Charles III arrived in Belfast on Tuesday September 13 for his first visit as British monarch to Northern Ireland, under tension as he succeeds Elizabeth II in an atmosphere of popular fervor and national emotion.
The sovereign had played a major role in reconciliation in the province with a bloody past. But nearly a quarter of a century after the return of a fragile peace between Republicans, especially Catholics, and Unionists, mainly Protestants, tensions have been reignited by Brexit, reviving the idea of a separation from the United Kingdom and of reunification with Ireland.
Times of “trouble”
As soon as he arrived at Hillsborough Castle, Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla came into contact with the thousands of people massed behind the barriers, shaking hands, greeting children, exchanging a few words, images that were difficult to imagine in the days of the “Disorders“.
Politically paralyzed and in upheaval under the effect of the victory in the last elections of the Republicans of Sinn Fein, which does not recognize the authority of the monarchy, Northern Ireland remains the most delicate stage of the tour started by the new king in the four constituent nations of the United Kingdom. He visited the British Parliament in London on Monday, then that of Edinburgh before Cardiff, in Wales, on Friday.
“It’s reassuring to see the communities rally behind the new king“, observes Ann Sudlow, retired, who got up at 4:00 a.m. hoping to see the monarch and welcomes a certain unity in the province, like the emotion that has gripped the country since the death of Elizabeth. II last Thursday at the age of 96.
“Very dark”
In Edinburgh, tens of thousands of Britons waited for hours all night and again for hours on Tuesday morning, to meditate before the coffin of the sovereign, bowing, curtseying, crossing themselves or wiping away a tear in front of the oak coffin which rests in St. Giles Cathedral in the Scottish capital. Coming from Glasgow early Tuesday, Nataliya Dasiukevich, 46 and from Russia, says to herself “very dark moodand struggles to hold back tears. “I was not born in this country and I am far from my family. The queen was the closest thing a grandma has to my child“.
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Placed on a platform and covered with the yellow, red and navy standard of Scotland, a wreath of white flowers and the solid gold crown of Scotland resting above, the coffin remained accessible throughout the night, guarded by four royal archers and protected by a cordon which keeps the public several meters away. King Charles III and his three siblings, Princes Andrew and Edward, and Princess Anne, came in the evening with Queen Consort Camilla to observe a wake. The photo of the children of Elizabeth II, back to the coffin, made the front page of all the daily newspapers on Tuesday.
Royal and anonymous tribute
The body of Elizabeth II, who reigned for 70 years, had until Monday evening been kept away from the general public: first at Balmoral Castle in northern Scotland, where the monarch s died on Thursday at the age of 96, then at the Royal Palace of Holyroodhouse. Popular figure, rock of stability in the sometimes political, social or health storm during the Covid-19, the queen was a reassuring image for millions of Britons during all these decades on the throne.
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Tensions in Northern Ireland, separatist desires in Scotland, galloping inflation which weighs on purchasing power, the new 73-year-old king, older than all the British sovereigns on their accession to the throne, settles in his functions in a moment critical. The country, in the grip of a serious social and political crisis, has had a new prime minister for just a few days.
Last stop before London
Continuing her final journey, the Queen’s remains will board a royal plane for London on Tuesday afternoon, escorted by Princess Anne. He will be greeted on his arrival by King Charles and other members of the royal family. He will spend the night at Buckingham Palace.
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The Queen’s state funeral will take place on Monday September 19 in the presence of some 500 foreign dignitaries and many crowned heads. But according to the PA agency, Russia, Belarus and Burma were not invited.
SEE ALSO – The King and his siblings attend a wake in Edinburgh