A poignant shot of the Queen sitting alone near her late husbandâs coffin dominates newspaper coverage of the Duke of Edinburghâs funeral.
Most British papers highlighted the monarchâs solitude in St Georgeâs Chapel in a funeral restricted by the pandemic, such as the Sunday Mirror with its headline of âThe loneliest goodbyeâ.
âSitting alone, the Queen bids her final farewellâ, said The Sunday Telegraph, while The Sunday Times â inside a wrap-around pictorial special on the ceremony â commented on the Queen being âforced to mourn aloneâ.
Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson wrote the âbrutality of social distancing only heightened the widowâs loneliness. How many millions of viewers yearned to reach out and metaphorically embrace their beloved Queen?â
The Telegraphâs editorial said the service had âthe reassurance of traditionâ.
âHer Majesty, now 94, remains our most valuable connection to the past, to an era, we sense, that was tough but in which people were willing to make tremendous sacrifices in order to secure a better future,â it said, adding âthe nation wishes its Queen health and happinessâ.
Other papers issued messages of support to the Queen. The Sunday Expressâs front page says âYouâre not alone Maâamâ while adding âwe all share her griefâ; The Mail on Sundayâs headline offers that âIt was a fitting farewell, Maâamâ â while also reporting the Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex are talking again; and the Daily Star Sunday runs with a simple âBless herâ.
Inside, the Mailâs report commented on the monarchâs image as a model of stoic constancy, but said ânever was the blast of goodwill from her country needed most than when she stood â desolate, masked, alone, without even a hand to squeeze â watching the coffin bearing her husband of 73 years sink dramatically beneath the chapelâs marble floorâ.
Sunday Mirror front page: The loneliest goodbye. #TomorrowsPapersToday https://t.co/BA3MukpI5K pic.twitter.com/KVRIc4bBvh
— The Mirror (@DailyMirror) April 17, 2021
In an editorial, the Express praised the dukeâs lifetime of service and said the âramrod straightâ events at Windsor seemed reassuring and crystal-clear compared with ongoing rows at Whitehall.
âPhilipâs death is all the more noble and his royal role all the more instructive as itâs been played out against the seedy, backbiting political world of cronyism and lobbying,â the paper said. âOur political leaders had barely drawn breath after paying parliamentary tributes to the Duke before returning to their bickering about whose snout should be in which trough.â
Sunday People struck a more sombre theme, with a dark-toned front page featuring a close-up of the Queen in her black facemask above a headline of âAlone in her griefâ.
The Sunday Times turned part of its focus onto the heir. A column by Andrew Marr headed âPhilip energised the Firm. Can Charles repeat the trick?â said Charles would âneed to make peace with Harry and keep Britain fascinated by the royal familyâ.
Papers elsewhere also highlighted the Queenâs solitude.
The New York Timesâs main story led, however, on âwhat seemed like a slight easing in the strained relationsâ between William and Harry during the service, above a smaller story on the service under the headline: âSeeing the queen alone added a painful note for many watching from home.â
The Washington Post echoed that theme with its headline: âImage of queen sitting at funeral alone breaks heartsâ.
In France, Le Figaro gave considerable coverage to the funeral, with an analysis pondering momentarily whether the loss of her husband could prompt the Queen to abdicate.
âWithout overestimating the strengths of Elizabeth II, the most likely is that she continues to cope. Alone, weakened, but standing and her voice firm, as in her recent speeches. Duty above all, always,â the analysis said.
In Spain, El Pais borrowed somewhat from Winston Churchill with its headline: âThe funeral of Philip of Edinburgh marks the beginning of the end of an era in the UKâ.
âThroughout the week, the media and institutions have devoted themselves to extolling, through the memory of the Duke of Edinburgh, the seven decades of stability provided by the second Elizabethan era,â the paperâs article said.
âEach reaffirmation of the value of the monarchy was a reminder that an era is ending.â
Italyâs La Repubblica gave a florid account of the funeral as it also looked ahead to the new royal era, detailing that the Queen looked âshrunken in pain and loneliness against Covidâ.
âGod save the queen, today more necessary than ever after the ominous farewell to her beloved consort,â the paper said.
In Australia, the Sydney Morning Herald also focused on the Queen, saying the service was a reminder that âfor the first time since ascending to the throne nearly seven decades ago, she now carries the weight of the monarchy aloneâ.
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