英皇太子・王子兄弟、ひつぎの後を行進　母ダイアナ妃の葬列想起

【ロンドンＡＦＰ＝時事】２５年前に母親のダイアナ元皇太子妃のひつぎの後ろを歩き、世界中の人々の心を捉えたウィリアム皇太子とヘンリー王子が１４日、祖母エリザベス女王の葬列で、再び痛ましい行進の先導役を担った。（写真は、エリザベス女王のひつぎの後ろを歩くウィリアム皇太子とヘンリー王子）
　女王のひつぎは、首都ロンドンのバッキンガム宮殿に最後の別れを告げ、公開安置場所となる国会議事堂のウェストミンスターホールまでの１．６キロの道のりを行進。皇太子・王子兄弟は他の王族と共に、悲しみの表情を浮かべながらその後ろを歩いた。沿道には大勢の人々が集まり、敬意をこめた沈黙をささげ、時には拍手をしながら葬列を見守った。
　ひつぎの後ろでは、新君主となったチャールズ国王が陸軍元帥の制服に身を包み、２０１２年に元帥に任命された際に女王から授かった元帥杖（げんすいじょう）を持って、王族の列を先導した。
　国王の左隣には３人のきょうだいが並び、アン王女とエドワード王子も軍の礼装姿だった。一方、元海軍のヘリコプターパイロットで、性的暴行疑惑のために「殿下」の敬称を使用する権利を剥奪されたアンドルー王子は、メダルや勲章が飾られたモーニングスーツを着て参列した。
　ウィリアム皇太子は英空軍の制服を着用。２０２０年に王室を離脱し、現在は米国で暮らすヘンリー王子は、英陸軍でアフガニスタンに従軍経験があるものの、軍の礼装ではなくメダルが飾られたモーニングスーツを着た。２人の隣には、いとこでアン王女の息子のピーター・フィリップス氏が並んだ。
　国王の妻カミラ王妃、キャサリン皇太子妃、ヘンリー王子の妻メーガン妃は、ひつぎが到着する午後３時に合わせ、車で議事堂に向かった。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/09/15-16:12）

Twenty-five years after capturing the hearts of the world when they walked behind their mother Diana's coffin, princes William and Harry on Wednesday again helped lead the most poignant of processions.
This time, the estranged brothers were reunited in grief with the royal family as they honoured their grandmother Queen Elizabeth II, on a final pageant-filled journey from Buckingham Palace.
Under the mournful funeral marches of Chopin, Beethoven and Mendelssohn -- played by the bands of the Scots Guards and the Grenadier Guards -- her coffin was taken in full pomp to lie in state at Westminster Hall until Monday.
Thousands lined the mile-long (1.6 kilometre) route through London, looking on in respectful silence -- and sometimes applause -- as Britain summoned all its ceremonial majesty for the sombre occasion.
It's like completing a journey, from watching the coronation of the queen in 1953 to paying tribute to her today, Ian Gammie, 79, among those to turn out, told AFP.
The crowds of onlookers ranged from young to old and included visitors from countries like the United States.
The late queen's custom-made lead-lined English oak casket, adorned with the Royal Standard flag, the Imperial State Crown on a velvet cushion and a wreath of flowers, began the 38-minute journey at 2:22 pm (13:22 GMT).
The floral arrangement atop the coffin featured white roses and dahlias as well as pittosporum, lavender and rosemary from her gardens at Windsor Castle, and pine from the Balmoral estate in Scotland where she died September 8.
- 'Royal salute' -
Mounted on a gun carriage of the ceremonial King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery unit, the coffin emerged through Buckingham Palace's Grand Entrance to the sound of ceremonial guns in nearby Hyde Park.
They then fired every minute during the procession, while in the distance Big Ben tolled at the same intervals.
Three officers and 101 rank-and-file members of the King's Life Guard, an infantry and cavalry unit charged with guarding royal residences, formed a guard of honour outside.
Others from the unit gave a royal salute as the procession began making its way along The Mall, filled with Union Jack flags and people who had queued for hours for their spot.
Behind the coffin, the new sovereign, King Charles III, led the royal cortege in the military uniform of a Field Marshal and carried a baton presented to him by his late mother when he acquired the rank in 2012.
He was flanked to his left by his three siblings, with Princess Anne and Prince Edward also in ceremonial uniform.
Former Royal Navy helicopter pilot Prince Andrew -- stripped of his His Royal Highness title over a sex assault scandal -- attended in a morning suit adorned with medals and decorations.
William was dressed in Royal Air Force uniform and Harry in a morning suit with military medals but no ceremonial garb, despite his tours of duty in Afghanistan with the British Army.
He stepped down as a working royal in 2020 and now lives in the United States. Next to William and Harry was their cousin, Anne's son Peter Phillips.
- Applause -
Led in the front by mounted police officers and a dismounted detachment of Household Cavalry, the coffin was escorted by the Grenadier Guards -- an infantry regiment dating back to 1656 -- clad in their distinctive bearskin hats and red tunics.
Crowds of mourners lined every section of the route, with police closing access to viewing points around an hour beforehand, when capacity was reached.
You can feel that it is a real page of history, said US tourist Natalia Smith, 54, who bagged a spot in front of Buckingham Palace.
As the cortege proceeded slowly through Westminster and neared parliament, it passed by the statue of Winston Churchill, the first of the queen's 15 prime ministers during her seven-decade reign.
It was greeted with applause from people into Parliament Square and another guard of honour by representatives from all three branches of the military, as well as a band of the Royal Marines with their drums draped and muffled.
Senior women in the royal family, including Charles's wife Queen Consort Camilla, William's wife Catherine and Harry's wife Meghan, were driven to parliament in time for the coffin's arrival at 3:00 pm exactly.
As it entered the centuries-old Palace of Westminster -- the formal name of parliament -- the casket was carried into its oldest part, Westminster Hall, by former and serving assistants to the queen dressed in ceremonial outfits.
Prime Minister Liz Truss was among the dignitaries there to mark the arrival of the coffin, which will lie in state in the cavernous hall until Monday morning.