The disappearance of the 96-year-old sovereign, who died Thursday at her Scottish residence in Balmoral after 70 years of reign, has opened a period of mourning for the country.
Elizabeth II also leaves a great void, as she was loved by the British who for many had only known her on the throne. Throughout her life, she had known how to preserve the monarchy in spite of crises.
The challenges are considerable for Charles who becomes king at 73, with a popularity much lower than his mother and his heir, Prince William.
He inherited a kingdom that is brooding in the face of the serious economic and social crisis and the cracked unity caused by Brexit, the desire for independence and community tensions in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and the political upheavals with the arrival in Downing Street of a fourth prime minister in six years.
At Balmoral with his mother when she passed away “peacefully” Thursday afternoon, joined throughout the day by his three brothers and sister as well as his two sons, the new sovereign will return to London on Friday.
– First television message –
If the course of the next few days, prepared for years, must still be confirmed by the palace, the main lines are known. Once back in London with Camilla, now queen consort, the new king will address the British for the first time on television, in a message recorded in advance and broadcast in the evening.
He must also meet with Prime Minister Liz Truss, whose enthronement on Tuesday by Elizabeth II was the last constitutional act of a life dedicated to her role to the end.
Charles had become much more present in recent months, increasingly replacing, along with his eldest son William, his mother due to what the palace said were mobility issues.
He spoke for the first time Thursday evening in a press release to express his family’s “very great sadness” after the death of “a dear sovereign and a beloved mother: I know that her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, kingdoms and commonwealth, and by countless people around the world,” he added.
– 96 cannon shots –
During the day, 96 cannons will be fired from several places in the country and the bells of St. Paul, Westminster Abbey and Windsor Castle will ring.
Charles III must then be officially proclaimed king on Saturday by the council of succession, meeting at St. James’s Palace in London.
From Joe Biden to Vladimir Poutine via Emmanuel Macron, Pope Francis, footballer Pelé or rocker Mick Jagger, tributes have been unanimous for Elizabeth II.
“I feel very sad, I have the impression that my grandmother is dead”, reacts Tonnie Cunningham, 35, questioned by AFP in the streets of London.
“She is the only monarch I have ever known”, observed Margaret Caselton, 75, “extremely sad”.
– National mourning –
The death of the sovereign, who had limited appearances for one night in the hospital in October 2021, opens a period of national mourning, until her funeral in ten days.
Charles will have a lot to do to preserve the attachment of the British to the monarchy, an institution that some consider outdated but whose prestige Elizabeth II had managed to maintain.
The queen was at her death head of state of 15 kingdoms, from New Zealand to the Bahamas, which she traveled throughout her reign, always dressed in matching outfits, often in bright colors. In the former British colonies that remained kingdoms, criticisms are expressed on the colonialist past, and republican tendencies are reinforced.
The late sovereign is omnipresent in the life of the British, present on banknotes and stamps, which will have to change their face.
Tens of thousands of people had gathered to catch a glimpse of him, for the last time, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace for his platinum jubilee in early June, celebrations of his 70 years of reign.
