The Hindu : Witness to a century fades into history

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 10, 2002

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Witness to a century fades into history

By Hasan Suroor

The Queen and Prince Charles walk behind the Queen Mother's coffin during her funeral at Westminster Abbey in London on Tuesday. — Reuters

LONDON APRIL 9. All the pomp and pageantry fit for a queen marked the funeral of the Queen Mother, the last Empress of India, when her body was taken in a ceremonial procession from Westminster Abbey in London to Windsor Castle today, along a route she had personally chosen, and interred in St. George's Chapel next to her husband, King George VI, who died 50 years ago.

Britain's final farewell to its favourite and oldest member of the monarchy 10 days after her death echoed the Queen's sentiment in an address to the nation that her mother's funeral was not just an occasion for sadness, but also thanksgiving for a life lived to the full.

The mood was occasionally heavy but there were no scenes of overt grief even as hundreds of people lined the route of the procession, many shops and businesses closed down and schools were permitted to let children stay home to watch the funeral on TV.

The Queen Mother died on March 30 at the age of 101, the last witness to a century that saw two world wars, end of the empire and the rise and fall of communism.

In the past 10 days, over a million people filed past her Koh-i-noor topped coffin as it lay in state in Westminster hall _ often the queues stretching for several kilometres with people waiting up to three to four hours to reach the place.

This morning, crowds had started gathering since early morning and as the cortege passed through the streets of central London, many tourists joined in.

The Royalty was out in full strength but most eyes were on Prince Charles' companion, Camilla Parker Bowles, who has been conspicuous by her presence these past few days in what is seen as a sign that she is being gradually accepted by the Palace. The media focused on the young Royals, particularly Princes William and Harry whose reminiscences of their great-grandmother dominated the weekend newspapers.

A number of foreign dignitaries including the U.N. Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, the NATO chief, Lord Robertson, and Laura Bush, wife of the U.S. President, George W. Bush, attended the funeral which reminded old-timers of those of Winston Churchill and the Queen Mother's husband.

The days after her death were marked by a furious controversy over the BBC's allegedly less than reverential initial coverage of the event which it insisted reflected the changed public attitudes to the monarchy.

The nation was deeply divided between an older generation which still regards monarchy as a unifying institution and the younger Britons who treat it as a mere curiosity.

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