jury duty. In normal instances in the United Kingdom, evading jury duty results in a fine of up to £1,000, or around $1,100.
However, for the king and members of his immediate family, jury duty is not required, The Guardian reported.
The monarch typically has two birthdays.
Queen Elizabeth II cutting a birthday cake.John Stillwell – WPA Pool/Getty Images
According to the royal family’s official website, the Queen celebrated two birthdays each year: her actual birthday on April 21 and her official public birthday celebration on the second Saturday in June.
Across generations, sovereign rulers have often held their public birthday celebrations on days other than their actual birthday, especially when their real birth dates fall in the autumn or winter. This is in order to increase the likeliness of good weather for the annual Trooping the Colour parade, according to the royal family website.
Since King Charles’ birthday is in November, he could follow his mother’s lead and have a second celebration in June too, although this is yet to be confirmed.
The monarchy is also exempt from the Freedom of Information Act.
The royal family.ASSOCIATED PRESS
“The Royal Household is not a public authority within the meaning of the FOI Acts, and is therefore exempt from their provisions,” according to the royal family website.
This rule allows the royal family to exercise more privacy over their day-to-day duties and financials. For instance, while the royal household releases an annual financial report, the UK public is prevented from accessing detailed information on its spending.
Throughout her 70- year reign, Queen Elizabeth’s contribution and support for the creative industry was generous, unwavering and all too easy to take for granted.
The fact that the Queen had two honorary degrees in Music (awarded before she ascended the throne) – a Bachelor of Music (BMus) from the University of London and a Doctor of Music (DMus) from the University of Wales – is fittingly symbolic of her commitment to music.
While many continue to pour in tributes in memory of Queen Elizabeth II who died on Thursday, September 8 and will be buried today, September 19, Graphic Showbiz looks back into the life of the monarch and how well she served the creative, entertainment industry.
Queen Elizabeth II ascended the throne at the dawn of the age of mass media. Her coronation in 1953 was the first national television event and almost every step she took in public after that was documented on film. As a result, there were shows and documentaries to stream about her.
On the contrary, a number of actresses have attempted to portray what might have happened behind closed doors during her private moments.
Queen Elizabeth II watches a performance by Giovanni Guzzo on a Stradivarius violin at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Picture: PA
During Queen Elizabeth’s reign, drama, poetry and art flourished. Playwrights like Christopher Marlowe and Shakespeare, poets like Edmund Spenser and scientists like Francis Bacon all found ways to express their genius, thanks to the patronage of Queen Elizabeth’s court members. From the start of her reign, Queen Elizabeth was a major patron of the arts.
Previously, playhouses had often been castigated or closed down for being ‘immoral,’ but the Privy Council prevented the Mayor of London from closing the theatres in 1580 by citing Queen Elizabeth’s personal fondness for theatre.
Not only did she support the arts, Queen Elizabeth also often featured. For example, Queen Elizabeth appears allegorically as several characters in Spenser’s Faerie Queen.
During Queen Elizabeth’s reign, attending plays was a popular pastime and that influenced the theatre of the time.
The theatres were set up in such a way that both rich and poor people could use them.
The poor would be forced to stand, while the wealthy would sit in the covered seats around them.
As a result, everyone enjoyed going to the theatre and that placed the financial condition of the entertainment industry in a better place.
Other forms of entertainment
Other forms of entertainment were dancing, chess, checkers and tennis. On street corners, there were street entertainers performing magic tricks among others.
Queen Elizabeth was known to enjoy chess and dancing.
Nobles also enjoyed hunting and horseback riding, which Queen Elizabeth also enjoyed.
All classes, however, reveled in the vicious entertainment of bear-baiting, in which dogs were unleashed on a bear while onlookers watched.
People bet on whether the dogs or the bear would win.
To say the least, Queen Elizabeth did not only put herself in ensuring the betterment of the entertainment industry but she also participated and was a big fan of varied entertainment related news and activities.
Due to her interest and engagement in the showbiz sector, the Queen got featured in many movies and music videos.
There were instances where script and movie writers wrote stories about the Queen and got people to play the roles.
All too soon, it is an end of an era as Queen Elizabeth will be buried alongside her husband Prince Philip in a small chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle in a private ceremony after her state funeral today.
On Monday Queen Elizabeth II was laid to rest at a private ceremony at St. George’s Chapel Windsor. She was buried next to her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh who died in 2021, her mother, father, and sister.
A well-organised funeral service which was watched by millions on television and social media platforms had taken place at Westminster Abbey and was attended by more than 2000 people, including invited leaders from around the world, and royals from other parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Apart from US President Joe Biden who was permitted to use the “Beast” vehicle to the event, the rest of the invited leaders were put in coaches and minibuses.
The decision to put them in coaches was a major talking point on social media, especially in Africa. If you monitor the conversation on Ghanaian social media space, the impression created was that those driven by coaches were African leaders. And, unsurprisingly, even those seemingly educated who ought to have known better and done their own research to verify the constant information misrepresentation, fell for the African Leaders in a Single Bus Ride claim.
But there were other leaders like New Zealand’s Jacinda Arden, Justin Trudeau from Canada, and others. Mr Trudeau played down the fuss about the bus ride when he told reporters that “a lot of great conversations happen on the bus”. The sight of Justin or Jacinda on a bus is not a big issue for them or most of their people, because, even in their current position, some of them ride to work using public transport.
In 2017 for example, a picture emerged of Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte riding a bicycle to go meet the King at the Dutch Royal House. A year before that in Britain, then Mayor of London Boris Johnson was pictured riding a bicycle to work.
These two images generated discussion in Africa’s blogosphere about “servant” leadership and the true meaning of public service. Those who slobbers on these images are not necessarily saying these leaders do not use official vehicles with well-detailed security to work, because that cannot be true.
However, the use of public transport by them does not reduce the high-profile positions they occupy. In contrast, the sight of African leaders in a bus on the home soil of a former colonial power to mourn a boss they asked to grant them the space to run their own affairs was always going to be a perfect silage for controversy and ridicule.
Back home where they rule, they have at their disposal vehicles that often speculated to be worth thousands of Pounds or Dollars. And at any given time when they must travel to either an official or private engagements, they line up these vehicles and once they take off, even from a distance, their presence is often felt by bystanders. It is always a sign they oversee the affairs of the country.
Even their assigns with less authority often indulge in such display of optical power. So seeing them on a bus at a funeral miles away from home was a topic too hot to ignore. Below are some of the comments from Africans who were intrigued by the images of their leaders happily smiling on a bus.
@lareinedihya “Why would they even accept this kind of humiliation? It’s obvious that they seem not be of the same importance as European leaders, which is why they shouldn’t have gone there at all. Going there to mourn their colonizer? WHY?”
@e_lumumba “Our leaders went to the UK and are being treated the way they treat us.”
@a_kaseraalome “Why even bother to go!!!!! it’s obvious their absence wouldn’t have been noticed either way….Neo-colonisation is real, I feel sad at these images of mostly African Heads of States being carted in hired buses that are not even uniformed. What a shame.”
@Rhumeey “The priceless smiles on their faces…so happy to be invited, ridiculed.. and humiliated regardless!’
@Rebecca84830094 “Really? All European leaders have also gone on coaches. It would take 4 hours to get them there if all went in their own cars, and 4 hours for them to leave. That is why. For security and logistics!”
Britain’s active role in colonialism and associated brutalities in Africa will never go away. It is impossible!
The Crown is viewed by anti-colonial critics as the symbol that profiteered from the orchestrated pillaging of natural resources, human brutalities and looting of African artefacts.
The argument was that the same African countries who either fought or used intellectual persuasion to get Britain to hand over political power back to them should have declined any invitation to attend the funeral.
Others also argued that African governments should have demanded from the CROWN a public apology for “crimes” committed centuries ago, as a requirement for them to attend the funeral.
It is remotely impossible for any African leader to demand apology from the British s really a wishful thinking to even suggest in reality.
It will be completely out of tune with diplomacy, common sense, and empathy for any African president to fathom such a thought.
But in reality, and granted that Britain was ready to offer such an apology alongside monetary compensation for their role in the slave trade, are African leaders willing to honestly utilise the money for the wellbeing of their citizens, or ship them back to banks in western economies for their personal upkeep and that of their relatives?
After the passing of Queen Elizabeth IIon September 8, her eldest son Charles ascended to the throne and declared his wife Camilla to be the next monarch.
Additionally, Charles declared that his daughter-in-law Kate Middleton and son-in-law Prince William will succeed to the titles of Prince and Princess of Wales.
Prince Harry and Meghan’s children were still referred to as “Master Archie Mountbatten-Windsor” and “Miss Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor” despite an update to the royal family website to reflect these changes.
Behind the scenes, there have been arguments over titles for Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 1.
Under current guidelines, grandchildren of a monarch could be princes or princesses. A rule established by King George V after he issued a Letters Patent in 1917 read: “…the grandchildren of the sons of any such sovereign in the direct male line (save only the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales) shall have and enjoy in all occasions the style and title enjoyed by the children of dukes of these our realms.”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.BEN STANSALL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
As monarch, King Charles III could change that rule, but it’s unlikely he’ll choose to do so.
A spokesperson said that nothing would be decided or said about the issue while the family was in mourning, a period that lasts one week past the funeral.
A source previously told PEOPLE: “Archie will almost certainly become a prince one day. Charles isn’t going to disavow his grandson, so it’s hugely unlikely that he’ll change the rules to stop it happening. The Charles also isn’t going to say that Archie can’t use the title any time soon.”
Chris Jackson/Getty; Taylor Hill/WireImage
When Prince Harry, 38, and Meghan, 41, were married in May 2018, the Queen gave them the titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Archie was entitled to the “courtesy title” of Earl of Dumbarton upon his birth. However, the couple announced that they had not given him a courtesy title and he would be known as Archie Mountbatten-Windsor. Down the line, Archie could be given the secondary Sussex title, before inheriting the dukedom.
The couple relocated to California after stepping back as senior members of the royal family in 2020.
During Meghan and Prince Harry’s 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, the Duchess of Sussex revealed there was a conversation about titles ahead of Archie’s birth.
“They were saying they didn’t want him to be a prince or princess, which would be different from protocol, and that he wasn’t going to receive security,” Meghan said. “This went on for the last few months of our pregnancy where I was going, hold on for a second.”
“And it’s not our decision to make,” she said. “Even though I have a lot of clarity of what comes with the titles good and bad…that is their birthright to then make a choice about.”
In his first speech as monarch, King Charles mentioned his younger son and daughter-in-law.
“I want also to express my love for Harry and Meghan as they continue to build their lives overseas,” he said.
Indigenous protestors demonstrated against the monarch and the effects of British colonialism on Thursday, as Australia observed a national day of mourning for Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.
Australia is a constitutional monarchy, and Anthony Albanese, the prime minister, commended Elizabeth for her commitment and service during a formal ceremony in Canberra.
However, crowds have gathered across the country for ‘abolish the monarchy’ protests.
To many Australians, the Queen was a symbol of constancy and dedication, but to indigenous Australians, she represented brutal colonization that stole their land when British settlers arrived in 1788.
Hundreds of anti-monarchists have expressed their opinions on the streets of Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, and Canberra.
“The Crown has blood on their hands,” a demonstrator said. “Our people are still dying in this country every single day!”
Protesters burned Australian and British flags as they rallied “against racist colonial imperialism.”
“We don’t get time off for our mourning whereas they have set a public holiday for the Queen. I think that the government could consider more about what goes on in Aboriginal communities,” said a protester.
Governor-general David Hurley, the British monarch’s official representative in Australia, has acknowledged the pain and anguish felt by Indigenous people.
“In considering the unifying role that Her Majesty played, I acknowledge that her passing has prompted different reactions from some of our community. I’m conscious and respect that the response of many First Nations Australians is shaped by our colonial history and broader reconciliation journey. That is a journey we as a nation must complete,” he said.
But many Australians have celebrated Elizabeth’s long service as their head of state at events, large and small, across the country.
Speaking at a national day of mourning ceremony in Canberra,Prime minister Anthony Albanese, praised Elizabeth’s dedication.
“This national day of mourning salutes a sovereign who served our whole nation and sought to know it, too. It is fitting that today’s commemorations in our national capital will be mirrored in communities across our country as Australians express their own affection and respect and celebrate the Queen’s part in their own stories,” he said.
Albanese has ruled out holding another referendum on Australia becoming a republic until at least 2025, preferring instead to focus on enshrining indigenous rights in the constitution.
Australia’s rejected severing its constitutional ties to the British monarchy in a referendum in 1999.
After learning of the diagnosis on Tuesday night, Queen Margrethe II canceled her appointments for this week.
The 82-year-old monarch was one of 2,000 guests who attended Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral on Monday.
She is Europe’s longest-serving head of state following the British monarch’s death.
She and Queen Elizabeth were third cousins, both being descended from Queen Victoria.
Queen Margrethe has been vaccinated against Covid and last tested positive in February this year when she presented mild symptoms.
In a statement on the palace website, a spokesperson said she would be recovering at Fredensborg Palace, north of Copenhagen.
Her son and heir, Crown Prince Frederik, and his wife Mary, the Crown Princess, will take her place in hosting members of the government, the Danish parliament, and Danish members of the European Parliament at a reception on Friday in Copenhagen.
In recent days, Queen Margrethe was pictured at several events in London to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s death.
At Westminster Hall on Sunday, on the eve of the late Queen’s funeral, she joined the crown prince to pay her respects at the lying-in-state.
At Westminster Abbey the following day, she sat in the same section as monarchs from other European nations, including King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden, Prince Albert II of Monaco, and King Philippe of Belgium.
In a letter of condolence to King Charles on the death of his mother, she wrote: “She was a towering figure among European monarchs and a great inspiration to us all.”
She became queen in 1972 at the age of 32 after the death of her father, King Frederick IX.
On Monday 19 September, Queen Elizabeth II was laid to rest at Windsor Castle, hours after her state funeral. While world leaders and international royals gathered at Westminster Abbey, members of the public filled the streets of London, with at least 26 million British viewers tuning in to watch the service from home.
The Times reports that it was the largest TV audience since March 2020, when then Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s announcement about coronavirus restrictions was watched by 27.1 million people. The figure is likely surpassed, however, if taking into account the public gathered in central London to witness the proceedings in person, with the MailOnline estimating that the gathering was as much as two million.
Data indicates at least 95 percent of TV viewers watched the London part of the service, broadcast simultaneously across networks, with just over 85 per cent of the available audience (22.4 million), watching on the BBC at the peak time. The broadcasting company puts the audience higher than 26, at 28 million, and said that in excess of 32 million people had watched its coverage at some point during the day. It has also been estimated that more than 4 billion tuned in worldwide (which would make the service the most watched broadcast of all time).
MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC GATHER TO WATCH LARGE SCREEN LIVE BBC TV COVERAGE OF THE FUNERAL OF QUEEN ELIZABETH II AT TRURO CATHEDRAL Hugh Hastings/Getty Images
The audience was lower than the viewing figures for the Euro 2020 football tournament final at Wembley (29.8 million across the BBC and ITV combined), an event which commanded the highest audience since the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997 (32.1 million). It was previously estimated that 33 million viewers watched the news coverage on the day of the Queen’s death, 8 September, although the peak audience watching simultaneously is thought to have been under 10 million.
Michelle Donelan, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, said that an estimated 250,000 people had queued to see the Queen lying in state in Westminster Hall ahead of the funeral. Quickly dubbed ‘The Queue’ by the media, it reached around five miles long at its peak, with waits in excess of 12 hours, and periods of closure when it reached capacity. The London Ambulance Service said that over 2,000 people in the queue had received medical treatment, with 240 taken to hospital.
MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WATCH QUEEN ELIZABETH II’S STATE FUNERAL ON A TV SCREEN IN HOLYROOD PARK IN EDINBURGH Euan Cherry/Getty Images
The funeral has joined the ranks of the most watched television broadcasts in British history, coming in at number 10 (under events including 1969’s Royal Family documentary, 1970’s Apollo 13 Splashdown, and the 1981 wedding between the then Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales). An advertising ban was instituted across commercial networks such as ITV, as well as for Channel 4, meaning broadcasters could not make significant monetary profit from the viewing surge.
Members of the public will be able to visit the final resting place of Queen Elizabeth II in St George’s Chapel from Thursday 29 September.
The late Queen Elizabeth II has been reunited with her parents, sister and the late Duke of Edinburgh, her husband of nearly 74 years, in her final resting place at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle. A committal ceremony for Queen Elizabeth II took place at the chapel on Monday, following her state funeral at Westminster Abbey. A new ledger stone now marks the tomb, bearing the Queen’s name with those of her family.
For centuries, Westminster Abbey was the prime resting place for kings and queens (with Edward the Confessor becoming the first sovereign to be buried there in 1066) until the 15th century, after which British monarchs have also been buried at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. Queen Victoria is buried elsewhere; she now rests at the Royal Mausoleum at Frogmore, alongside her husband, Prince Albert, who died almost 40 years before her. The Duke and Duchess of Windsor are also buried at Frogmore, although their bodies lie in the Royal Burial Ground.
THE LATE DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S FUNERAL, 2021 WPA Pool/Getty Images
St George’s also holds a number of happy memories, with the Royal Family regularly using it as a location for weddings and christenings. King Charles III and the Queen Consort wed at the chapel in 2005, whilst the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank both married there in 2018.
Her Majesty’s final resting place is set alongside her parents, George VI (who died in 1952) and Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, (who died in 2002), and the ashes of her sister, Princess Margaret (who also died in 2002), in a small chapel set apart from the main royal vault. The coffin of the late Duke of Edinburgh is set to be relocated from the vault to the chapel, to lie beside his wife.
THE FUNERAL OF KING GEORGE V AT WINDSOR CASTLE, 1936 Print Collector/Getty Images
Built in the late-medieval Perpendicular Gothic style, the chapel’s origins date to 1348, when Edward III founded the Order of the Garter and the College of St George at Windsor Castle. Beneath its black and white tiles lie the bodies of nine other English and British sovereigns, including King Henry VIII.
King Henry VI, King George III, King George IV, King William IV, King Edward VII and King George V lie in the royal vault. King Charles I was also buried there after his beheading in 1649, although his tomb remained unmarked until 1837.
Since the birth of Andrew (in 1960), when Lady Susan entered the royal household to assist with responding to a steady stream of letters, she had been by the late Queen Elizabeth II’s side. Lady Susan was a member of a small inner circle of ladies-in-waiting. One of the most trusted individuals that aided the Queen in her later years, she is reputedly affectionately referred to as “Number One Head Girl” in the office.
THE QUEEN, WITH LADY SUSAN HUSSEY IN THE STATE BENTLEY, DURING THE CEREMONIAL FUNERAL PROCESSION OF PRINCE PHILIPLEON NEAL / AFP via Getty Images
A Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order – the highest rank personally granted by the sovereign, also bestowed upon the late Prince Philip, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duchess of Cambridge and the Countess of Wessex – Lady Susan is the youngest daughter of the 12th Earl of Waldegrave and the sister of former Tory Cabinet minister, William Waldegrave. As a widow of Marmaduke Hussey, the former chairman of the BBC, she will have been able to relate to the Queen’s loss of a devoted partner.
Close to the Prince of Wales and a godmother to the Duke of Cambridge, photographed with the family at his confirmation, her steady influence has reportedly been felt across generations of the Royal Family. Her exceptional knowledge of the workings of the palace has seen her show newcomers to royal life – including Lady Diana Spencer and the Duchess of Sussex – the ropes. She is said to have recommended Tiggy Legge-Bourke, the nanny of Princes William and Harry, for the job. The late Marmaduke Hussey, who died in 2006, was BBC chairman when Diana, Princess of Wales gave her 1995 Panorama interview.
KING CONSTANTINE, LADY SUSAN HUSSEY, PRINCESS ALEXANDRA, THE DUCHESS OF WESTMINSTER, LORD ROMSEY, PRINCE HARRY, PRINCESS DIANA, PRINCE WILLIAM, PRINCE CHARLES AND THE QUEEN AFTER THE CONFIRMATION OF PRINCE WILLIAM, 1997
While her presence has largely been unremarked upon, aside from on Saturday’s outing as a confidante of the Queen, she has often been present through all aspects of Royal Life.
From accompanying Pippa Middleton to church at Sandringham in 2017 to being the friendly face greeting incoming and outgoing Prime Ministers during their trips to the palace. As a part of the royal household since 1960, she is a regular in the Court Circular, often representing the Queen at funerals and events when the monarch has obligations elsewhere.
On top of her Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, which she was awarded in the Queen’s 2013 Birthday Honours, she has also received the Queen Elizabeth II Version of the Royal Household Long and Faithful Service Medal with 30, 40, 50 and 60-year bars.
Like other ladies-in-waiting, she is not paid for the role and continues to serve out of personal loyalty to the Queen.
THE QUEEN ACCOMPANIED BY HER LADY-IN-WAITING LADY SUSAN HUSSEY DEPARTING AFTER ATTENDING THE GOLD SERVICE SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS CEREMONY FROM CLARIDGE’S, 2016Max Mumby / Indigo / Getty Images
The Queen’s name has been inscribed on a new ledger stone in the Windsorchapel where she was buried on Monday.
The late monarch was laid to rest with her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, in the George VI Memorial Chapel – alongside her parents and sister.
Buckingham Palace says the stone replaces a black slab naming George VI and Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.
The names of the Queen and Prince Philip are included under a metal star of the Order of the Garter.
The fresh stone set into the floor also includes the dates of when all four were born, along with the years of their deaths next to their names.
The stone has “George VI 1895-1952” and “Elizabeth 1900-2002” written on it, followed by the metal star, and then “Elizabeth II 1926-2022” and “Philip 1921-2021”.
All four royals were members of the Order of the Garter, which has St George’s Chapel, located in the grounds of Windsor Castle, as its spiritual home. The order of chivalry dating back to medieval times is made up of the monarch and other senior figures including former prime ministers and former military chiefs.
When Philip died in April 2021, his coffin was placed in the Royal Vault of St George’s so that it would be ready to move to the memorial chapel when the Queen died.
The Queen’s sister Princess Margaret, who died in 2002, was cremated and her ashes were initially placed in the Royal Vault, before being moved to the George VI memorial chapel with her parents’ coffins when the Queen Mother died just weeks after her.
The chapel is a pale stone annexe that was added on to the north side of the building behind the North Quire Aisle in 1969.
Image source, Getty Images/Image caption, The Queen (second from left) pictured with her father King George VI, mother Elizabeth, sister Princess Margaret and the Duke of Edinburgh (far left)
A peak audience of around 28 million UK viewers tuned in for the Queen’s state funeral at Westminster Abbey and committal service in Windsor on Monday.
However, her burial took place in the evening in a private service attended by King Charles III and the Royal Family.
King Charles decreed on 9 September, the day after the Queen died following her 70-year reign, that a period of mourning would be observed until seven days after the funeral.
He is believed to have flown to Scotland on Tuesday with the Queen Consort to grieve privately.
The pair were pictured in a vehicle which arrived at RAF Northolt and was reportedly bound for Balmoral – the estate on which the King’s Scottish home of Birkhall is located.
Other members of the Royal Family are not expected to carry out official engagements, and flags at royal residences will remain at half-mast until 8am after the final day of royal mourning.
Windsor Castle is currently closed to the public and will reopen on 29 September.
For the past 70 years, Queen Elizabeth II exchanged letters with a woman she had never met in person who lives in Park River, North Dakota.
Adele Hankey, 96, born April 21, 1926, shared the same birthday as the late Queen of England, KFYR reported.
Hankey sent the first letter in 1953 when Elizabeth was crowned. Since then the late Queen sent Hankey handwritten birthday letters each year, making it a birthday tradition, according to the outlet.
Adelle Hankey, Queen Elizabeth’s pen pal of about 70 years.
“I could have jumped out of my shoes,” Hankey told the outlet. “I asked her for a hat. I was hoping she would send me one. But she sent a lovely picture on her birthday.”
Hankey told the outlet that the two never met but shared a passion for cooking.
“The recipes the queen liked were with marmalade. And so do I. How about that?” Hankey said.
Hankey told the outlet that she will miss the communication between her and her friend, the late Queen of England.
“Oh absolutely. You miss your pen pals,” said Hankey told the outlet.
On Monday, September 19, the United Kingdom held the final funeral service for its longest-serving monarch, Queen Elizabeth II.
Queen Elizabeth’s coffin came to its final resting place at Windsor after completing its long journey from Balmoral Castle to Edinburgh, then from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall and Westminster Abbey, and then finally to St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle.
The state funeral was attended by leaders from across the globe and thousands of mourners lined the streets to pay their final respects to the Queen, after her funeral earlier in the day.
While this was going on, some members of a Ghanaian community in the UK decided to hold their own funeral service for the Queen.
In a video that has gone viral, some people were seen dressed in red and black Ghanaian apparel lining the streets of Conel, in Tottenham, North London.
The front of the building where they stood was decorated with red clothes mostly seen at Ghanaian funerals and lined with chairs also covered in black clothes.
The flowers will be utilized for park planting initiatives in London.
From next week Monday, flowers left in memory of the Queen will be composted and planted as shrubberies and landscaping materials in the Royal Parks.
Flowers left by visitors in honour of the Queen will still be accepted,but those that have already started to lose their beauty will be taken to the Hyde Park nursery.
It is expected that work to remove items laid by the public will begin on Monday, a week after the state funeral, and will continue for seven days.
Once taken away, any remaining packaging, cards, and labels will be removed before the plant material is composted in Kensington Gardens.
The compost will then be used on landscaping projects and shrubberies across the Royal Parks.
The London Royal Parks include Hyde Park, Green Park, St James’s Park, Regent’s Park, and Kensington Gardens.
Sue Tovey, 57, from North Wales, traveled to the tribute site in Green Park to leave flowers with her husband and her granddaughter.
She said: “I think it’s amazing because so many people have brought things down and I love how they’ve gotten rid of all the Cellophane and actually just got the bouquets. It’s beautiful, really moving isn’t it?”
Belinda Barber, 56, from Huntingdon, left flowers at the Green Park tribute site.
She said: “We’re all gardeners anyway so it’s a lovely touch that this will go and get used in Royal Parks, which is fantastic. There’s going to be a lot of compost here I would’ve thought.”
Image: Thousands of mourners have left flowers since the Queen’s death
In terms of other tributes, a spokesperson for the Royal Parks said: “Our priority at the moment is to manage the huge volume of flowers and tributes that are being left in the Green Park Floral Tribute Garden.
“We will store any teddies and artifacts that have been left andwill work closely with our partners to agree on what we do with them over the next few months with discretion and sensitivity.”
A Hong Kong man who went to the British consulate on Monday night to pay tributeto Queen Elizabeth II, among scores of mourners, has been detained.
Local reports say the man, 43, played several songs on his harmonica, including one linked to 2019 protests, as well as the British national anthem.
He was detained under the colonial-era sedition law, police told BBC Chinese.
This law had until recently been rarely used by prosecutors.
But the past few months have seen an increasing number of people charged under this law, including five speech therapists who were found guilty earlier this month of publishing “seditious” children’s books.
Footage shared widely on social media shows the man standing outside the consulate playing “Glory to Hong Kong”, the unofficial anthem of protesters during 2019 pro-democracy protests, on his harmonica.
A large crowd, which had gathered to watch an online live broadcast of the later Queen’s state funeral in the UK, is seen singing along to the tune.
The song’s lyrics make reference to the “tears on our land”, and also mention “democracy and liberty”.
Police told the BBC the man had been detained on suspicion of carrying out an “act with seditious intent”.
Hong Kongers have over the past week been lining up for hours to pay their respects to the Queen, in what has been perhaps the biggest display of affection for the late monarch seen outside the UK.
The city, formerly a British colony, returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
Under the terms of the handover, China agreed to govern Hong Kong under the principle of “one country, two systems”, where the city would enjoy “a high degree of autonomy, except in foreign and defence affairs” for the next 50 years.
But a crackdown on protests, Beijing’s imposition of its national security law and only allowing “patriots” to govern are seen by many as reneging on that promise.
The late Queen Elizabeth IIwas put to rest at the King George VI Memorial Chapel at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, on September 19, and Ghanaian musician Wiyaala joined millions of others around the world in saying goodbye.
The well-known musician posted a photo of the late British monarch, who passed away at the age of 96, along with a statement of sympathy for the royal family on Facebook.
The message, which GhanaWeb saw on Monday, stated: “HRH Queen Elizabeth II, may you rest in peace.
We are thinking of you, The Royal Family of the UK in Ghana.”
Given that the British occupied Ghana in the early 20th century, Wiyaala’s humanitarian act infuriated several Facebook users who called her out for honoring her “slave master.”
Reacting to this, a Facebook user, Areal Hustlers Family punched holes into the singer’s post. His comment read: “Wishing your slave master rest in peace? Ayooo.”
In response, the singer who recently joined the GRAMMY’s 2022 membership class explained that she doesn’t regard herself as a slave to the British adding that the past doesn’t define her.
“Areal Hustlers Family our?…Well, as for me, it’s all history now. I am not a slave …..I was not born a slave….I will never be slave to anyone…..the past will never define who I am. We are moving on. What about you?” she quizzed the internet troll.
Another, Sena Brown had this to tell the singer on the same post about the late Queen Elizabeth II: “Wiyaala wishing your slave masters well? Maybe you knew not much about how these wicked people did to your ancestors….sorry.”
When her father died, Princess Elizabeth was on an official visit to Kenya. She arrived in Kenya as a princess but quickly returned home to become Queen.
She reigned for seven decades, from 1953 to 2022, making her the longest-serving British monarch. Her funeral was held on September 19, following her death on September 8.
Attendees came from all corners of the globe to pay their respects at the funeral service that was held at Westminster Abbey, which was followed by her burial later that day.
A 35-second video shared by Royal Correspondent Charlie Proctor showed the moment the crown was placed on the head of the 26-year-old queen in 1953.
The other segment of the video depicts the solemn moment on Monday when the Royal Crown was officially – and symbolically – taken from her.
1953: The first time the Crown was placed on Queen Elizabeth II’s head
AGhanaian-born British soldier, Lieutenant Colonel Nana Kofi Twumasi-Ankrah, was among the military men who escorted Queen Elizabeth II’s cortège on its final journey from Westminster Abbey to St. George’s Chapel.
He was the only Black officer among a group of over a dozen who marched alongside the cortège after the official funeral on September 19, 2022.
Former UK High Commissioner to Ghana, Jon Benjamin, was full of praise for Twumasi-Ankrah, who served as the late monarch’s Personal Assistant – as her equerry.
“Proud to see Her Late Majesty’s equerry, Nana Kofi Twumasi-Ankrah, accompanying her coffin in today’s #sstatefuneral,” the diplomat tweeted on Monday.
Major Twumasi-Ankrah was appointed as Queen Elizabeth II’s equerry in 2017, making him the first black man to hold this position.
An equerry’s primary responsibility is to assist the monarch during official activities such as public visits and receptions at Buckingham Palace.
An equerry’s primary responsibility is to assist the monarch during official activities such as public visits and receptions at Buckingham Palace.
Twumasi-Ankrah supported Queen Elizabeth II at public events after Prince Phillip retired from public service.
Background
According to his military record, he is a member of the Household Cavalry and a veteran of the Afghan war.
He was born in Ghana in 1979 and moved to the United Kingdom with his parents when he was three years old, in 1982.
Twumasi-Ankrah attended Queen Mary University in London after finishing high school and then joined the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
He served in the military his entire life, having been commissioned by the Blues and Royals at the time. He was the first black African officer in the British Army’s Cavalry of the Household.
Major Twumasi-Ankrah said on camera for a documentary about Britain’s open and democratic society;
As a young child, watching her majesty the Queen’s birthday parade on television, I would have never imagined that one day I’d command the regiment which I’d fallen in love with.”
He added;
“From where I sit and from what I’ve seen in the UK, our cultures really do mix and intermingle, and if I’m not a good example of that I really don’t know what is.”
The nation has paid a final farewell to Queen Elizabeth II, with a state funeral and military procession.
World leaders and foreign royalty joined King Charles III and the Royal Family in the congregation at the Westminster Abbey funeral.
Hundreds of thousands of people watched as the Queen’s coffin was then taken to Windsor, where she will be buried.
At the funeral, the Dean of Westminster paid tribute to the Queen’s “lifelong sense of duty”.
The Very Rev David Hoyle spoke of her “unswerving commitment to a high calling over so many years as Queen and Head of the Commonwealth”.
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA Image caption, The service in Westminster Abbey was the first state funeral since 1965
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Image caption, After the service the Queen’s coffin travelled along the Mall to Wellington Arch
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Image caption, The final procession went to St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle
The congregation sang The Lord’s My Shepherd – a hymn sung at the wedding of the Queen to the late Duke of Edinburgh, which was also held at the abbey.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby, said the Queen “touched a multitude of lives” and – quoting singer Dame Vera Lynn – said “we will meet again” as he gave the sermon.
The phrase was used by the Queen in a rare address to the nation at the beginning of the Covid pandemic.
The archbishop said: “The grief of this day – felt not only by the late Queen’s family but all round the nation, Commonwealth and world – arises from her abundant life and loving service, now gone from us.”
As the abbey service came towards its end the Last Post was played – by the same musicians who performed it at the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral – before the nation came to a standstill for two minutes’ silence.
The Queen’s piper then played a traditional lament before the King stood silently as the national anthem was sung.
Among the personal touches at the ceremony was a handwritten message from the King, which was placed on top of the coffin in a wreath of flowers cut from the gardens of Buckingham Palace, Highgrove House and Clarence House at his request. It read: “In loving and devoted memory. Charles R.”
IMAGE SOURCE,REUTERS Image caption, A handwritten card from King Charles was placed on top of his mother’s coffin
IMAGE SOURCE,REUTERS Image caption, Members of the Royal Family walked behind the Queen’s coffin in a procession from Westminster Hall
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Image caption, Prince William and Prince Harry walked side-by-side behind their father in the procession
IMAGE SOURCE,REUTERS Image caption, US President Joe Biden and his wife Jill arrive at Westminster Abbey
Before the service, the Queen’s coffin was conveyed – in the first of three processions throughout the day – from Westminster Hall where she had been lying in state since Wednesday.
The King walked alongside his siblings, Princess Anne and Princes Andrew and Edward. The Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex walked side-by-side behind their father, the King.
Prince George and Princess Charlotte – Prince William’s eldest two children – entered the abbey behind the procession.
US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron were two of those who had travelled to the UK to pay their respects.
Members of many European royal families were present, along with six former British prime ministers and about 200 members of the public who were recognised in the Queen’s birthday honours.
The event was expected to be watched by millions of people across the country and around the world.
For those not invited big screens were put up in cities across the UK, while some cinemas, pubs and other venues showed the once-in-a-generation event.
Thousands lined streets and gathered in parks around the capital to listen to the service, with many moved to tears.
It was the first state funeral since Sir Winston Churchill’s in 1965 and the biggest ceremonial event since World War Two.
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Image caption, People lining the procession route in London fell silent for the funeral service
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA Image caption, Students at Gordonstoun School in Moray, where King Charles III once boarded, were among those watching the service
IMAGE SOURCE,EPA Image caption, The funeral was watched worldwide, including at this station in Seoul, South Korea
As the coffin headed towards Hyde Park Corner gun salutes were fired every minute, while people watched on from designated viewing areas along the route.
The procession passed through Horse Guards Parade, where the Queen had presided over scores of Trooping the Colour ceremonies, and down the Mall – where it was greeted with cheers and applause.
As the Queen’s coffin passed Buckingham Palace for the last time the staff stood outside to say a final goodbye.
The funeral cortege then drove from London to Windsor along a route that avoided motorways – to allow as many as possible to pay their final respects.
The Queen’s children, as well as Princes William and Harry, then walked behind the hearse in a final procession into St George’s Chapel.
In a touching gesture the late Queen’s two corgis made an appearance outside the chapel.
The committal service was conducted by Dean of Windsor David Conner, with a blessing from the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The Queen will be buried alongside her husband at the King George VI memorial chapel, located inside St George’s Chapel.
Students from the King’s previous school have called the experience of viewing the Queen’s funeral while sitting in his old bedroom “surreal.”
Lessons were postponed at Gordonstoun School in Morayshire on Monday so that faculty and students could watch the funeral broadcast.
Beginning in 1962, King Charles attended the private school for five years.
He became a member of the Coastguard during his time there and took part in school plays, winning lead parts in productions such as Macbeth and Pirates of Penzance.
He went on to become a school guardian (head boy) in his final year, a colour bearer (prefect), and head of his boarding house, Windmill Lodge.
The group of girls gathered around the same desk that was used by the King during his time at the school while watching proceedings on a laptop.
Asked how it felt to be taking in such a historic event in the room Charles once lived in, Amelia said: “It’s a weird feeling.
“Also, the laptop on his old desk and watching the Queen’s funeral, it’s – yes, really weird. It’s all really connected.”
The Queen had a close connection to the school, with her late husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, studying there in his youth.
Their three sons, Charles, Edward, and Andrew, all followed in their father’s footsteps, and Princess Royal’s two children, Zara and Peter, were also students at the independent school.
The Queen regularly visited Gordonstoun, both formally and informally, taking a close interest in the progress of her sons and watching them take part in extra-curricular activities.
The Queen’s state funeral service was steeped in tradition, complete with a military procession and age-old hymns. However, there were also some incredibly personal touches within the ceremony and pageantry.
They served as a gentle reminder that this event was also a loving homage to a mother, grandmother, churchgoer, and dog lover. It was also a nation’s farewell to a monarch.
Corgis
Two of the Queen’s beloved corgis Muick and Sandy awaited the procession carrying her coffin to St George’s Chapel inside Windsor Castle.
One on a red lead and one on a blue, they were escorted by two pages in red tailcoats as the coffin of their beloved former owner came past.
Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, and Sarah, Duchess of York, will take on the two young dogs that the prince and his daughters gave the Queen as a present in 2021.
Her Majesty owned more than 30 corgis during her lifetime. So strong was the association that almost immediately after her death, well-wishers began asking who would adopt the dogs.
Emma, the Queen’s fell pony, also greeted the procession, standing in a gap in the floral tributes on The Long Walk – an avenue leading to Windsor Castle.
Jewellery
The Princess of Wales wore a four-row Japanese pearl choker necklace with a curved diamond clasp, which once belonged to the Queen.
The Queen, who commissioned the design using cultured pearls from the Japanese government, wore it regularly in the 1980s and 1990s.
It had previously been loaned to Diana, the former Princess of Wales, in 1982. Catherine wore it for the first time in 2017 to celebrate the Queen and Prince Phillip’s 70th wedding anniversary and later for his funeral in 2021.
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA
The princess also wore a pair of diamond and pearl earrings known as the Bahrain Pearl Earrings, which she had been given by the Queen.
The earrings feature a large Bahrain pearl hanging from one large round diamond stud, from which four smaller round diamonds and three baguette diamonds are also suspended. They were given to the Queen as a wedding present by the Hakim of Bahrain in 1947.
The Duchess of Sussex also paid tribute to Her Majesty through her choice of jewellery for the funeral, by wearing a pair of pearl stud earrings, which the Queen had given her as a gift for her wedding to Prince Harry.
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA
A lone piper
The service at Westminster Abbey closed to the haunting sound of bagpipes, played by the Queen’s personal piper.
For 70 years, largely without exception, the Piper to the Sovereign would play each morning for 15 minutes beneath the Queen’s window, wherever she was resident.
The inclusion of Pipe Major Paul Burns – who had served since 2021 – was a personal request of the Queen, Buckingham Palace said.
IMAGE SOURCE, REUTERS
He played the traditional lament “sleep, dearie, sleep” – the sound of which appeared to fade as he turned and walked down the internal steps of Westminster Abbey.
He is the 17th Piper to the Sovereign – the role was created by Queen Victoria in 1843 after she grew fond of the sound of bagpipes on a visit to the Highlands with Prince Albert.
Flowers
At King Charles III’s request, the wreath for Her Majesty’s funeral contained flowers and foliage cut from the gardens of Buckingham Palace and Clarence House in London – and Highgrove House in Gloucestershire.
IMAGE SOURCE, REUTERS
It included foliage chosen for its symbolism: Rosemary for remembrance – rosemary has long been associated with remembrance, Myrtle, the ancient symbol of a happy marriage, cut from a plant that was grown from a sprig of myrtle in The Queen’s wedding bouquet in 1947, English oak, a national symbol of strength, in a nod to the Queen’s constancy and steadfast duty. It also symbolizes the strength of love.
In among the flowers was a handwritten card that read: “In loving and devoted memory, Charles R.”
A favorite hymn
The Lord’s My Shepherd was one of the hymns sung by the 2,000 mourners at Westminster Abbey. It was said to have been a personal favorite of the Queen and was also sung at her wedding to the Duke of Edinburgh in 1947 at Westminster Abbey.
The young Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret had summoned the Master of Choristers to Buckingham Palace in the lead-up to the wedding and sang for him the particular version she wanted to be used.
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA
Image caption,
The Royal Wedding at Westminster Abbey in 1947
The hymn’s roots have been traced back to a parish in Aberdeenshire, not far from Balmoral Castle, where the Queen passed away.
Despite taking a break from royal duties, Prince Harry joined his brother for the state funeral services for the Queen, and observers watched the pair’s every move and conversation intently.
When the Queen’s coffin was being removed from Westminster Hall, at the centre of the Palace of Westminster, where she had been lying in state, William, wearing his RAF No. 1 uniform, and the Duke of Sussex, wearing traditional funeral wear and medals, marched gently behind their father, the King.
As the procession came to a halt after its short journey around Parliament Square, the Prince of Wales saluted, while his brother bowed his head, as the coffin was lifted from the gun carriage.
Once inside, the Princess of Wales, with her two older children George and Charlotte, and the Duchess of Sussex, both wearing wide-brimmed black hats and with solemn expressions, joined the procession behind the coffin to the nave.
Following some controversy about Harry and Meghan holding hands as they left Westminster Hall following the short service at the beginning of the Queen’s lying in the state last week, the couple walked side by side, but this time did not hold hands.
They were seated directly behind the King and Queen Consort, facing the coffin, while William and Kate– for whom the abbey holds happier memories as the place of their wedding more than a decade ago – were across the aisle with their two children.
After the funeral ended with a rendition of the national anthem, the two brothers joined the huge procession escorting the Queen on the beginning of her final journey, marching once again with sombre expressions behind the gun carriage as their wives followed behind in slowly-driven cars.
William saluted the Cenotaph, while Harry bowed his head as they passed the memorial to Britain’s war dead.
Later, on arrival in Windsor, William and Harry walked next to each other as they followed the coffin into St George’s Chapel – but no words were exchanged in front of the TV cameras.
Once inside the chapel, William and Kate stood aside so that Harry and Meghan could enter a front pew.
Prince William, the heir to the throne, sat in the same seat his father occupied during Prince Philip’s funeral.
The Princess of Wales and Princess Charlotte were seated next to the Prince of Wales at the end of the row, followed by Harry and his wife the Duchess of Sussex.
Keen observers noticed that Harry and Princess Charlotte shared a moment during the service at St George’s Chapel.
Princess Charlotte was seen adjusting her hat before looking over at her uncle.
Harry then briefly looked up and caught her eye and smiled at the princess.
The right-hand side of the aisle
On the right-hand side of the aisle…
King Charles sat in the same seat his mother, Queen Elizabeth, occupied during the funeral of her husband, and his father, Prince Philip last year.
Next to him was his wife, Camilla, the Queen Consort. Next in the row was Princess Anne, with her husband Sir Timothy Lawrence, Prince Andrew and his two daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, and their respective husbands.
The Queen’s coffin has been carried into St George’s Chapel for the committal service.
This will be led by the Dean of Windsor, David Conner.
It starts with the coffin procession entering the chapel and proceeding down the nave to lay the Queen’s coffin in the quire.
Most of the congregation were not at Westminster Abbey earlier in the day, and this second service has been designed with royal staff in mind.
Many are past or present employees of the Queen’s estates.
Notable politicians are expected to be in attendance alongside the Royal Family and members of their households.
The simple service now taking place at St George’s Chapel was all agreed with the Queen before her death. It will be led by David Conner, Dean of Windsor.
The Blessing will be pronounced by Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury.
Here, St George’s Chapel, is where the day’s events will come to a close.
This evening, the Queen will be laid to rest alongside her late husband, the Duke of Edinburgh.
She’ll be buried in the royal vault of King George VI’s Memorial Chapel – part of St George’s Chapel.
That will be in a service for the Royal Family which will be small-scale and highly private in nature.
According to a post shared by AJ+, a social media publisher owned by Al Jazeera Media Network, the amount will now add to the estimated $116 million bill UK taxpayers pay every year to support the royals.
“Queen Elizabeth’s funeral cost an est. $9 million — adding to the est. $116 million bill UK taxpayers pay every year to support the royals. Due to the ceremony, hospitals canceled “non-urgent” services like cancer treatment and many food banks have closed “out of respect,” the post shared on Twitter read.
On Monday, September 19, dozens across the world witnessed the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II who died on September 8, 2022.
The British Monarch has been lying in state from Edinburgh in Scotland all through to Westminster Hall in London with a final ceremony held at Westminster Abbey, where her final funeral rites was held in front of an expected crowd of about 2,000 persons.
Dozens of heads of state and dignitaries including Ghana’s President Akufo-Addo and first lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo have travelled from all over the world to London for the funeral.
After the service, the Queen will be taken in a procession across London to Windsor Castle. Her interment will take place at the St. George’s Chapel inside Windsor Castle after a committal service.
Queen Elizabeth’s funeral cost an est. $9 million — adding to the est. $116 million bill UK taxpayers pay every year to support the royals.
Due to the ceremony, hospitals canceled “non-urgent” services like cancer treatment and many food banks have closed “out of respect.” pic.twitter.com/fFRKGWIG5a
The royals cost UK taxpayers $116M a year — almost half used for upkeep of their land holdings.
Meanwhile,
▪️ 2.4 million people in the UK can’t afford to eat every day
▪️ 2.6 million children without regular access to healthy food
▪️ Food insecurity up ~60% from start of year pic.twitter.com/LtWQ8iCZZC
According to a post by AJ+, a social media publication run by Al Jazeera Media Network, the sum will now be added to the projected $116 million annual cost of supporting the royal family that UK taxpayers are expected to foot.
“Queen Elizabeth’s funeral is estimated to have cost $9 million, adding to the estimated $116 million annual cost of supporting the royal family for UK taxpayers.
According to a tweet published on Twitter, hospitals had to cancel “non-urgent” services like cancer treatment because of the event, and many food banks had to close “out of respect.”
Numerous people from all across the world attended the burial of Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away on September 8, 2022, on Monday, September 19.
With a last ceremony held at Westminster Abbey, where her final burial rituals were performed in front of an anticipated gathering of roughly 2,000 people, the British Monarch has been laying in state from Edinburgh in Scotland all the way to Westminster Hall in London.
The Queen will be led in a procession across London to Windsor Castle following the service.
After a committal service, she will be buried at St. George’s Chapel inside Windsor Castle.
Several African leaders are among hundreds of foreign dignitaries at the funeral of the Queen Elizabeth II in London.
Over 2,000 people have gathered in Westminster Abbey for her state funeral.
The African who are attending leaders include South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa, Kenya’s William Ruto, Ghana’s Nana Akufo-Addo, Tanzania’s Suluhu Samia Hassan, King Letsie III of Lesotho and Senegal’s Macky Sall, as the current chair of the African Union.
Also there is Rwanda’s Paul Kagame, the chair of the Commonwealth, and Ali Bongo, President of the Commonwealth’s newest member, Gabon.
Some Sudanese activists have criticised the decision to invite Sudan’s Sudan’s military ruler, Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.
Nigeria is represented by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, while Foreign Minister Frederick Shava is on London on behalf of Zimbabwe, which has left the Commonwealth.
There are so many foreign leaders that they couldn’t all travel to the cathedral seperately so they went by bus following UK government guidance. One of the few exceptions is US President Joe Biden, who arrived in his armoured limousine, known as “The Beast”.
On social media a picture of African leaders riding on a bus is being contrasted to the US president’s motorcade.
Here are some pictures of African leaders arriving for the service.
Copyright: BBC
Image caption: Kenya’s President William Ruto (standing at the back) arrives at Westminster Abbey
Copyright: BBC
Image caption: Tanzania’s President Suluhu Samia Hassan (left) and South Africa’s President Cyril Ramapahosa (right)
Armed personnel is blocking the route from Westminster Abbey to the Commonwealth Memorial Gates at the top of Constitution Hill.
Mounties of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police lead the procession followed immediately by representatives of the George Cross foundations from Malta, the former Royal Ulster Constabulary, and four representatives from the NHS.
The coffin will be moved from the gun carriage to the statehearse and driven to Windsor as the procession reaches Wellington Arch.
As the procession leaves, the parade will give a royal salute and the national anthem will be played. The King and members of the Royal Family will then leave for Windsor.
Thousands of people are expected to line the route out of central London along Great West Road,past Heathrow Airport, and through Staines before reaching Windsor.
Despite the president’s travel to London for the funeral not officially being communicated, President Akufo-Addo somewhere hinted at his intent to attend the state funeral of the Queen when he signed her book of condolence last week.
“I intend to go to London for the funeral; I don’t know whether you have anything particular to tell me about that?” he asked High Commissioner Harriet Thompson.
Ahead of the commencement of theservice on Monday, September 19, 2022, several heads of state and dignitaries have been trooping into the London Chapel, where the Queen’s coffin will be brought for the service.
President Akufo-Addo, who is dressed in a black suit and white shirt, was flanked by his wife, who was also adorned in a black dress with a scarf and a handbag to complement.
Born on April 21, 1926, the late Queen, christened Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, acceded the British throne at the age of 25 and ruled for 70 years.
She died at the age of 96 on Thursday, September 8, 2022.
As announced earlier, all heads of state and royals arrived at the Westminster Abbey via a bus with the exception of the US president, Joe Biden, to the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
President Joe Biden was driven in his office’s official vehicle, ‘The Beast’.
Some of the images that have popped up so far include Kenyan President, William Ruto and President of Tanzania, President Samia Suluhu.
It is reported that 500 heads of state and foreign dignitaries are in London for the ceremony.
These leaders are there to commiserate with the British people and pay their last respect to the former head of the Commonwealth.
The busses pulled up, and the world leaders flocked inside Buckingham Palace.
Kings, Queens, Emperors, Sultans, Sheikhs, Presidents, Prime Ministers – they are all here.
President Ruto and other world leaders arrive in a bus at Buckingham Palace in the UK to attend a state reception in honor of Queen Elizabeth II.
📷 Courtesy pic.twitter.com/8c32cmof7Z
Queen Elizabeth was a beautiful lady, a wonderful person and a gracious leader. She sought to unite and bring together persons from all factions of life . Rest well Lizzie and thank you ❤️
Penny
To my beautiful Queen. You taught us how to love God and people. You were so faithful in all your duties and roles. No one can be your equal. You will remain the Queen of our hearts 👑RIP my beautiful Queen .
ACC
I’ve spent the last week watching the news and reading these tributes. I’ve found it to be a surprisingly evocative time. As an avid fan of history and a royalist, that may not be a surprising comment, but unlike many leaving their tributes, I am not blessed to have had a touching moment with the Queen. What this is to me, is the end of an era – an unbelievable individual (regardless of royalty/background/family), who led by example (there is no more poignant moment than her, sat alone, at the funeral of her departed husband), and dedicated her life to the country, British Union, Commonwealth and wider global unity. She was in service until she died, carrying out her constitutional demands. She made a a promise on her 21st birthday, to spend her life serving the country. Without a doubt she did that. 70+ years of service. I believe that to be one of the reasons, regardless of being British, part of the Commonwealth or even a royalist, she generated the respect and admiration from all the world that she did! You were an inspiration and I was, and continue to be oh so very proud to have called you my queen! Thank you and you will be missed!
Gill PB
How lucky we’ve been to have you as our Monarch for 70 years. The thread that pulls us all together. Now time for you to rest and be with your beloved husband. I’m so grateful for everything you’ve done for our country, the Commonwealth and indeed the World. You will be missed but held in our hearts forever, and we know that King Charles will serve our Nation just as wonderfully as you have. Thank you for everything and may God Bless You.
A card in the flowers ontop of the Queen’s coffin read simply: “In loving and devoted memory. Charles R.”
The note was placed on top of a wreath of flowers.
Cut from the gardens of Buckingham Palace, Clarence House, and Highgrove House, the flowers and foliage have been chosen for their symbolism.
They include rosemary, for remembrance, and myrtle cut from a plant that was grown from a sprig of myrtle in the Queen’s wedding bouquet, an ancient symbol of a happy marriage.
On the eve of the Queen’s burial, Buckingham Palaceunveiled a never-before-seen portrait of her smiling brilliantly.
The image, taken by photographer Ranald Mackechnie in May prior to the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, depicts the late queen visiting Windsor Castle wearing a blue dress.
The portrait of her beaming at the camera was released as the Queen Consort paid a televised tribute on Sunday evening, recalling her “wonderful blue eyes” and “unforgettable smile”.
As well to her favourite three-strand pearl necklace, in the portrait, the Queen wore aquamarine and diamond clip brooches which were an 18th birthday present from her father, George VI, in 1944.
She wore the brooches when she addressed the nation on the 75th anniversary of VE Day in 2020 and for her televised speech on her Diamond Jubilee in 2012.
Mr Mackechnie also took the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee portrait, which was released in June to mark the start of national celebrations for her 70-year reign, the longest of any British monarch.
Even though no official communication of his departure from Accra has been made, GhanaWeb sighted a Reuters video in which Akufo-Addo and the First Lady arrive for a state reception held in honour of the late monarch.
It was widely expected that he will travel having been listed as one of the invited leaders of the Commonwealth.
Last week, after signing the book of condolence at the British High Commission in Accra, Akufo-Addo announced that he had intentions of travelling to London for the funeral.
“I intend to go to London for the funeral, I don’t know whether you have anything particular to tell me about that?” he asked High Commissioner Harriet Thompson.
To which she responded: “The invitations have been sent, they will be with your High Commission in London. They were sent over the weekend and we’ll make sure the arrangement works smoothly between your team there and our team here.”
After signing the condolence book, President Akufo-Addo also sent his well wishes to the new monarch, King Charles II.
“Let me take the opportunity to also wish the King the best of luck with his tenure. He has been here with us a few occasions, he is a good friend and I am confident that he will do a very good job in her succession,” he stressed.
Queen Elizabeth dies
The world’s longest-serving leader, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, was pronounced dead on Thursday, September 8, 2022, via a statement from the royal family.
Born on April 21, 1926, the Queen, christened Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, immediately acceded the British throne on February 6, 1952, when her father, King George VI died.
She became queen at the age of 25 and remained on the throne for seven decades before her death.
Elizabeth II was Queen of the United Kingdom and Head of State for 14 other jurisdictions.
Queen Elizabeth’s eldest son Charles, 73, has been named successor and by that becomes king of the United Kingdom and the head of state of 14 other realms including Australia, Canada and New Zealand. His wife Camilla becomes Queen Consort.
The world celebrates the death of Queen Elizabeth II, who will be buried today, September 19, 2022.
The queen has been borne to Westminster Abbey. It is where she was married in 1947 and crowned in 1953, and where she attended royal weddings and funerals.
As the state funeral procession takes places, here are some pictures of Queen Elizabeth II and images as well as videos of the burial service.
Remembering Our Queen.
Today people from across the UK, Commonwealth and around the world will pay tribute to the extraordinary life and reign of Her Majesty The Queen. pic.twitter.com/yuFxoo6Gdu
“She’s got those wonderful blue eyes that when she smiles, they light up her whole face. I’ll always remember that smile, you know, that smile is unforgettable.”
The photo was taken to mark Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee – the first British Monarch to reach this milestone. Credit: Royal FamilyCredit: Royal Family
‘Queenhood: a long winding procession
From the abbey door to the abbey door.’
Her Majesty The Queen’s State Funeral will be held at Westminster Abbey – where Her Majesty’s Coronation took place in 1953.
As for her father King George VI, grandfather King George V, great-grandfather King Edward VII and great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria, Her Majesty The Queen’s coffin was borne in a Procession to Westminster Abbey on the State Gun Carriage. pic.twitter.com/2Vl58ITLGp
At The King’s request, the wreath contains foliage of Rosemary, English Oak and Myrtle (cut from a plant grown from Myrtle in The Queen’s wedding bouquet) and flowers, in shades of gold, pink and deep burgundy, with touches of white, cut from the gardens of Royal Residences Credit: Royal FamilyAt The King’s request, the wreath contains foliage of Rosemary, English Oak and Myrtle (cut from a plant grown from Myrtle in The Queen’s wedding bouquet) and flowers, in shades of gold, pink and deep burgundy, with touches of white, cut from the gardens of Royal Residences Credit: Royal FamilyThe Emperor and Empress of Japan are sitting behind the King and Queen of Jordan (bottom left) and surrounded by royals from around the world Credit: PA MediaDenmark’s Queen Margrethe – pictured at the Queen’s lying-in-state on Sunday – is sitting opposite King Charles at the funeral service Credit: John Sibley/PA WireMembers of the Royal Family Credit: Getty Images
As the funeral for Queen Elizabeth II began, hundreds, if not thousands, of people stood up in London’s Hyde Park, according to reporter Victoria Seabrook.
Most of the crowd stood with their hands together, listening to the service as the previous chitchat subsided.
It is also striking how few people held up their phones to take photos or videos – now a familiar sight at big gatherings, especially music festivals.
Seeing everyone sitting down again gave a better sense of just how many people are there.
Other than the audio from the ceremony, booming through the speakers,it is staggeringly quiet for such a large crowd.
During the funeral, members of the Royal Family sat in front of the Queen’s coffin.
Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, the Duke of York, the Earl of Wessex, and the Countess of Wessex were seated in the front row with King Charles III, the Queen Consort, and Princess Royal.
The Dean of Westminster, David Hoyle, is leading the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, will however give the sermon and the commendation – the ceremonial moment when the Queen is entrusted to God.
Prayers will come from 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.
The Prime Minister Liz Truss and the Secretary General of the Commonwealth Patricia Scotland are set to deliver lessons – readings from scripture.
And it will be down to the Dean of Westminster to pronounce the blessing.
Below is the order of service for the Queen’s funeral:
King Charles ordered specific flowers for the Queen’s funeral wreath, which also features a personal note from the new king.
The flowers and greenery were selected for their symbolic meaning and were taken from the gardens of the Queen-loved homes Buckingham Palace, Clarence House, and Highgrove House.
They include rosemary, for remembrance, and myrtle cut from a plant that was grown from a sprig of myrtle in the Queen’s wedding bouquet.
Myrtle is often seen as a symbol of a happy marriage and evokes images of the Queen’s 70-year marriage to Prince Philip.
Also included are English oak to symbolize the strength of love, pelargoniums, garden roses, autumnal hydrangea, sedum, dahlias, and scabious.
These are in shades of gold, pink and deep burgundy, with touches of white, to reflect the Royal Standard.
Also at the King’s request, the wreath has been made in a sustainable way, in a nest of English moss and oak branches.
Around 2,000 people are in attendance for the late monarch’s funeral service, which is been inaugurated by Dr. David Hoyle this morning.
He says: “With gratitude, we remember her unswerving commitment to a high calling over so many years as Queen and head of the Commonwealth.
“With admiration, we recall her lifelong sense of duty and dedication to her people. With thanksgiving, we praise God for her constant example of Christian faith and devotion.
“With affection, we recall her love for her family and her commitment to the causes she held dear.
Hundreds of thousands of people gathered to catch a glimpse of the Queen’s funeral procession, while guests from around the world took their places in the abbey.
A bell in Westminster Abbey tolled 96 times, counting out the years of Queen Elizabeth II’s long life.
Inside the abbey, it’s bristling with uniforms, famous faces and clusters of dignitaries being ushered into pews below the statues and memorials.
Today’s politicians looked up at stone monuments to yesterday’s leaders. About 500 leaders and dignitaries from the UK and around the world joined the congregation at Westminster Abbey.
An organ played over a sea of black clothes and hats, seats filling up under the high gothic arches.
US President Joe Biden and his wife Jill arrived at the abbey. They flew in on Saturday.
The doors of Westminster Abbey have opened ahead of the state funeral of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II.
King Charles III will lead a sombre procession behind his mother’s coffin on the short journey from Westminster Hall to the abbey later.
The abbey’s bell has started to toll once a minute ahead of the service which will begin at 11:00 BST.
It marks the end of 10 days of events across the UK since the Queen’s death.
As London prepares for as many as one million visitors for the historic occasion, roads and bridges are closed to traffic and an unprecedented security operation is under way.
All public viewing areas for the procession are already full, London’s City Hall said.
Before the service begins, the Queen’s coffin will be conveyed – in the first of three processions throughout the day – through Parliament Square, a distance of about 820ft (250m).
The Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex will once more walk side-by-side behind their father, the King, who will walk alongside his siblings, the Queen’s four children.
Two of the Queen’s great-grandchildren, Prince George, nine, and Princess Charlotte, seven, will also walk behind the Queen’s coffin.
The State Gun Carriage will carry the coffin, drawn by 142 sailors. A guard of honour will stand in the square made up of all three military services, accompanied by a Royal Marines band.
The final people to attend the Queen’s lying-in-state paid their respects at Westminster Hall just after 06:30 – after four-and-a-half days and a queue which stretched as far as Southwark Park in south-east London.
Some 2,000 mourners will bid farewell to the Queen at the state funeral, including 500 dignitaries – with presidents, prime ministers and foreign royalty among the guests.
US President Joe Biden, as well as French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska will be at the abbey.
There will also be members of many European royal families, including Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and Denmark, as well as the Emperor and Empress of Japan.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, the UK’s chief medical adviser Prof Chris Whitty, Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg and Northern Ireland’s former first minister Arlene Foster are among those to have arrived at the abbey.
About 200 people who were recognised in the Queen’s birthday honours also received invitations.
Knife crime campaigner Natalie Queiroz told BBC Breakfast she was “totally speechless” when she was asked to attend.
“I think it reflects Her Majesty because she wanted to constantly be in touch with her people and even on her final moments she’s made sure that her people are here represented.”
Barbara Crellin, a volunteer emergency responder, said she “just cried and cried” when she was invited and described herself as “so humbled and privileged to be here”.
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA Image caption, Guests arrive at Westminster Abbey
Foreign dignitaries are also arriving at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, from where they will be transported on busses to Westminster Abbey.
Some 4,000 service personnel will be involved throughout the day and people have already begun to line the streets of the capital in preparation for a glimpse of the Queen’s final journey.
Millions of people will be watching the funeral across the country and most workplaces are closed for a bank holiday.
IMAGE SOURCE,REUTERS Image caption, All viewing areas for the procession are full
The event is also expected to be watched by millions around the world, with the Queen the head of state for 14 realms throughout the Commonwealth.
For those not invited big screens have been put up in cities across the country, while some cinemas, pubs and other venues are also showing the once-in-a-generation event.
This is the first state funeral to be held since Sir Winston Churchill’s in 1965.
The service will be conducted by the Dean of Westminster David Hoyle, with the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby giving the sermon.
The Order of Service shows a service filled with traditional church music and readings from the Bible.
Towards the end the Last Post will be played before there will be a two-minute national silence.
Following the service, the coffin will be drawn in a walking procession from the Abbey to Wellington Arch, at London’s Hyde Park Corner, to the sombre toll of Big Ben.
Gun salutes will also fire every minute from Hyde Park during the procession and people can watch in person from designated viewing areas along the route.
Once at Wellington Arch, at about 13:00, the coffin will be transferred to the new State Hearse for its final journey to Windsor Castle. There, the Queen’s coffin will enter St George’s Chapel for a committal service.
Attended by a smaller congregation of about 800 guests, the committal service will be conducted by Dean of Windsor David Conner, with a blessing from the Archbishop of Canterbury.
At a private family service later, the Queen will be buried alongside her late husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, at the King George VI memorial chapel, located inside St George’s Chapel.
Lawmakers in the second Parliament of the Fourth Republic had the rare privilege of being addressed by Queen Elizabeth II, when she visited Ghana in 1999.
Her visit was only the second in the history of Ghana after the first in 1961 when she was hosted by Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. On her second coming, Jerry John Rawlings was in charge as democratic president. JJ had barely a year left on his final four-year mandate when the Queen visited.
During her address to the Justice DF Annan-Parliament, the Queen’s reference to Rawlings having to leave power drew a response that caused her to pause for a while.
MPs cheered at her statement according to an ITN report sighted by GhanaWeb. The cheers started when she said: “Next year, your president who has led you through these momentous changes, will reach the end of his second term.”
After a brief cheer, she continued: “His successor is to be chosen freely and fairly by the people of Ghana.”
The Parliament at the time had 200 seats with the National Democratic Congress holding 133 seats as against the 61 by the New Patriotic Party, NPP. Two other parties held the remaining six seats.
Queen Elizabeth dies
The world’s longest serving leader, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, was pronounced dead on Thursday, September 8, 2022, via a statement from the royal family.
Born on April 21, 1926, the Queen, christened Elizabeth Alexandra Mary, immediately acceded the British throne on February 6, 1952, when her father, King George VI died.
She became queen at the age of 25 and remained on the throne for seven decades before her death.
Elizabeth II was Queen of the United Kingdom and Head of State for 14 other jurisdictions.
Queen Elizabeth’s eldest son Charles, 73, has been named successor and by that becomes king of the United Kingdom and the head of state of 14 other realms including Australia, Canada and New Zealand. His wife Camilla becomes Queen Consort.
The late Queen Elizabeth II‘s body will begin its final journey as part of a grand state funeral later after spending days lying in state. It will first travel to Westminster Abbey for a religious service in front of thousands of people, then move on to Windsor Castle for a more personal committal service, and finally, a private burial.
It will be a day filled with emotion, grandeur, and ceremony unseen since Winston Churchill’s last state burial over 60 years ago.
The Queen’s lying-in-state at Westminster Hall in the heart of London, where people queued for hours to view her coffin, has now come to an end. A short distance away, at Westminster Abbey, the doors have opened for guests to start arriving ahead of the funeral service at 11:00.
Heads of state from across the world have been flying in to join members of the Royal Family to remember the Queen’s life and service. Senior UK politicians and former prime ministers will also be there.
Members of royal families from across Europe, many of whom were blood relatives of the Queen, are expected – Belgium’s King Philippe and Queen Mathilde and Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia will be there.
At this point, the ceremonial part of the day will begin in earnest, as the Queen’s coffin is lifted from the catafalque where it has been resting since Wednesday afternoon, and taken to Westminster Abbey, for her funeral service.
She will be carried on the State Gun Carriage of the Royal Navy, drawn by 142 sailors. The carriage was last seen in 1979 for the funeral of Prince Philip’s uncle, Lord Mountbatten and was used for the Queen’s father, George VI, in 1952.
Senior members of the Royal Family, including the new king and his sons Prince William and Prince Harry, will follow the gun carriage in procession.
The Pipes and Drums of the Scottish and Irish regiments will lead the ceremony, along with members of the Royal Air Force and the Gurkhas.
The route will be lined by the Royal Navy and Royal Marines and a guard of honour will stand in Parliament Square made up of all three military services, accompanied by a Royal Marines band.
The Queen’s funeral service, expected to be attended by 2,000 guests, will begin at Westminster Abbey.
It will be a state funeral – an event typically reserved for kings or queens, which follows strict rules of protocol, such as a military procession and the lying-in-state.
The abbey, hosting the funeral service, is the historic church where Britain’s kings and queens are crowned, including the Queen’s own coronation in 1953. It was also where the then-Princess Elizabeth married Prince Philip in 1947.
There hasn’t been a monarch’s funeral service in the abbey since the 18th Century, although the funeral of the Queen Mother was held there in 2002.
The service will be conducted by the Dean of Westminster David Hoyle, with the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby giving the sermon. Prime Minister Liz Truss will read a lesson.
Towards the end of the funeral service the Last Post – a short bugle call – will be played followed by a two-minute national silence.
The national anthem and a lament played by the Queen’s piper will bring the service to an end at about midday.
Following the service, the Queen’s coffin will be drawn in a walking procession from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch, at London’s Hyde Park Corner.
With the route lined with military personnel and police, Big Ben will toll at one-minute intervals as the procession moves slowly through the streets of the capital. Gun salutes will also fire every minute from Hyde Park.
People can watch the procession in person from designated viewing areas along the route.
The procession, led by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, will be made up of seven groups, each with its own band. Members of the armed services from the UK and the Commonwealth, the police and the NHS will also be involved.
Once again the King will lead members of the Royal Family walking behind the gun carriage bearing the Queen’s coffin.
Camilla, the Queen Consort, the Princess of Wales, the Countess of Wessex and the Duchess of Sussex will join the procession in cars.
Once at Wellington Arch, at about 13:00, the coffin will be transferred to the new State Hearse for its final journey to Windsor Castle.
The castle, continuously inhabited by 40 monarchs across almost 1,000 years, had special significance to the Queen throughout her life. As a teenager she was sent to the castle during the war years as London faced the threat of bombing, and more recently she made it her permanent home during the coronavirus pandemic.
The hearse is expected to arrive for a walking procession up Windsor Castle’s Long Walk. The three-mile (5km) avenue will be lined with members of the armed forces.
Members of the public will be allowed access to the Long Walk to watch the procession pass.
The King and senior members of the Royal Family are expected to join the cortege in the Quadrangle in Windsor Castle a little later.
The castle’s Sebastopol and Curfew Tower bells will be tolled every minute and gun salutes will be fired from the castle’s grounds.
Then the coffin will enter St George’s Chapel for a committal service.
St George’s Chapel is the church regularly chosen by the Royal Family for weddings, christenings and funerals. It is where the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan, were married in 2018 and where the Queen’s late husband Prince Philip’s funeral was held.
Attended by a smaller, more personal congregation of about 800 guests, the committal service will be conducted by Dean of Windsor David Conner, with a blessing from Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.
The service will include traditions symbolising the end of the Queen’s reign.
The Imperial State Crown and the Sovereign’s orb and sceptre will be removed from the top of the coffin by the Crown Jeweller, separating the Queen from her crown for the final time.
At the end of the last hymn, the King will then place the Queen’s company camp colour, or flag, of the Grenadier Guards on the coffin. The Grenadier Guards are the most senior of the Foot Guards carrying out ceremonial duties for the monarch.
At the same time, the Lord Chamberlain, former MI5 chief Baron Parker, will “break” his wand of office and place it on the coffin. The snapping of the white staff will signal the end of his service to the sovereign as her most senior official in the Royal Household.
The Queen will then be lowered into the royal vault and the Sovereign’s piper will play before a blessing and the singing of God Save the King. The performance by the piper at Windsor was something the Queen had personally requested, Buckingham Palace said.
The committal service will come to an end and the King and members of the Royal Family will leave the chapel.
That evening, at a private family service, the Queen will be buried together with her late husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, at the King George VI memorial chapel, located inside St George’s Chapel.
Her marble slab will be engraved ELIZABETH II 1926-2022.
Mahama paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, who ruled for seven decades, in a Twitter post on September 19.
He commended her for being a great woman who promoted harmony and had a good sense of humor.
Mahama recalled the encounter he and his wife, Lordina, had with the British king in 2014 at Buckingham Palace.
He said that coming into contact with her leaves one struck by her “dignity and grace”.
“An era has come to an end. The world salutes a very great woman. She was the commonwealth; such a diplomat, who took it upon herself to bring diverse nations together. Her visits to Ghana in 1961 and 1999 are perfect examples. Fare thee well, Queen Elizabeth
“I recall my visit to the Buckingham Palace in 2014 with my wife, Lordina, and our interaction. One is struck by her dignity and grace. She had a good sense of humour and clarity of thought. Fare thee well, Queen Elizabeth,” Mahama tweeted.
Queen Elizabeth II passed away on September 8, 2022 at the age of 96 and has since been succeeded by King Charles III.
World leaders are attending the funeral ceremony which takes place today in London.
An era has come to an end. The world salutes a very great woman. She was the commonwealth; such a diplomat, who took it upon herself to bring diverse nations together. Her visits to Ghana in 1961 and 1999 are perfect examples.
