Hundreds of thousands of people flocked to Buckingham Palace at the weekend to say goodbye to the queen who accompanied most of them throughout their lives.
Whether by placing a bouquet of flowers near the gates and the palace wall, whether by tying a farewell letter or sign on the palace fences and whether by commemorating themselves in this historical position on their mobile phone.
Reuters
They also came hoping to see, even from a distance, the new king, Charles III, or any other member of the royal family.
These royal moments - days of mourning, weddings or other celebrations, make the royals and non-royals one big family.
There are the really painful, there are the curious and there are those who give free rein to all their quirks.
They came here from around the United Kingdom, from the countries of the British Commonwealth of Nations headed by the Queen and from around the world.
"She was a source of inspiration as a woman"
Dr. Imbaba Kamara, 51, born in Sierra Leone, Africa - from the British Commonwealth of Nations, but has been living in Britain for 20 years, and is an activist for the protection of vulnerable women and girls.
She came with a large bouquet of chrysanthemums in the company of another group of women from her organization.
"The Queen was a great source of inspiration for me, as a woman," she says.
"With all her tremendous wealth, she remains humble and respects everyone regardless of race and color.
It's personal though.
When I heard she passed away I burst into tears.
I grew up with her, my children and grandchildren grew up with her.
She was like part of my family.'
And what are the expectations from King Charles?
"I heard his speech," he says, "he said things in the spirit of his mother, and that's a good start.
He will succeed in his role.'
Farewell to Queen Elizabeth,
comforting each other near the palace,
27-year-old Adam came here from Hertfordshire: 'I never knew my grandparents, so the Queen was like a grandmother to me.
I started watching the news only recently, so I mostly remember her speech she gave during the Corona epidemic, when she asked to reassure and reassure the nation.
I hope that Charles will also know how to act to strengthen the kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations.'
"It is believed that his mother prepared him for the position."
King Charles II arrives at Buckingham Palace,
Megan, 25, born in Australia who moved to London two years ago, says that even in Australia, Elizabeth was her queen.
"She was always in our lives," she says.
"She symbolized stability.
I grew up with her.
My parents grew up with her.
The feeling of being without her is strange.
kind of change.
I don't know what to expect from Charles.
I guess the queen trained him well for this role.
She prepared him well for this moment, and I think he will follow her path.'
"The world has changed now"
There were also Israelis whose quick and sudden death of the 96-year-old queen changed their visit plans, and they came to the palace.
66-year-old Rita from Haifa and her 15-year-old grandson Noam, a 10th grade student from Hadera, came to say goodbye to the Queen, whose body is still in Scotland, a few hours before the flight back to Israel.
The trip to London was Rita's gift to her grandson, and they had already visited Buckingham Palace three days ago, when no one had yet imagined that Elizabeth II would pass away.
British Prime Minister Liz Truss arrives at Buckingham Palace, photo: Reuters
"She was a very smart woman," says Rita.
"She had a lot of life wisdom.
She knew how to run this country, as much as a queen can run the United Kingdom, in such a way that everyone would live in peace.
The world thanks her for that.
I saw a sign here: 'Hello Kings of England'.
It gave me chills.
The world has changed now.
I was born in Ukraine.
We traveled a very long way to get here and see all this.
Who would have thought that I, a shtetl girl from Ukraine, could ever make it to Buckingham Palace and be here on the day I could say goodbye to the Queen of England?
This is very exciting to me.
Gives me chills.'
King Charles II and Queen Camilla at Buckingham Palace, photo: AP
"I never thought I would be in this position," Noam sums up the event.
"The truth is that I didn't think she would die in the coming years either. The 70 years she reigns is a piece of time and a piece of work."
The Israeli connection: the British mandate
Yosef and Niv from Modi'in came to Britain to celebrate their wedding anniversary, when the Queen's death caught them in the kingdom.
"Like all the people in Israel, we always followed from afar what was happening in the royal house," says Yosefah.
"Still, the queen had a very special status.
We saw yesterday on TV here how they talk about her and the public figure she was for the British people.
The Israelis are very informed about what is happening in the royal house.
It arouses great curiosity.
In some hidden place in our hearts we want to have such a symbolic monarchy that creates a very stately atmosphere.
Somewhere everyone wants us to have a queen too.'
"Her grandson was in Israel and so was the son," Yosef recalls, "and it was very exciting.
It's like something sublime that we don't have and others have.
Very intriguing."
Niv, an accountant who works for a large bank, believes that the mandate period has an impact on the Israeli interest in the British royal house.
"For me, the matter of the British mandate always comes together.
That period, which is not very far away, left a legacy and is also present in our lives now.'
Royal Guard soldiers near Buckingham Palace, photo: Reuters
"Two weeks ago we were on a family trip in Poland, in Krakow," he adds.
"We saw there the Jewish center initiated and financed by Prince Charles. In front of this, we understand that the monarchy is not just something symbolic. They really have power. They have influence. Also in other parts of the world. And they use this power and that's good. They don't have the political limitations- A policy that the British government has and they make positive use of it.'
Yosefah, 44, a lecturer and manager of a program with the President's House to promote diversity, partnership and inclusion in the Israeli academy, wishes to emphasize an issue that is important to her: "There are not many cases where a woman is a queen, and more so with the influence that Elizabeth had on the politics and foreign relations of the kingdom.
For me as a feminist and as someone who works in the feminist space, when such a woman passes away there is a feeling of the end of an era, the end of an era.'
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