Today’s news summary – Paper Talk
Tuesday’s front pages are dominated by images of the Queen’s four children – King Charles III, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward standing around their mother’s coffin. Each one was positioned on each side of the coffin in St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh, as members of the public filed past.
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Queen’s death – latest from the royal family
“The King’s Vigil” is the Sun’s headline, while the Mail describes it as a “Silent Vigil for a Queen and mother.”
“A picture of dignity and sorrow,” is the headline of the Daily Mirror. The paper describes how its reporter queued for 12 hours to file past the coffin and met a 72-year-old woman who arrived in Scotland and midnight and slept on a bench until the queue opened.
The Telegraph says those who want to file past the coffin when the Queen is brought back to London, are looking at 30-hour queues and could stretch more than 3 miles, from Tower Bridge to Westminster.
The Mail’s columnist Peter Hichens argues the Queen’s coffin should travel to London via the Royal Train instead of the plane so more people can line the route to pay their respects. Whilst the Telegraph reports a train carriage has been modified to carry the coffin to London but the plan was dropped last minute. The paper reports there were fears it would be too difficult to police and could attract protesters.
The i newspaper has been looking at who’s likely to attend. Brazil’s President, Jair Bolsonaro, and Spain’s King Felipe are among the latest to confirm their arrival. President Biden and the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will also attend – but India’s PM, Narendra Modi, and the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, have yet to say whether they will.
The Times leads with claims from the director of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies Professor Philip Murphy who says the Queen’s death could lead to a number of countries leaving the commonwealth or replacing the British monarch as their head of state. He cites BLM, the Windrush scandal, and the growing momentum behind the move for reparations for slavery and colonialism as the reasons.
The Mirror also reports that hundreds of products and brands – such as Heinz ketchup must stop using the Royal coat of arms and the words “by appointment to Her Majesty the Queen.” The paper says the brands will need to reapply to King Charles and prove that his Royal Household regularly uses them.