The Queen has been dead for a week. On D-Day+7, as this Friday is called in the minutes, the new king travels to Wales for the first time. Tens of thousands of people want to be close to their queen one last time.
London/Cardiff – While tens of thousands of people in London want to say goodbye to Queen Elizabeth II, a trip is on the agenda for the new king and queen on Friday.
Charles III and Camilla are expected in Wales, where they will visit the capital, Cardiff. It is the couple’s first trip to Wales since the Queen’s death a week ago. In Cardiff, the royal couple will, among other things, attend a service for the deceased queen in Llandaff Cathedral, as the bishopric announced.
People should be able to see the new king
Charles and Camilla are then expected at the Welsh Parliament to receive condolences. In the afternoon, the two will visit Cardiff Castle, where they will meet Welsh Prime Minister Mark Drakeford and Speaker of Parliament Elin Jones. In between there should also be opportunities for the people to see the new king and his wife. Before Charles became king, he held the title Prince of Wales. Now his son William has taken over, whose wife Kate is now Princess of Wales.
During the Wales visit, the royal couple may have to prepare for major protests against the monarchy for the first time since the Queen’s death. As the PA news agency reported, opponents of the monarchy are planning a silent protest at the castle in the afternoon against the country’s form of government, which they believe has long been outdated.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people are expected in London who want to pay their last respects to Queen Elizabeth II. For a total of five nights and four days, the Queen’s coffin was laid out in the British Parliament and open to the public around the clock.
Saying goodbye in person only with waiting time
If you want to say goodbye personally to the deceased monarch, you have no choice but to stand in a long queue. According to the BBC, the waiting time on Friday night was 14 hours. The line had grown to five miles, stretching from Parliament across Lambeth Bridge and along the south bank of the Thames from the National Theater and Tate Modern to beyond the Tower of London. Tens of thousands held out despite the cold night. The line is expected to get even longer over the weekend.
The Queen’s coffin was brought from Buckingham Palace to Parliament on Wednesday afternoon in a solemn procession, accompanied by her immediate family. Elizabeth II died last Thursday at the age of 96 at her Scottish country estate, Balmoral Castle. Her coffin was taken to the Scottish capital of Edinburgh on Sunday and then to London on Tuesday evening. dpa
