As the time of national mourning following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II draws to a conclusion, flags are once again flying at full staff on British government buildings around the world.
After a formal funeral in London and a military parade to Windsor Castle, the Queen was interred in a private ceremony at Windsor on Monday evening.
However, the Royal Family will observe an additional week of mourning.
During this time, senior royals are not required to perform any public activities.
The flags at royal homes will remain at half-staff until 08:00 BST on September 27, the day following the conclusion of their period of mourning.
Royal household workers, household representatives on official tasks, and troops assigned to ceremonial duties will also observe the extended time of mourning, according to Buckingham Palace.
After hundreds of thousands of people from across the United Kingdom traveled to London to attend the Queen’s funeral, an aggressive cleanup operation is currently underway.
Monday evening, workers wearing black ribbons and bows were dispatched to Westminster’s roadways to clear litter and sand.
Cleaners at Southwark Council in south London worked an additional 24 hours and removed seven tonnes of the trash while mourners queued to see the Queen lying in state.
On Monday, international leaders and foreign royalty gathered a congregation of 2,000 at Westminster Abbey for the funeral, during which the Dean of Westminster praised her “lifelong sense of responsibility.”
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby spoke on the affection felt for the late king by so many people. He continued, “Few leaders receive the outpouring of love we have witnessed.”
About one hundred presidents and prime ministers were present at the abbey, including US Vice President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, and Canadian PM Justin Trudeau.
Royal families from around the world were also present, including those of Denmark, Spain, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, Japan, Malaysia, and Jordan.
After the funeral, the Queen’s coffin was transported by gun carriage to London’s Wellington Arch and then by funeral cortege along a route that avoided freeways so that as many people as possible may pay their respects.
Numerous tens of thousands of individuals packed the streets to witness the procession carrying her casket to Windsor Castle and the funeral service.
The UK’s longest-reigning monarch was put to rest alongside her late husband the Duke of Edinburgh and at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, located within St George’s Chapel in Windsor.
The magnitude of the funeral and mourning arrangements over a 10-day period, which included a queue stretching for miles along the south bank of the River Thames to view the Queen’s lying-in-state, prompted what police described as “probably the largest operation we’re likely to launch in the United Kingdom.”
The burial was the “last and most complex phase” of the operation, according to the Metropolitan Police, as hundreds of mourners flocked to central London and officials from across the world gathered to pay their respects.
Some mourners waited all night to pay their respects at the Queen’s lying-in-state in Westminster Hall, where hundreds of thousands of people waited in line.
Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan stated that the government was still calculating the actual numbers, but it is expected that at least 250,000 people stood in line to pay their respects.
She stated during BBC Breakfast: “The line was incredible. It took a true team effort to give individuals the opportunity to say farewell. I wish to thank everyone who participated.”
More than 3,000 policemen from nearly every force in the nation were in London to assist with funeral security, including snipers stationed on rooftops, armed police, equestrian teams, and other specialized groups monitoring the streets.
As of 17:00 BST on Monday, 67 arrests for a variety of offenses had been made as part of the operation.
Later this week, the royal galleries will reopen as the Royal Family continues its period of sorrow.
Thursday will mark the reopening of the Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace in central London, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, and the Queen’s Gallery in Edinburgh.
