Tag: queen

Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II announces surprise abdication

By Camille BAS-WOHLERT COPENHAGEN, Dec 31, 2023 (AFP) – Denmark’s popular Queen Margrethe II, Europe’s longest-serving monarch, said Sunday that she would abdicate on January 14 and pass the baton to her son Crown Prince Frederik. Margrethe, 83, has reigned for 52 years and has been Europe’s only reigning queen after the death of Britain’s Elizabeth II. She has been hailed for subtly modernising Danish royalty in her half-century on the throne. She made the […]

King Charles III to host world leaders as UK counts down to queen’s funeral

  London, United Kingdom (AFP) by Max DELANY / Jitendra JOSHI US President Joe Biden was Sunday to pay his last respects in London to Queen Elizabeth II as ordinary mourners queued for the final 24 hours left to view her coffin lying in state. After witnessing the sombre scene in parliament’s Westminster Hall, Biden, Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and other world leaders were due to attend a reception with the late queen’s successor, King Charles […]

Two police officers stabbed in London ahead of queen’s funeral

London, United Kingdom |(AFP) Two police officers were stabbed by a man early Friday in central London and hospitalised, police said, while ruling out terrorism amid massive security ahead of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral. The assailant was tasered and arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and assaulting an emergency worker, the Metropolitan Police said. The man was also in hospital following the incident at around 6:00 am (0500 GMT) in the nightlife area around […]

Who’s invited — and who’s not — to Queen Elizabeth’s funeral

  by Danny KEMP Agence France Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Hundreds of foreign royals and leaders are expected to attend the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in London on Monday in one of the biggest diplomatic gatherings in decades. Westminster Abbey has space for around 2,000 people, so only heads of state and one or two guests have reportedly been invited to Britain’s first state funeral for six decades. A handful of […]

Japan emperor, empress to attend Queen Elizabeth’s funeral

  TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako will attend Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, the Japanese government said Wednesday, in their first overseas trip since assuming the throne in 2019. Top government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno told reporters that the royal couple would be present but Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and other government officials would not attend. Queen Elizabeth met three generations of Japanese royals and had invited Emperor Naruhito and his wife to […]

Queen’s coffin arrives in Edinburgh on solemn final journey in UK

  by Anna MALPAS / Sylvain PEUCHMAURD Agence France Presse EDINBURGH, United Kingdom (AFP) — Tens of thousands of mourners lined the route of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral cortege on Sunday as it left the Scottish retreat where she died, to bid farewell to their longest serving monarch. The hearse carrying the 96-year-old’s oak coffin, draped in the Royal Standard of Scotland, was driven from the Balmoral estate through Aberdeen and Dundee to the capital […]

Pres. Marcos Jr. joins world leaders in paying tribute to Queen Elizabeth II

  President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Friday joined other world leaders in paying tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, who died Thursday at the age of 96. “It is with profound sadness that we receive the news of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in Balmoral Castle yesterday evening,” Marcos said in a statement. “She exemplified to the world a true monarch’s great dignity, commitment to duty, and devotion to all those in […]

World briefly unites to mourn ‘Elizabeth the Steadfast’

PARIS, France (AFP) — Leaders from every corner of the globe briefly united Thursday in homage to Queen Elizabeth II, after the world’s longest-serving monarch died at her Scottish home at age 96. Tributes poured in — from countries she had ruled over to those she had been at war with, from tiny territories to the mightiest governments on the planet, and from centuries-old institutions to nations that had not yet been born when she […]

Queen Elizabeth II kicks off historic jubilee celebrations

by Martine PAUWELS / Phil HAZLEWOOD / Valentine GRAVELEAU Agence France Presse    LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday kicked off the first of four days of celebrations marking her record-breaking 70 years on the throne, to cheering crowds of tens of thousands of people. But the 96-year-old sovereign’s appearance at the Platinum Jubilee — a milestone never previously reached by a British monarch — took its toll, forcing her to […]

UK readies for Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee

by Phil HAZLEWOOD Britain brings out the bunting next week for Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee, with four days of public events to mark her 70 years on the throne. Across the country, red, white and blue Union Jack are being hung for street parties, picnics and barbecues over four days from Thursday to Sunday. With two public holidays and the weekend, retailers and the hospitality sector in particular are hoping for a sales boost, […]

Queen leads explosion of British joy at Raducanu’s stunning Slam win

Emma Raducanu’s extraordinary US Open triumph on Saturday led to an explosion of joy in Britain, with Queen Elizabeth II leading the celebrations as the 18-year-old qualifier made tennis history in New York. Raducanu beat 19-year-old Canadian Leylah Fernandez 6-4 6-3 to become Britain’s first women’s Grand Slam singles champion since Virginia Wade at Wimbledon in 1977, and the first player to win a major after coming through a qualifying tournament. “I send my congratulations […]

Queen vows to address Harry and Meghan racism claims

by Anna MALPAS / Phil HAZLEWOOD / James PHEBY Agence France Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday responded to explosive racism claims from grandson Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, voicing deep concern and sympathising with their troubles with royal life. “The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan,” she said in a statement. “The […]