Have we seen this before? Do we remember having criss-crossed a country, crossing at each crossroads, beaten by the winds of the Scottish moor, whole families, father, mother, children and grandparents, installed on folding armchairs placed in embankment grass? Have we ever crossed villages, to the sound of bagpipes, greeted by local elected officials dressed in elegant kilts under black cloth jackets? Have you ever driven for almost 300 kilometres, part of it on a motorway, skirting crowds massed behind safety railings or perched on bridges, eyes fixed on the asphalt horizon?
Sunday, much more than this coffin covered with a yellow flag embroidered with red lions, posed in a black hearse, it is that which struck. This ordinary public came to see it pass in a flash – what, less than thirty seconds! – a line of cars carrying the remains of a queen accompanied by an invisible princess, Anne, her daughter.
The royal family had had the itinerary of the funeral procession published the day before. From village to village, we spread the word. From Balmoral to Edinburgh, it took almost five hours to drive across Scotland. First, leaving the rugged purity of the Highlands for the granite port of Aberdeen. Then go down again towards the south and cross the old great textile city of Dundee. Finally, reach Edinburgh, with its splendid university and its cathedral. And everywhere, the same gatherings.
fugitive show
At the entrance to a village, students from a riding club were waiting for the deceased queen, perched on their double pony, neatly lined up like a sort of juvenile royal guard. On the forecourt of a church, a choir started a hymn as soon as the motorcyclists arrived leading the procession. Behind the guardrails of the highway, children threw flowers, quickly picked up by their parents, once the procession passed, so as not to interfere with the return to normal road traffic. “Here she comes!” » (here it is !), “She’s Arriving” (she’s coming!), each time ran the same diffuse rumor, as if the queen was going to appear alive and well, saluting in her carriage, rather than in this curious sun-colored coffin. Could we hear the applause from the official cars?
To tell the truth, we were amazed at such patience and such a crowd for such a fleeting and sober show. But for many, it had to be. “It’s the kind of moment you’ll remember all your lifesaid a father to his little boy, there are not so many opportunities to bring the whole country together. »
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