Britain and the world said farewell to Queen Elizabeth II with pomp and pageantry. Crowds massed in the streets of London and at Windsor Castle to honor a monarch whose 70-year reign defined an era. The first state funeral since Winston Churchill’s drew world leaders and other royalty. Before the service, a bell tolled 96 times for each year of Elizabeth’s life. Royal Navy sailors pulled a gun carriage carrying her flag-draped coffin to Westminster Abbey before pallbearers bore it inside. Atop the coffin sat a handwritten note from King Charles III. After a committal service at a chapel in Windsor Castle, the coffin was lowered into the royal vault. Former prime minister Brian Mulroney delivered a speech in tribute to the queen at the national tribute service in Ottawa, remembering his time as her Canadian prime minister with fondness. He said the queen was “extremely intelligent” as well as very witty and kind. He also said the end of apartheid in South Africa, which was led by Nelson Mandela, “would never have taken place in the Commonwealth had it not been for her majesty’s discreet, brilliant, and generous guidance and unerring instinct for the victory we all sought.”
