UK
Queen’s Death: Funeral and burial
Questions about what will happen next now that Queen Elizabeth II has passed away arise because it has been 70 years since Britain’s monarchy changed.
In order to ensure a seamless transition following the queen’s passing and to properly honour her historic reign, the UK government and the royal family have been making preparations for years.
Also read: 10 things to know about Queen Elizabeth II
Here are some potential events for the upcoming days, according to an ABC News report.
What time and where will the Queen’s funeral be held?
After the customary observation of a national period of mourning, the queen’s funeral will happen 10 days after her passing.
Elizabeth is anticipated to be the first sovereign to have a funeral at Westminster Abbey since 1760.
International dignitaries and leaders of state are anticipated to attend the queen’s funeral.
Westminster Abbey can house more than 8,000 people, as it did for the queen’s coronation, but it often only seats 2,200 worshippers.
Where will be her eternal resting place?
The queen will likely be buried privately in Windsor Castle’s St. George’s Chapel, where she spent a large part of her later years.
The queen will rest in eternity with her beloved late husband Prince Philip, her father King George VI, sister Princess Margaret, and other family members.
Also read:Camilla will be known as Queen Consort
Momen mourns UK's longest-serving monarch Queen Elizabeth II's death
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul has expressed deep shock at the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the UK's longest-serving monarch.
"A legend passed away. She left a legacy incomparable in human history and lived with honour, grace and dignity. We are deeply shocked," Momen said Thursday.
The Foreign Minister remembered his meeting with Queen Elizabeth II twice – once when he was a school kid in 1961 and when she visited the then East Pakistan and again in 2010 when she paid a visit to the UN in New York.
"May her soul rest in peace," Momen said.
Queen Elizabeth II died today at Balmoral aged 96 after reigning for 70 years.
Her family gathered at her Scottish estate after concerns grew about her health.
The Queen came to the throne in 1952 and witnessed enormous social change. Her eldest son, Charles, becomes King Charles III, and the head of state for 14 Commonwealth realms.
He said the death of his beloved mother was "a moment of great sadness."
Also read: Queen Elizabeth II: Britain's longest reigning monarch, no more
Camilla will be known as Queen Consort
After seven decades, the United Kingdom has a new woman to call queen.
Charles’ wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, will be known as Queen Consort — a title that came with Queen Elizabeth II’s blessing after years of contention, dating back to the days before she even married Prince Charles.
It wasn’t always a given that the 75-year-old Camilla would take the title, even though it gives her none of the sovereign’s powers.
While the wife of a king is traditionally crowned queen, the question of what title Camilla would hold when Charles became king had been a tricky one for many years. That was due to sensitivity about her status as his second wife — and the wave of grief that washed over Britain following the death of his former wife, Princess Diana, in a car crash in 1997.
Charles and the royal household have moved carefully on the matter, mindful of lingering public perceptions of Camilla as the “third person” that ruined the marriage between Charles and the beloved princess.
But over the decades, Camilla has won over large parts of the British public with her discretion, down-to-earth personality and loyalty to her husband.
When Camilla and Charles married in a low-key civil ceremony in 2005, she was in fact the new Princess of Wales — Diana’s title — but she styled herself the Duchess of Cornwall instead.
Palace officials said for years that Camilla “intended” to be known as “Princess Consort” — instead of the traditional “Queen Consort” — when Charles acceded to the throne.
There is no precedent for the title Princess Consort, which was reportedly suggested by royal officials. The similar title of Prince Consort has only been used once — for Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who reigned from 1837 to 1901.
In a 2010 interview with NBC, Charles was asked if Camilla would become “Queen of England, if and when you become the monarch.” He hesitated as he replied, “That’s, well ... We’ll see, won’t we? That could be.”
The question was resolved when Elizabeth declared she wanted Camilla to be known as Queen Consort after her son became king. It was an endorsement that formally signified the royal family’s acceptance of Camilla as a respected senior member and was widely seen as a move by Elizabeth to pave a smooth transition to Charles’ reign.
“When, in the fullness of time, my son Charles becomes king, I know you will give him and his wife, Camilla, the same support that you have given me; and it is my sincere wish that, when that time comes, Camilla will be known as Queen Consort as she continues her own loyal service,” Elizabeth said in February 2022, when she marked the 70th anniversary of her rule.
Charles said he and Camilla were “deeply conscious of the honor.”
“As we have sought together to serve and support Her Majesty and the people of our communities, my darling wife has been my own steadfast support throughout,” he said.
The most recent Queen Consort in British history was George VI’s wife Queen Elizabeth, known in later years as the Queen Mother after her daughter became monarch in 1952.
By custom, Camilla will be anointed at Charles’ coronation, although that could be omitted.
Born Camilla Rosemary Shand on July 17, 1947, she came from aristocrats with long and close links with Britain’s royal family. Her great-grandmother, Alice Keppel, was a romantic partner of King Edward VII.
She met Charles at a polo match in 1970 when she was 23 and he was considered to be the most eligible bachelor in Britain. The two immediately became close, and by the end of 1972, Charles was smitten. But the romance was interrupted by his eight months of naval duty.
In his absence, Camilla married her longtime boyfriend, army officer Andrew Parker Bowles, in 1973. The couple divorced in 1995, shortly after Charles gave an explosive television interview admitting an affair with Camilla. Charles and Diana divorced the next year.
Charles and Camilla waited another nine years, marrying in 2005 in a private ceremony at the Guildhall in Windsor.
Since then, Camilla has taken up dozens of royal duties. She is patron or president of more than 90 charities, and has shown particular interest in work on animals, promoting literacy and empowering women. She also has found her voice as a public speaker, earning respect by campaigning about difficult issues such as sexual violence against women and domestic abuse.
In 2021, she delivered what many called her landmark speech, urging “the men in our lives” to get involved in women’s rights and expressing sympathy for the families of women who are murdered.
The same year, Buckingham Palace underlined Camilla’s role as a senior royal by making her a Royal Lady of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, the most senior order of chivalry in Britain.
It may be months or even longer before Charles’ formal coronation
The British monarchy’s rules state that “a new sovereign succeeds to the throne as soon as his or her predecessor dies.”
That means Queen Elizabeth II’s eldest son, Prince Charles, became king immediately upon her death.
However, it may be months or even longer before Charles’ formal coronation. In Elizabeth’s case, her coronation came on June 2, 1953 -- 16 months after her accession on Feb. 6, 1952, when her father, King George VI, died.
A look at the formalities that take place after Charles accedes to the throne:
— Within 24 hours of a monarch’s death, a new sovereign is proclaimed formally as soon as possible at St. James’s Palace in London by the “Accession Council.” This is made up of officials from the Privy Council, which includes senior Cabinet ministers, judges and leaders of the Church of England, who are summoned to the palace for the meeting.
— Parliament is then recalled for lawmakers to take their oaths of allegiance to the new monarch.
— The new monarch will swear an oath before the Privy Council in St. James’s Palace to maintain the Church of Scotland, according to the Act of Union of 1707.
— The proclamation of the new sovereign is then publicly read out at St. James’s Palace, as well as in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast – the capital cities of the four nations that make up the United Kingdom.
— Charles must declare to Parliament on the first day of its session following the accession, or at the coronation, whichever is first, that he is a faithful Protestant. The oath is mandated by the Accession Declaration Act of 1910.
— He must also take a coronation oath as prescribed by the Coronation Oath Act of 1689, the Act of Settlement of 1701 and the Accession Declaration Act.
— He must be in communion with the Church of England, a flexible rule which allowed King George I and King George II to reign even though they were Lutherans.
Also read: Queen Elizabeth II: Britain's longest reigning monarch, no more
God save the King: UK PM Liz Truss
Queen Elizabeth II, according to UK’s new Prime Minister Liz Truss, leaves a “wonderful legacy.”
“Today the Crown passes, as it has done for more than a thousand years, to our new monarch, our new head of state, His Majesty King Charles III,” BBC reported, quoting her statement.
“With the King's family we mourn the loss of his mother and come together.
“We offer him our loyalty and devotion, just as his mother devoted so much to us for so long.”
She finished her statement saying it is “the passing of the second Elizabethan age”.
Truss concluded by saying: “God save the King.”
Also read: Liz Truss: UK's incoming PM who models herself on Iron Lady Thatcher
UK to invest 54.5 mn pounds for children in Bangladesh by next 8 years
British Deputy High Commissioner Javed Patel has said ensuring 12 years of quality education for all children is at the centre of the UK’s drive to tackle poverty, promote gender equality, boost economic growth and reduce conflict.
“In Bangladesh, we are investing up to 54.5 million pounds over the next eight years to improve education outcomes for children, particularly girls and marginalised children,” he said.
The Deputy High Commissioner said he wholly believes that sport is integral to a child’s education, and today. “We are proud to stand with the girls’ football team that will be representing Bangladesh on the international stage.”
He hosted a send-off event for the girls’ football team on Thursday which will shortly represent Bangladesh in the Street Child Football World Cup in Qatar.
The team is comprised of children who were all rescued from life on the streets, and now live at the LEEDO (Local Education and Economic Development Organisation) Peace Home in Dhaka.
LEEDO is a not-for-profit, voluntary-based development organisation founded in 2000. Through the provision of education, shelters, and lifestyle support, LEEDO aims to protect vulnerable street children and help them return to the mainstream community.
Read: UK keen to invest in Bangladesh’s higher education sector
During the event, the young guests shared stories of their time living on the street, and appealed to guests to help improve the life chances of other less fortunate children.
They were excited about the opportunity to meet two players from the Bangladesh U-19 national football team, Aklima Khatun and Halima Akhther, and talk to the professional players about their upcoming big game.
They also showed off their footballing skills, and challenged the British Deputy High Commissioner to a ‘keepy-uppy’ contest!
Kazi Nabil Ahmed MP, Vice President of the Bangladesh Football Federation, and Abu Nayeem, General Secretary of the Bangladesh Football Federation, were also present at the event.
Forhad Hossain, Executive Director of LEEDO said they should all raise their voices together to protect the most vulnerable children from the dangers of the streets so that they can create a better Bangladesh.
According to the UNCRC all children have the right to survive with dignity. “I want to thank the British High Commission for organising this event with LEEDO,” he said.
New UK PM Truss rules out windfall tax for oil companies
British Prime Minister Liz Truss on Wednesday ruled out a windfall tax on oil companies to pay for her plans to tackle the energy crisis.
Speaking during her first session of prime minister's questions in the House of Commons, Truss rebuffed opposition calls for a new windfall tax, even as she refrained from explaining how she would fund a plan meant to help the public pay energy bills skyrocketing because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The plan is expected to be delivered on Thursday.
“I am against a windfall tax,'' she said. "I believe it is the wrong thing to be putting companies off, investing in the United Kingdom just when we need to be growing the economy.”
Read:New UK PM Truss vows to tackle energy crisis, ailing economy
Earlier Wednesday, Truss held her first Cabinet meeting, appointing a government diverse in race and gender and united in its support for the new leader’s staunchly free-market views.
Truss, 47, was appointed prime minister by Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday after winning an internal election to lead the governing Conservative Party.
She immediately put her stamp on the government, clearing out many ministers from the administration of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson — notably those who had backed her leadership rival, Rishi Sunak.
She made Kwasi Kwarteng her Treasury chief, a key role for a Cabinet whose inbox is dominated by the energy crisis triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which threatens to push energy bills to unaffordable levels, shuttering businesses and leaving the nation’s poorest people shivering at home this winter. Kwarteng is the first Black holder of the job, formally titled Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Truss ally Therese Coffey becomes Britain’s first female deputy prime minister and also leads the health ministry as the state-funded National Health Service grapples with soaring demand and depleted resources in the wake of COVID-19.
Read:Liz Truss: UK's incoming PM who models herself on Iron Lady Thatcher
For the first time, none of the U.K.'s “great offices of state” – prime minister, chancellor, foreign secretary and home secretary – is held by a white man. James Cleverly, whose mother is from Sierra Leone, is foreign secretary and Suella Braverman, who has Indian heritage, has been named home secretary, responsible for immigration and law and order.
In her first speech as prime minister on Tuesday, Truss said she would cut taxes to spur economic growth, bolster the NHS and “deal hands on” with the energy crisis, though she offered few details about how she would implement those policies. She is expected to unveil her energy plans on Thursday.
British news media reported that Truss plans to cap energy bills. The cost to taxpayers of that step could reach 100 billion pounds ($116 billion).
“We shouldn’t be daunted by the challenges we face,” Truss said in her first speech as prime minister. “As strong as the storm may be, I know the British people are stronger.’’
Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss to be named as UK's new prime minister
Britain finally learns who its next prime minister will be on Monday after two months of political uncertainty during which energy prices skyrocketed and tens of thousands of workers went on strike.
The governing Conservative Party plans to announce whether Foreign Secretary Liz Truss or former Treasury chief Rishi Sunak won the most votes from party members to succeed Boris Johnson as party leader and thus prime minister.
Whoever emerges victorious will inherit an economy heading into a potentially lengthy recession and will need to jump straight into tackling the cost-of-living crisis walloping the U.K.
Thanks to global gas price volatility triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the average U.K. household energy bill is jumping to more than 3,500 pounds ($4,000) a year — almost triple the level a year ago. Inflation is above 10% for the first time since the 1980s. The government is facing increasingly urgent calls to deliver financial support to help millions pay for essential heating and electricity to get through the winter.
The opposition Labour Party and other critics accuse the government of being “missing in action” during a summer of discontent that saw tens of thousands of rail staff, port and postal workers, lawyers and garbage collectors go on strike to demand better pay to keep up with spiralling costs.
Truss, widely regarded as the front-runner in the leadership race, has won the support of many Conservatives with her Thatcherite zeal to roll back state intervention and slash taxes. She has promised to act “immediately” to tackle soaring energy bills, but declined to give any details.
Sunak, who sought to paint himself as the more realistic economist, said he would temporarily cut the value-added tax on energy bills. But he insisted that he wouldn’t “max out the country’s credit card” and said significant tax cuts should wait until inflation is under control.
Both finalists have declared their admiration for Margaret Thatcher, who was prime minister from 1979 to 1990, and her ring-wing, small-government economics.
“It’s all been very nonspecific and we’re really waiting for the next prime minister to hopefully hit the ground running and tell us what they’re going to do about what is in effect an emergency situation,” said Tim Bale, a politics professor at Queen Mary University of London.
Read: Embattled UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson agrees to resign
Steven Fielding, a professor of political history at Nottingham University, says Truss’s politics has played well with the estimated 180,000 Conservative Party members who have a say in choosing the country’s leader. But many have low expectations that she will deliver much financial relief to the country’s poorest.
“This is someone who believes in the market in a radical way, someone who believes that the objective of government is to get towards a much smaller state sooner rather than later. She takes that very seriously,” he said.
“So I think we’re going to have a very radical, right-wing, free market prime minister and one that actually is more of an ideologist than a pragmatist.”
While the economy is certain to dominate the first months of the new premier’s term, Johnson’s successor will also have to steer the U.K. on the international stage in the face of Russia’s war in Ukraine, an increasingly assertive China and ongoing tensions with the European Union over the aftermath of Brexit – especially in Northern Ireland.
Truss has talked tough as foreign secretary on all three main issues, though some analysts believe she may tone down her “robust” rhetoric if she becomes leader.
“I think on each of those issue the most domestically popular thing was to be quite tough — now that might change in future,” said David Lawrence, a research fellow at London’s Chatham House think tank.
One key aspect of foreign policy to look out for is whether Truss, if she wins, would put an influential group of Conservative “China hawks” in government, Lawrence added.
“If she does, then I think we will see a much more hawkish nudge in that direction when it comes to the U.K.-China policy,” he said.
Britain has been adrift since July 7, when Johnson announced he was quitting after his government was engulfed by one ethics scandal too many. Both Truss and Sunak were key players within Johnson’s Cabinet, though Sunak resigned in protest in the last days of Johnson’s time in office.
A Truss government may not sit well with many, because it reminds voters too much of Johnson’s misdeeds, Fielding said.
“She’s basically been elected as Boris Johnson 2.0 by Conservative members — she’s made it very clear that she is a loyal Boris Johnson supporter,” Fielding said. “I think she’s going to find it very difficult to disentangle herself from the whole Johnson shadow.”
Johnson has stayed on as prime minister in the interim, but he has been widely criticized for failing to respond to the worsening energy cost crisis. Officials have stressed that any new policies will need to wait until his successor is in place.
Voting in the leadership contest closed on Friday and the winner will be announced later Monday. Johnson and his successor will then travel to Scotland to meet with Queen Elizabeth II on Tuesday — one to formally tender his resignation, and the other to be invited to form a government.
The queen’s meetings with prime ministers traditionally take place in London’s Buckingham Palace. But the 96-year-old monarch has suffered from mobility problems in recent months, and so the arrangements are being moved for the first time to the Scottish Highlands, where she traditionally spends her summers.
Most UK medical students struggle to buy essentials as NHS faces workforce crisis: Survey
Six in 10 medical students in the United Kingdom are forced to cut spending on food, clothing and heating because of a "broken" system of allowance assistance from the state, a survey found.
The study published Tuesday by the British Medical Association said 61.8 % of those polled were struggling to afford essentials, while 53.6% said they had to work during terms to pay their bills. Most of those forced to work said this adversely affected their studies.
The BMA study also revealed that students eligible for National Health Service bursary found that it covered just 30% of their expenses. Students see their income drop further in the final two years of their studies when they are on clinical placements in the NHS and have less time to work.
Read: Its largest lake is so dry, China digs deep to water crops
BMA medical students committee co-chair Omolara Akinawonnu called the UK’s student finance system "broken and in urgent need of reform." She said that students saddled with "astronomical" debts were questioning their future in the NHS, which is already short of 8,000 doctors in England alone.
"This is no way to train our future doctors. We have a mental health emergency in universities that is about to implode as inflation skyrockets and the cost-of-living spirals out of control," she warned.
The survey of 1,119 medical students across the UK also found that almost 1 in 25 students reported accessing food banks. The funding shortfall was disadvantageous to the poorest students and jeopardizing their future careers in the NHS.
Strike at biggest shipping port adds to UK industrial chaos
The first day of a planned strike at Britain's biggest container port started Sunday, joining a series of walkouts by transportation workers that have disrupted economic activity across the country.
Almost 2,000 workers at the Port of Felixstowe, located about 150 kilometers (93 miles) northeast of London, walked off the jobs over pay, raising fears of severe supply chain problems. The port handles around 4 million containers a year from 2,000 ships – almost half of the country’s incoming shipping freight.
Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite, the labor union that called for the strike, alleged the company that operates the “enormously profitable” dock and its parent company, C.K Hutchison Holding Ltd, prioritized shareholder profits over worker welfare.
“They can give Felixstowe workers a decent pay raise. It’s clear both companies have prioritized delivering multimillion-pound profits and dividends rather than paying their workers a decent wage,” she said.
The Port of Felixstowe said in a statement that it regretted the impact the strikes would have on U.K supply chains. It said workers were offered a pay raise “worth over 8% on average in the current year.”
Read: Attack on interns: Osmani Medical College students suspend strike
Britons are facing the worst cost of living crisis in decades as wages fail to keep pace with inflation and grocery costs and utility bills increase. The latest statistics put the inflation rate at 10.1%, a 40-year high.
The conditions have sparked summer strikes by train and subway workers following the breakdown of wage talks in June. Only one in five U.K trains ran Saturday during the third railway strike in as many days.
On Friday, most of London’s underground subway lines did not run due to a separate strike. Postal workers, lawyers, British Telecom staff and garbage collectors have all announced walkouts for later this month.