death
Royal family's new order of succession after Queen's death
After the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the UK's longest-reigning monarch and a rock of stability across much of a turbulent century, in Balmoral Thursday, the royal family has a new line of succession
With Charles becoming UK's king, his sons and grandchildren are next in succession for the monarchy.
Here are the first 15 people in order of succession:
1. Prince William, the elder son of Charles and the late princess Diana. He is married to Kate, the duchess of Cambridge. Their three children follow him in the line of succession.
2. Prince George of Cambridge, born in July 2013
3. Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, born in May 2015
4. Prince Louis of Cambridge, born in April 2018
5. Prince Harry, the younger son of Charles and Diana
6. Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, born to Harry and Meghan, duchess of Sussex, in May 2019
Read: 10 things to know about Queen Elizabeth II
7. Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor, born in June 2021
8. Prince Andrew, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip's second-eldest son
9. Princess Beatrice, elder daughter of Andrew and his former wife, Sarah Ferguson
10. Sienna Elizabeth, daughter of Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, born in September 2021
11. Princess Eugenie, Andrew and Sarah's younger daughter
12. August Brooksbank, born to Eugenie and James Brooksbank in February 2021
13. Prince Edward, the queen and Philip's youngest child
14. James, Viscount Severn, the younger child of Edward and his wife Sophie, Countess of Wessex
15. Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, Edward and Sophie's daughter
Momen mourns Akbar Ali Khan's death
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has expressed shock and deep sorrow at the death of former adviser to the caretaker government and prominent economist Dr Akbar Ali Khan.
Akbar Ali passed away in Dhaka Thursday night after a prolonged illness. He was 78.
Momen prayed for the eternal peace of the departed soul and extended his heartfelt sympathy to Akbar Ali's family.
Also read: Dr. Akbar Ali Khan: A farewell to the Professor of integrity
SI Kanok withdrawn from DB over death of Shaon in Narayanganj
The Detective Branch (DB) of Narayanganj officer who allegedly shot dead a Jubo Dal activist with a Chinese Rifle he wasn't authorised to carry has been withdrawn and attached to the Police Lines.
The officer has been identified as Sub Inspector Mahfuzur Rahman Kanok.
Fakhruddin Bhuiyan, inspector of DB, confirmed the matter to UNB.
He said SI Kanok had been withdrawn from the DB and attached to the Police Lines soon after the incident.
Replying to a question, he said that investigation will be carried out in this connection.
He also said that the high ups officials know better whether the probe body has been formed to look into the matter.
On the other hand, Superintendent of Police Golam Mostafa and other high ranked officers refused to say anything in this regard.
Mentionable, on September 1, Jubo Dal activist Shaon was killed and 50 people were injured in a clash between police and the BNP activists in Narayanganj as the law enforcers tried to prevent local BNP leaders and activists from holding a rally during their founding anniversary.
Also read: Shaon’s brother joins Jubo Dal rally, seeks justice
Dr. Akbar Ali Khan: A farewell to the Professor of integrity
Like several others Dr. Akbar Ali Khan was to me a citizen of the 1971 liberation war. My first conversation with him was in 1978 when he was in government service and I was working for the 1971 History project. He was posted in the Ministry of Defence of the Mujibnagar government and it was about what the role of the government was. He had no illusions about it.
“We did our best as a national government without much power in an international power where the rest were all powerful.” Few could have summed up this aspect of the Muibnagar government so well as this. In some ways, he summed up the reality of the 1971 war in total.
I had always wondered how a professional intellectual of his caliber could survive and flourish as a civil servant. He topped the merit list in the Dhaka University History department and also entered the coveted CSP cluster. Yet he seemed much more at home in academia. He served his full quota of days and only then retired to return full time to the academia as a Professor at BRAC University.
Books, lectures and observations
Soon after independence, he taught at the Jahangiranagar University, did his ph.d , published his splendid thesis for which he was awarded the Asiatic Society medal and other notable work. It’s a major achievement of his that he never let his salaried jobs and other travails of his work life interfere with his own intellectual life. He just went beyond the ordinary demands of bureaucracy and held on more firmly to what mattered most to him- his intellectual life.
It was nothing if not wide ranging. His most celebrated work is his book on the history of villages and its depth of analysis is stunning. Few can dare to travel in that area of work without reading the book. His economic analysis books are very well known, well thought of and often quoted. But his most quirky book is the one which was devoted to -of all things- chase the identity of the ethereal lady of Jibananada Das’s poem, Banlata Sen , a figure that haunts many Bengali minds. It was almost a declaration of his shushil identity. His exploration was methodical and thorough no matter whether one agrees with his conclusions or not.
Safely far from politics
Mujibnagar amlas tend to be political party oriented like the two of my senior friends. H. T. Imam and Dr. Kamal Siddique, both belonging to opposite political poles. Unlike them, he had no party identity and was more concerned with governance than partisan politics. His remark that civil servants owe it to be driven by conscience not ideology was perhaps already too old fashioned in the amla world he left behind to join academia after his stint at the highest level of bureaucracy.
He had once told me in a conversation that what a civil servant misses most is his right to disagree. Few disagreed with him but I understand that he was wise enough to know its limitations. He was thoroughly unimpressed by his success as an amla.
My last conversation seemed like his own summation of governance in Bangladesh. “ The government’s first role is to punish the wicked and protect the vulnerable. “ No other tests are necessary, he added. He had made his own integrity a brand. One speaks with respect and reverence whenever his name comes up. That is the true mark of a life brilliantly governed. Farewell Professor Khan.
Also read: Momen mourns Akbar Ali Khan's death
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
Akbar Ali Khan no more
Former advisor to the caretaker government and economist Dr Akbar Ali Khan passed away in Dhaka Thursday night after a prolonged illness. He was 78.
Akbar Ali Khan was born in 1944 at Nabinagar in the Brahmanbaria district. He studied history at Dhaka University and secured first place in first class in both BA and MA exams. He studied economics at Queen's University Canada and obtained MA and PhD in economics.
He joined the Civil Service of Pakistan (CSP) in 1967. He actively participated in the Liberation War and was sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment in absentia by a military court of the occupation forces. He joined the provisional government of Bangladesh as deputy secretary, Ministry of Defense.
Akbar Ali taught development economics and development administration for three years at the Bangladesh Public Administration Training Center as a member directing staff. He taught postgraduate courses in governance and development studies departments at Brac University after his retirement.
He served with distinction in various ministries. He worked at the Ministry of Finance for more than 16 years at levels of joint secretary and above. He was chairman of the NBR and secretary of the Internal Resource Division for nearly three years.
Akbar Ali served as finance secretary for more than five and half years covering three consecutive governments. He was appointed the cabinet secretary in 2001 and retired from that position in 2002.
He was an advisor in charge of the ministries of finance, planning, commerce, post, telegraph and telephones in the caretaker government in 2006 and resigned in protest against the failure of the chief advisor in ensuring a free, fair and impartial election. He also served as the first chairman of the Regulatory Reforms Commission during 2007-2009.
As Finance Secretary, he played a prominent role in establishing Grihayana Tahbil (Fund for Housing of the Poor) and Karmasangsthana (Employment Generation) Bank. He was the chairman of the Social Development Foundation for two years.
Dr Khan served as minister (economic) at Bangladesh Embassy in Washington DC for four years from 1987-1991. He was the alternative executive director of the World Bank for more than three years, as the representative of the governments of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and India.
He was elected chairman of the 42-nation FAO sub-committee on Surplus Disposal (Food Aid) for the year 1989. He was elected Vice Chairman of the Officials Committee of the UNCTAD Trade Summit in Columbus, Ohio in 1995.
He has published 14 books and several articles on economics, history, public administration, literature and water resources in various national and international journals. His first book "Some Aspects of Peasant Behavior in Bengal" was praised by The Journal of Economic History (USA) as "a significant contribution to the growing body of new economic history in South Asia."
Dr Khan's book "Discovery of Bangladesh" was rated by the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh as the best publication in humanities for the period 1996-98 and was awarded the Justice Md Ibrahim gold medal. His book "Parathaparatar Arthaniti" was highly commended for its wit and originality by Desh – the most widely circulated literary magazine of Kolkata.
His book "People's Participation in Budgetary Process in Bangladesh: In Search of Policy Reforms" was published in 2008 by Shamunnay – a national advocacy NGO. His latest publications include "Abak Bangladesh Bichitra Chhalanajale Rajneeti" (2017), "Gresham's Law Syndrome and Beyond" (2015,) "Ajab and Jabor Ajab Authraneeti" (2013), "Andhakarer Utsa Hote" (2011), "Friendly Fires, Humpty Dumpty Disorder and other Essays" (2010).
Akbar Ali was a member of the American Economic Association and a life member of the Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. He was awarded the Maulana Akram Khan gold medal for distinguished public service and the Mercantile Bank gold medal for economics research.
He was elected fellow of Bangla Academy in 2010 in recognition of his contribution to the economics and history of Bangladesh.
Also read: Momen mourns Akbar Ali Khan's death