Reportage
Death of Elizabeth II: the British mourn the death of their queen
Many Britons gathered outside Buckingham Palace when Queen Elizabeth II died on September 8, 2022. © HENRY NICHOLLS/REUTERS
Text by: RFI Follow
3 mins
The announcement of the death of Queen Elizabeth II was a shock for which the British had been prepared since the middle of the day and the publication of a disturbing press release on the state of health of the monarch.
Many of them gathered to pay their respects to the Queen in the country.
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In London in the afternoon, sirens and a helicopter are heard.
The British are still few in front of Buckingham, but the rumor is rising and the concern with it, reports our special correspondent in London,
Thomas de Saint-Léger
.
“
I came right after work.
It's the heart of London here.
The Queen's House is the place to be now, although I hope nothing will happen
, ”said a Londoner.
It's said without believing it in the rain.
London is sad.
Staring into space.
I want to support the Grandmother of Europe, launches a French tourist present.
We then speak of Elizabeth in the present tense.
At 6:30 p.m. local time, the dreaded news broke and was silently greeted by an already sizeable crowd.
The Palace flag is lowered and tears stream down the face of an inconsolable young woman: “
It's a very, very sad moment.
She will be greatly missed.
We knew it had to happen, but at the same time, we don't realize.
I don't know if my country will still be the same after her.
»
A sad but united country.
In waves, the British, all generations combined, flocked in the evening to Buckingham with flowers in hand to say goodbye to their queen and to a whole era.
“
It's important for me to be there because Elizabeth was a landmark in the world.
She was queen for so long since the 50s, it's been 70 years
, Nick exclaims.
The planet went through a lot of change during her reign, but she was still there in the same place.
Now she is no longer there.
It's a completely different world without her.
I wish good luck to Charles.
He's an interesting person, with modern ideas.
»
In front of the palace and its flag now at half mast, an endless procession.
Round of applause, tears and flowers.
Some will stay up a good part of the night, in the rain #ElizabethII #QueenElizabeth pic.twitter.com/vFnWnwjZSf
— Thomas-Sean de Saint Leger (@ThomasdeStLeger) September 8, 2022
Worried, a Londoner who came to pay homage to the queen wonders what will happen: “
It's the end of an era.
We have never known that.
What will happen now?
I wouldn't say I'm scared, but hey, it's going to be very different.
Elizabeth has always seemed solid to us, stable as a queen, so there is a bit of uncertainty.
»
“Elizabeth was a landmark in the world”
At the other end of the country, in Northern Ireland, near Hillsborough Castle, the rain keeps falling.
The candles brought by onlookers go out like Michael's.
The flowers will finally suffice, with a family photo in front of the castle to say goodbye: “
We think we should pay tribute to him.
My little sister wrote a card for the Queen, we brought her to put with the flowers.
It says:
"Thank you for inspiring a whole generation. Thank you for your 70 years of service".
She has always been a Queen to all of us.
»
This queen is important for the predominantly Protestant Unionist community, recalls our special correspondent in Hillsborough,
Laura Taouchanov
.
For John, showing up in front of this dark portal is proving that British culture does not die with it: “
I hope there are not going to be too many changes and a smooth transition.
There will always be people who will never respect it.
A pub in Belfast is going to throw a party for his death.
It's bad.
She was a mother, a grandmother.
Our monarch
!
It's going to be hard to replace her, she's an incredible woman.
»
From now on, the heritage of their British culture will be carried by Charles III.
His visit to this same castle on Monday is eagerly awaited by
these faithful to the crown
, very attached to the maintenance of the province in the United Kingdom.
►Also read: Death of Elizabeth II: the long and not so quiet reign of a popular queen
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