"The Queen's doctors are concerned about the health of Her Majesty"
: it is around 2 p.m. on Friday, September 8, and the world is already holding its breath when reading this press release.
September 6: the last shot of the queen, serving until the end
Queen Elizabeth II, two days earlier, still received the brand new British Prime Minister Liz Truss at her Scottish residence in Balmoral.
A few shots – these will be the last of the queen – are then released to the press, where we see the monarch shaking hands with Liz Truss.
Elizabeth II is smiling, but obviously weakened: a cane in her left hand, she seems emaciated, and her hands display a purplish tint, with probable bruises causing concern to the English.
Queen Elizabeth II greets new leader of the Conservative Party and newly elected Prime Minister Liz Truss, at her Balmoral Castle in Scotland, September 6, 2022. Two days later, on September 8, 2022 the monarch passed away at the age 96 years old, in her Scottish residence which she particularly cherished, after 70 years of reign in the United Kingdom.
JANE BARLOW / AFP
September 8, 2022: the queen is dead....
Back to September 8.
It's 7:30 p.m.
A few hours after the disturbing press release from the royal doctors, the dreaded news falls.
The press release from Buckingham Royal Palace, as historic as it is laconic, is posted on the gates of each royal residence:
“The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon.
The King and Queen consort will stay at Balmoral tonight and return to London tomorrow
.
Here at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh (Scotland).
LESLEY MARTIN / AFP
At the start of the evening, shortly after the announcement of the death of Queen Elizabeth II, a crowd began to gather outside Buckingham Palace, in central London, on September 8, 2022. Daniel LEAL / AFP
September 9: ... long live the king!
The queen is dead, long live the king: according to a centuries-old tradition, from the moment of the death of Queen Elizabeth II, on September 8, 2022, her eldest son, Prince Charles, immediately became king and took the name of Charles III.
Read alsoDeath of Elizabeth II: the story of the queen's biographer
The next day, Charles III and his wife Camilla, who had become queen consort - on an unprecedented prior decision by Elizabeth II - went to Buckingham Palace in London.
In front of the palace, after having greeted the crowd who had come to pay homage to the late queen, and even shook a few handshakes, slightly departing from protocol, King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla meditate in front of the carpet of flowers laid.
DANIEL LEAL / AFP
King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla enter the grounds of Buckingham Royal Palace for the first time as a royal couple on September 9, 2022. Yui Mok / POOL / AFP
In the early evening, Charles III delivers his first address to the nation as sovereign.
“I speak to you today with a feeling of deep sadness
,” begins Charles III.
Then
“renew today
(...)
this promise to serve”
the British people
“throughout my life”
.
Read alsoCharles III, the man who wanted to be king
In this nine-minute speech, he also pays tribute to "
Her Majesty, my beloved mother
", who throughout her life "
has been an inspiration, an example for me and for all my family. , and we owe him an immense debt, as every family owes it to his mother”
.
September 10: Charles III officially proclaimed king
Charles III is officially proclaimed King of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, during a meeting of the Accession Council, a group of dignitaries, at St. James's Palace in London on September 10, 2022, accompanied by Queen Consort Camilla and his eldest son, Prince William.
Jonathan Brady / POOL / AFP
A little later, the now Prince and Princess of Wales William and Catherine, as well as Prince Harry and his wife Meghan - Duke and Duchess of Sussex - create the surprise by appearing all four in front of Windsor Castle.
Princes William and Harry and their wives walked through the gates of Windsor Castle side by side, greeted by a crowd of faithful who had come to pay their respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, on September 10, 2022. A symbolic image, but above all a historic one in view of their estrangement which has already lasted for several years.
Kirsty O'Connor / POOL / AFP
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex;
William, Prince of Wales, and Catherine, Princess of Wales, pay their respects in front of flowery tributes to their grandmother Elizabeth II, left by British subjects, on the Long Walk leading to Windsor Castle, September 10, 2022, before going meet the citizens.
Kirsty O'Connor / POOL / AFP
September 12: first speech in the British Parliament and mass at St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh
Monday, September 12, the British Parliament vows allegiance to King Charles III.
In the Westminster Hall, the Speakers of the House of Lords and the House of Commons then offer their official condolences to the monarch.
“Standing before you today, I cannot help but feel the weight of history surrounding us
,” the sovereign then declared in a brief address to the two houses of the British parliament at Westminster Hall, on September 12, 2022
.
DAN KITWOOD / POOL / AFP
Charles III then flies to the Scottish capital Edinburgh.
The monarch, accompanied by Queen Consort Camilla, finds the remains of Elizabeth II at the royal residence of Holyrood.
It is from here that the first funeral procession of the late queen starts, to the local cathedral of Saint-Gilles, for a religious ceremony.
The coffin of the late Elizabeth II, draped in the royal standard of Scotland, leaves the Royal Palace of Holyrood on September 12, 2022 for a procession, followed by many Scots, to St. Giles Cathedral, where a religious ceremony will take place.
Jon Super/POOL/AFP
King Charles III (left), accompanied by his sister Princess Anne, and his brothers, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, begin the funeral procession, behind the coffin of the Queen Elizabeth II, from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to St. Giles Cathedral.
PHIL NOBLE / POOL / AFP
Scottish citizens are then invited to come and pay their respects in front of the Queen's coffin.
After a visit to the Scottish Parliament, Charles III goes again, Monday evening, to Saint-Gilles Cathedral, to participate in a funeral wake.
Read alsoCharles III, the style of a prince, the stuff of a king
A first "vigil of the princes", which consists of guarding the coffin of the deceased, takes place.
The four children of Elizabeth II, King Charles III, in Scottish kilts, Princess Anne, Princes Andrew and Edward, stand with their backs to the coffin for ten minutes, while visitors pass by to give a last tribute: it is the "vigil of princes", a tradition dating back to King George V. JANE BARLOW / POOL / AFP
September 13: the Queen's coffin flies to London
Royal Air Force soldiers carry the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II at Edinburgh Airport on September 13, 2022, before it is flown to London, where it will return to Buckingham Palace.
Paul ELLIS / POOL / AFP
September 14: funeral procession in London, from Buckingham to Westminster
Wednesday is dedicated to a second funeral procession, in London this time.
The late Queen's coffin, now draped in the UK's yellow, red and blue royal standard and a wreath of white flowers, arrived at Buckingham Royal Palace the day before.
The Imperial Crown, made in 1937 and adorned with 2,868 diamonds, was placed on the queen's oak coffin.
Daniel LEAL / POOL / AFP
It is 3:22 p.m., this Wednesday, September 14, when the coffin leaves Buckingham Palace, transported on a gun carriage, pulled by horses and flanked by soldiers in ceremonial dress.
The march takes place to the sound of funeral marches by Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Chopin played by a military band.
Chip Somodevilla/POOL/AFP
Behind the coffin, the four children of Elizabeth II lead the way.
They are followed, in second line, by his grandsons William and Harry.
Stefan Rousseau / POOL / AFP
King Charles III smiles during the funeral procession in honor of his mother Queen Elizabeth II, in London, September 14, 2022. Marco BERTORELLO / AFP
The wives of Elizabeth II's children and grandchildren follow the procession by car.
Queen Consort Camilla (left) and Princess of Wales Catherine follow the funeral procession by car, behind the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, on September 14, 2022 in London.
Marco BERTORELLO / AFP
Tens of thousands of Britons, often in tears, line the route to follow the funeral procession, cheered by the public as it approaches Westminster Hall.
LOIC VENANCE / AFP
September 15: a 7km queue to pay tribute to the Queen
Elizabeth II's coffin now rests in Westminster Hall.
This Thursday, a 7km queue now stretches through central London, so that everyone can come and pay homage to the Queen.
A woman dries her tears as she reaches the hall of Westminster, to pay tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth, September 15, 2022. Leon NEAL / POOL / AFP
The queue stretches along the Thames, near Tower Bridge, before being able to go to meditate at the foot of the queen's coffin, September 15, 2022. CARL DE SOUZA / AFP
September 16: Vigil of the Princes at Westminster Hall
Friday, September 16, the queue is always full to be able to gather in front of the queen's coffin, people continuing in line for long hours, in the cold and despite the falling night.
ODD ANDERSEN / AFP
In the evening, around 9 p.m., as they did four days earlier, the four children of Elizabeth II lead a "vigil of princes" around the coffin of the late queen.
Charles III, Anne, Andrew and Edward meditate, standing, for nearly ten minutes, while the public continues to parade to pay homage to the sovereign.
King Charles III watches over the coffin of his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, on September 16, 2022. Dominic Lipinski / POOL / AFP