The World Watches the Culmination of Queen Elizabeth’s Funeral By Isabela Morales
Queen Elizabeth’s funeral, held on September 19 at the Westminster Abbey, was a once-in-a-lifetime experience celebrating her 70 years on the throne.
Traditions of Mourning Continued The Queen’s funeral was a highly respected day of mourning and tradition around the UK. The funeral was the climax of a 10-day period of mourning and honoring the Queen’s image. According to CNN, there were tens of thousands of people who gathered along the route from central London to Windsor where the Queen’s coffin was traveling in a hearse. Her remains were then interred in an annex of St. George’s Chapel where the remains of her husband, father, mother, and sister are also housed.
According to The Washington Post, the Queen’s funeral was filled with traditions dating back to the medieval period. These traditions have evolved to fit the times and become more and more celebratory. According to CNN, The Westminster Abbey is a highly traditional venue for the Queen as it was where she was crowned and married. The music, which was lines of scripture, was also a part of a tradition that dates back to the early 18th century. The rest of the music were traditional hymns loved by the Queen. People in Attendance According to BBC, there were 2,000 guests at Westminster Abbey on the day of the funeral. According to The New York Times, the foreign royal and heads of state who were in attendance first met at the Royal Hospital Chelsea before traveling together to Westminster Abbey. Among those in attendance were President Joe Biden, the British royal family as well as other royal families across Europe, the leaders of Germany, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Japan, Kenya. According to BBC, among those not invited were the leaders of Syria, Afghanistan, Venezuela, Russia, Belarus, and Myanmar.
There was controversy over the UK’s invitation to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman because he is being accused of ordering the killing of a Saudi Arabian journalist by Western intelligence. In total there were about 100 presidents and heads of government at the venue. Reactions There were many different reactions to Queen Elizabeth’s funeral around the world. According to The Guardian, the United States showed great reverence to the Queen’s funeral and many Americans respectfully watched the funeral on television. One British bar in New York even had a solemn hour of respect for the funeral, which one of the owners said has never happened before. Kenya’s response differed greatly from the United States.
There was not much national interest in the event. While some believed the Queen’s funeral was especially sad because of the fact that she once became Queen in Kenya, others saw her death as a reminder of the torture they were subjected to under her rule. According to The Guardian, Suhayl Omar, a Kenyan researcher said that the people of Kenya “are being gaslit to mourn who watched over [their] collective suffering.” The Queen’s funeral was a momentous day, officially ending a long period of British history and ceremoniously marking the beginning of a new one. |
Sourceshttps://abcnews.go.com/GMA/News/queen-elizabeth-ii-dies-funeral-coronation/story?id=88971819
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-62890879 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/15/world/europe/queen-elizabeth-funeral.html https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/sep/19/end-of-an-era-how-queen-funeral-was-seen-around-the-world https://www.washingtonpost.com/made-by-history/2022/09/19/queen-elizabeth-funeral-royal-mourning-rituals/ https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/19/uk/queen-elizabeth-funeral-gbr-intl |