State Funeral For Queen Elizabeth II
Joint Session of The House of Lords and The House of Commons
On September 12,the features of a Constitutional monarchy were well conveyed via the coverage of a joint session of the House of Lords and the House of Commons at Westminster Hall. A session that started with a message of condolence by John Mcfall,the Lord Speaker,of the House of Lords,to King Charles III and the Queen Consort. Followed by a similar message by Sir Linsay Hoyle, the Speaker of the House of Commons. In reply, the King stated that parliament is the living and breathing instrument of our democracy... and closed his address as follows: She sets an example of selfless duty which with God's help and your counsels, I am resolved to faithfully follow.
Edinburgh to London
The day before the parliamentary ceremony of the two Houses. RTL listeners were informed that the coffin of the Queen was taken by hearse from Balmoral Castle to Holyrood House in the capital of Scotland. The correspondent of the radio station interviewed mourners, disclosed that from the official residence, the coffin will be taken to St Giles Cathedral and from there it will be transferred to London on Tuesday evening.
The Weekend of September 16
The procession of the coffin from Buckingham palace to Westminster Hall was well covered, mourners from Britain, France and the Philippines were interviewed. The long waiting period of about 14 hours was reported and how the authority used tracking numbers to enable them manage the waiting period as well as the instruction of the government to world leaders coming to London for the state funeral in the weekend of September 16.
State Funeral Ceremony At Westminster Abbey
On the eve of the state funeral, there were discussions among journalists on how many visitors are coming to London, on the arrival of president Macron, president Joe Biden, the state reception organised by Charles III for world leaders at Church House and journalists asked questions on how many viewers are likely to watch the state funeral world wide. On September 19, the morning news focus was on the arrival of invited guests at Westminster Abbey and the mid day news flash started with at this moment the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II entered Westminster Abbey and the news presenter called the London correspondent of RTL.
Solemn Moments
The tenor bell that tolled for 96 minutes reflecting the age of the Queen,the first lesson read by Baroness Scotland, the Secretary General of the Commonwealth Secretariat, from the Book of Corinthians(15:20-26),the second reading by Elizabeth Truss, the Prime Minister and this commendation by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Go forth,O Christian soul,from this world,in the name of God the Father almighty, who created thee; in the name of Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, who suffered for thee; in the name of the Holy Spirit, who poured out thee and anointed thee...were some of the moments that touched many people as reported in the media.
The Service at St. George's Chapel
Two days later, Paris Match, the popular news magazine released a supplement of 48 pages covering the service at St. George's Chapel. Explained by using photo captions that it was here that imperial items on top of the coffin such as the Crown, the Sceptre, the Orb are removed and where the Lord Chamberlain breaks the wand of office to signify the end of his service to the Queen/the end of the reign.
