The state parliament in Düsseldorf wants to lay out a book of condolence for the late British Queen Elizabeth II. “Queen Elizabeth II lived through and shaped epochs as a person and as a monarch,” said the President of the State Parliament, André Kuper (CDU), on Thursday evening, September 8, in Düsseldorf. Citizens of North Rhine-Westphalia should be able to express their grief with the condolence book. The British monarch died at her country estate in Balmoral, Scotland, at the age of 96, according to Buckingham Palace.
According to Kuper, the United Kingdom has a special relationship with North Rhine-Westphalia. After the Second World War, the British occupying power founded the West German state when they merged the former Prussian provinces of North Rhine and Westphalia in 1946. “We in North Rhine-Westphalia are heartily grateful for the gift of democracy from the British,” emphasized the Christian Democrat.
Kuper called the Queen’s Düsseldorf visit in 2004 “a special chapter in the history of Parliament”. “In her speech to the state parliament, she talked about how the German-British relationship had changed over the course of her life: ‘from war to peace and from a partnership to today’s lasting friendship’,” he says: “Your words should be political for everyone It should be an appeal to those responsible to work at all levels for good German-British coexistence and for peace in Europe,” Kuper warned.
Born Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor in 1926, she was the longest reigning monarch in British history. Queen Elizabeth II took Britain’s post-war monarchy into the 21st century. Twelve prime ministers and three female prime ministers ruled under her, and on Tuesday she officially appointed the new prime minister, Liz Truss, as the new prime minister. After her death, her eldest son Charles becomes king.
