In the rain, they gathered outside Buckingham Palace.
A journey that some would have taken many times before for moments of celebration, now stand together to pay their respects.
The shock of this news is compounded by the fact that we only get to see the Queen on Tuesday, performing one of her most important constitutional roles as she is adamant that she will greet the Prime Minister. his 15th general at Balmoral.
But the proclamation from the palace at lunchtime on Thursday was a bad omen, and her family’s rush to be at her side added to their anxiety.
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The huge news that arrived at 18:30 pm, that she had passed away at Balmoral, would only really sink in the coming days.
More about the Queen:
Mourning people gather at Buckingham Palace to pay their respects
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This will be the period when the pendulum of events will swing between the mourning of a most beloved king and the welcome of a new king.
The constitutional change was immediate and massive. King Charles III has assumed all the responsibilities of head of state, but will also have to deal with his very own grief with the loss of his beloved mother.
More information about King:
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When we think about her family together in Balmoral, where they spent so many summers together, the monarch’s final days couldn’t be more fitting.
She doesn’t have to give up her duty, she can live a life of service to the end. And most importantly, her family is there, in a house she loves, away from the public eye.
