Unusually in London, walkers wander around the city with a bouquet of flowers in their hands.
Men in dark suits, families in strollers, embracing couples, all converge on the same point of departure: Buckingham Palace.
The Mall, an imposing avenue that leads straight to the palace, never ceases to see onlookers pass by, calm and collected.
What more emblematic place than the Royal Palace in London to pay tribute to the Queen, who died on Thursday September 8 at the age of 96?
Bouquets of flowers and messages of sympathy flow along the gates of Buckingham Palace.
@France24_fr #QueenElizabeth pic.twitter.com/URDGCTTOrw
– Aude Abback-Mazoué (@audemazoue) September 9, 2022
To meditate in front of his London residence was obvious to many.
"It was normal for me to come and lay a bouquet of flowers to express the great respect I have for the queen," said David, a 62-year-old American visiting the British capital.
“The announcement of her death caused such a shock wave around the world, especially in my entourage who remained in the United States who inundated me with emotional messages, that it was impossible not to make a gesture for her. And then her disappearance also provokes a feeling of nostalgia, since the evocation of the queen is intimately linked to the memory of my parents."
David, a 62-year-old American (left), very saddened by the Queen's disappearance, wanted to show his great respect for Elizabeth II by leaving a bouquet of flowers with his friend.@France24_fr #QueenElizabeth #QueenElizabethdeath pic.twitter. com/57XXHQvJCq
– Aude Abback-Mazoué (@audemazoue) September 9, 2022
"A character who marked several generations"
A few meters away, a German family came to visit London for a few days.
Impossible for these Bavarians not to attend this improvised popular gathering.
“We are really sad, confides the mother of the family, her voice gripped by emotion. Before continuing: “The queen was a rock who never failed in the midst of all the turpitudes, she commands respect.
A Bavarian family, who came to visit London, naturally came to meditate in front of the palace to pay homage to this "rock which knew how to hold up in the midst of turpitude" pic.twitter.com/GXbx5C55lW
– Aude Abback-Mazoué (@audemazoue) September 9, 2022
A little further, Katie, 29, is accompanied by a friend and her mother, who has specially made the trip from central England.
All three, a bouquet of purple flowers in their hands – not unlike the shimmering colors of the queen's outfits – simply came to "say thank you".
“Her death was so brutal, we had the impression that she would be with us forever, confesses the young woman. We also came for the historic nature of this moment. He is a character who marked several generations. Later, we can say: 'I was there.'"
Katie, 29 (right) welcomed her mother (left) who came from central England to pay tribute to the queen, in whom she has "great respect. "It's a shock for the whole world". @France24_fr pic.twitter.com/DlEqm2G0L1
– Aude Abback-Mazoué (@audemazoue) September 9, 2022
“We are entering a sad period”
It must be said that in London and in the rest of the United Kingdom, the presence of the queen is everywhere.
On banknotes, mailboxes, poles.
Each item of street furniture is stamped with the Queen's seal, an "E" monogram accompanied by the number two in Roman characters.
All street furniture bears the Queen's seal.
@France24_fr #QueenElizabeth #QueenElizabethIIDeath pic.twitter.com/gniZw12keg
– Aude Abback-Mazoué (@audemazoue) September 9, 2022
The advent of a new king will inevitably upset the landscape as well as the spirits.
“We are all sad and we are entering a dark period from every point of view, economically and socially. And I am not sure that Prince Charles can embody the constancy and serenity that Elizabeth had brought. will never be as popular as it has been."
A feeling shared by Andrea, an Italian who lives in London: "The queen was very close to her people, we don't know if Charles will know how to embody this same closeness."
In the crowd, opinions differ.
"Charles embodies the continuity of the monarchy desired by the queen, slice Anne, Londoner of 35 years. Let him time to impose his style and to be loved like his mother."
Andrea, a Londoner from Sardinia, remembers "a queen very close to her people, we don't know if Charles will know how to embody this same closeness".
@France24_fr #QueenElizabeth #QueenElizabethII pic.twitter.com/WxcknFHAC9
– Aude Abback-Mazoué (@audemazoue) September 9, 2022
As the day progresses, bouquets of flowers, little notes and photographs pile up in front of the gates of the palace.
Everywhere, discussions in foreign languages testify to the extraordinary universal character of the queen.
No bursts of laughter, no quarrels in the crowd, only the silence of contemplation and the pleasure of meeting again.
A few tears too.
A sadness that echoes one of the Queen's most moving speeches, delivered after September 11, 2001 in a New York church.
"Grief is the price we pay for love."
"Thank you for your life of service and sacrifice", can we read on a message left in front of Buckingham Palace.@France24_fr #QueenElizabeth pic.twitter.com/KQLGod6B7l
– Aude Abback-Mazoué (@audemazoue) September 9, 2022
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