The Queen’s Last Journey. But Commonwealth falters as Charles meets leaders

Rani’s last journey began at 10 am yesterday. In a six-hour journey, including a rest stop, the former monarch’s coffin crossed 280 kilometers of Scottish land from Balmoral to Edinburgh, passing Aberdeen, Dundee and Perth and was never, even dead, left alone. He was accompanied by, in addition to dignitaries, his daughter Anna, accompanied by her husband Tim Lawrence, but above all a crowded shower that awaited them for hours on the side of the road, the square was crowded, and there was applause and applause as they passed. The caskets that were played with a simple white crown of flowers were all collected in the Garden of Balmoral. And here, in villages such as Ballater, which met Lilibet and Filippo in their most informal garb, the sentiment was more pronounced than anywhere else, well described by the complete silence of the hundreds who were only about to bid their final farewell. wanted to be present. whom he considered a very special neighbour.

The special relationship between the people of these places and the queen emerged not only from the tears of the people of Ballator, but also from the unusual guard of honor created by tractors stationed in the fields of Aberdeen.

Arrived in the late afternoon at Holyroodhouse’s official residence, – where her other two children, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward were waiting for her with his wife Sophie – today Elizabeth’s body will be transferred to St Giles’ Cathedral, which will be presented to the public. available for. , And in the capital of Scotland, a country where half the population wants independence, there have been a few isolated protests. A woman has been arrested for disturbing public peace. It was the police themselves who broke the news, which was confirmed by some previously released photographs, which showed a woman holding a placard against imperialism and the monarchy.

Meanwhile, several other proclamation ceremonies were held to announce the coming to the throne of King Charles III on the same day. Of these, Cardiff Castle in Wales and Hillsborough Castle in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where Sinn Féin representatives chose not to attend, although recognized the former monarch as having “a positive role in the peace process”. Meanwhile in London, Carlow, who still lives at Clarence House with his wife Camilla, had arrived at Buckingham Palace, where he met with the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Patricia Scotland, and the High Commissioners of the countries where he became the new head of state. , including Antigua and Barbuda, which have already announced they want a referendum to become republics within the next three years.

What awaits the new king are enormous tasks: at the age of 73 he will be faced with institutional conditions very different and far more complex than what his mother has seen. The vision of which can vary deeply on many subjects, from the independence of the Commonwealth to institutional relations with the Parliament.

Not yet whether the new sovereign will maintain the neutral line imposed by Elizabeth or will instead choose to continue speaking on issues that have always been close to his heart, such as environmental issues. And the comparison can become a problem even from a purely constitutional point of view, which is constantly evolving in the Anglo-Saxon world, especially with premiers such as Liz Truss. More conservative and less sociable, ambitious and bold than Johnson, the woman had already been accused of political exploits yesterday, following the Four Winds announcement that she wanted to go on tour with the king she would visit the state’s other three. in the states.

A somewhat unusual and daring initiative, perhaps taken entirely independently by a woman who, to put it in a famous phrase of the Queen, “to be credible she must be seen”. This time, however, Truss exaggerated his initiative so much that Downing Street had to correct the game soon after the reckless announcement, explaining that the government’s leader would only be present for a few moments of reflection. It is not certain whether Charles would like it, in fact, some commentators speculate that the presence of Prime Minister Truss could embarrass the new monarch, as Henry Mans explained in the Financial Times, noting that not only did he, Rather, the entire Conservative Party does not do so. Some parts of the state enjoy a lot of sympathy, starting with Scotland.