Buckingham Palace rings to mournful ‘God Save the Queen’

LONDON: Tearful crowds outside Buckingham Palace sang a forlorn "God Save the Queen" as news broke of Elizabeth II´s death on Thursday.

Hundreds braved torrential rain to stand at the palace gates after it was announced that doctors had placed the monarch under medical supervision at Balmoral, her Scottish estate. A vivid rainbow temporarily lifted spirits, but the mood turned mournful at 6:30 pm (1730 GMT) as the seismic news was announced, triggering widespread cries of "oh no", according to AFP.

Some wept as the Union Jack flag on the queen´s London residence was lowered, before a numbed silence fell over the crowd. "She´s been the queen for as long as I´ve been alive, she´s been the queen for as long as my parents have been alive," currency broker Charlie Wolstenholme told AFP.

"So she´s really a very, very important part of the fabric. You know, it´s going to be terrible." Britain´s longest-serving monarch had been dogged by health problems since last October that left her struggling to walk and stand.

Many of the well-wishers, some carrying flowers, came from outside the UK. "As a French person, even I am touched by this," said student Chloe Papeil. "She is a part of English culture, but also global culture."

The queen -- an instantly recognisable figure to billions of people across the world -- was in her Platinum Jubilee year, marking 70 years since she succeeded her father king George VI in 1952. News spread rapidly across a shellshocked country, with announcements in public spaces, including a train from London to Edinburgh.

"I´m speechless, it´s very sad," said lawyer Rory Turbet, 38, who was travelling on the train for a wedding. "A lot of British people will feel that way; she´s been a constant presence in people´s lives," he told AFP.

On the streets of London, animation producer Toni Cunningham told AFP: "I feel really sad, I feel like my nana (grandmother) has died. "She did so much for this country, she was here so much for us."

Television and radio stations interrupted regular programming to broadcast the news, with long-rehearsed special schedules set in place to remember her long life and reign. The national anthem, "God Save the Queen", was played. Flags were lowered and church bells tolled to remember a woman once described as the "last global monarch". The national mourning period will culminate in a final public farewell at Westminster Abbey in central London.

Charles´ coronation, an elaborate ritual steeped in tradition and history, will take place in the same historic surroundings, as it has for centuries, on a date to be fixed.Britons were jolted into recognising the beginning of the end of her reign when in April 2021 she lost her beloved husband of 73 years, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

Yet the palace had long recognised her mortality and the transition to Charles was already well under way. He, his eldest son Prince William, who now becomes heir, and his wife, Catherine, began to assume more of the queen´s official roles.

The coronavirus pandemic and her advanced years forced her into the splendid isolation of Windsor Castle, west of London. But from behind its stately walls, she remained a reassuring presence, popping up on video calls with members of the public. In a rare, televised address during the first lockdown, she recalled the "Blitz spirit" of Britain under siege during World War II that defined her generation.