Key points
- The body of the late Queen Elizabeth II lay in state in St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh
- Hundreds of thousands of mourners lined the streets of the Royal Mile as the Queen's coffin was transported to the cathedral
- Dr Ibrahim Constantine described bearing witness to the ancient ceremonies as a historic moment in his life to date
In a procession along the main street of Edinburgh characterised by almost complete silence, the sons of the late Queen - her successor King Charles III and Princes Edward, Andrew - and her only daughter Princess Anne walked behind their mother's coffin, swathed in the Scottish flag.
The attendance along the streets reached the hundreds of thousands and it was only when the procession finally reached St Giles' Cathedral that the people began to cheer spontaneously.
Among the crowds was Australian dentist and property developer, Dr Abraham Constantine, who described his experiences to SBS Arabic24.
Inside the cathedral, King Charles III sat alongside his siblings, Princess Anne and Prince Edward, with all three dressed in ceremonial military uniforms.
Their brother Prince Andrew was wearing a civilian suit in a public reminder of the fact that the late Queen stripped him of his military titles earlier this year because of his connection to accused US sex trafficker, the late Jeffrey Epstein.
Credit: Dr Abraham Constantine
“As soon as we arrived in the UK, we heard that the Queen was under medical supervision," he said.
"Two days earlier, she had received the new British Prime Minister, Liz Truss. We noticed at the time that her hand was blue and felt that she was not well."
It should be noted that the doctor was among those who led a major campaign in the 1990s against the Republican movement in Australia.
At that time, he told SBS Arabic24: “We are not defending the rights of the Queen or the royal family. We are defending Westminster's constitutional system and (the fact that) we haven't seen wars for 200 years.”
Dr Abraham Constantine and his wife. Credit: Dr Abraham Constantine
We asked the Republican Movement to offer a better system than the current one, but their goal was to change for the sake of change only.
Dr Constantine expressed his admiration for the career of the late Queen: “Queen Elizabeth II gave 70 years of service. The sight of hundreds of thousands participating in the start of the 10-day mourning period made me feel extra sad.”
The coffin of the late Queen featured a wreath of her favourite white flowers from the gardens of Balmoral Castle including white heather, sweet peas and freesias.
Once set down in St Giles' Cathedral, it was adorned with the golden crown of Scotland while a Thanksgiving Service was held.
In turn, Dr Constantine explained the preparations supervised by the municipalities: “The Royal Mile Road, through which the casket passed and hundreds of thousands lined up on both sides, was very well-organised. More than 1,500 police officers were deployed to the scene and despite the huge numbers, calm dominated the situation.”
The dentist, who has always expressed his admiration for the British royal family, says he did not expect to witness such a historic event in his life: “We did not expect to meet the Queen in her lifetime. We met and talked with King Charles III when he was Prince of Wales and visited Sydney in 1993.”
Dr Constantine says he and his wife queued for more than seven hours to be able to file past the Queen's coffin in St Giles' Cathedral, an experience he described as being “like a dream".
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