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Thousands descended on Buckingham Palace on Friday after the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
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As they mourned the deceased monarch, they also welcomed a new one: King Charles III.
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From flowers at shoulder height to cheers of ‘long live the king’, that’s how it was.
I was one of thousands gathered at Buckingham Palace on Friday. Most people there paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth II and welcomed the reign of her son, King Charles III.
The Queen died Thursday at her home in Balmoral, Scotland. Although her body has yet to be transferred to London, that hasn’t stopped the crowd from coming to Buckingham Palace to commemorate her.
People carrying flowers formed a huge but orderly line along Constitution Hill. Most patiently waited their turn to drop flowers in front of the palace.
Many news reporters and film crews were also present, trying to capture the magnitude of the moment.
As I got closer to the palace, I saw a row of white tents in front of the crowd. Here TV presenters were filming live broadcasts.
In the palace, bunches of colorful bouquets were piled shoulder-high in front of the gates.
At one point, there were so many flowers that the palace staff began to remove some and bring them inside.
Among the flowers, ranging from sunflowers to white roses, was a Canadian flag waving in the wind.
One participant, an Australian woman who said her name was Lynda, told me that what she most respected about Queen Elizabeth II was how she did her job without complaining.
“That’s what I like about her,” Lynda said. “She didn’t really want this, she just served out of the kindness of what she thought was duty.”
Outside the palace I also spoke to Jake English who said he and his family are American and happened to be in the UK for a family holiday.
English, who said he works for the US embassy in El Salvador, said his family had to adjust some of their vacation plans, but they were grateful to be part of a historic moment. “70 years as queen, that’s impressive,” he said.
Later I noticed how many people with children had brought them to the palace. One mom I heard said she did it because “you always know where you were that day.”
There were some interesting moments. These include seeing some people drinking beer and others trying to find space in the crowd by jumping over barriers.
It was difficult to move an inch in front of Buckingham Palace. Everywhere was packed with people waiting with flowers, hoping to catch a glimpse of Charles.
Helicopters flying close to Buckingham Palace around 2pm indicated that Charles’ arrival was imminent. And then police officers started telling the crowd to go back.
When he finally arrived with Camilla, the queen’s consort, the crowd erupted in cheers and some shouted ‘Long live the King’.
Given the sheer number of people who had turned up Friday, I counted myself lucky to have caught even a brief glimpse of Charles, who later said “thank you” to his mother in his maiden address to the nation as king.
Source: Insider
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