‘The greatest goodbye ever’: World says final farewell to Queen Elizabeth as newspapers praise funeral that will ‘go beyond all expectations’
- Queen is being laid to rest today in first state funeral to take place in the UK since Winston Churchill in 1965
- Millions are set to gather in London while billions are expected to follow events from around the globe
- World’s media carried news of the funeral across its front pages today, calling it the ‘greatest goodbye ever’
- The Queen’s funeral: All the latest Royal Family news and coverage
A funeral to defy all expectations. A masterclass in pomp and solemnity that only Buckingham Palace could pull off. The greatest goodbye ever.
That is how the world’s media anticipated the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II today as Her Majesty made headlines around the world for one last time.
Up to 4billion people are expected to watch what has been dubbed ‘the most followed event ever’, while a million are set to gather in London from across the globe.
A record-breaker in life, the Queen now prepares to break records in death in what German newspapers said is a reflection of her greatness and shows the enduring power of the Crown.
Here is how the world is covering the funeral of Britain’s longest-serving monarch…
Germany: Blid, the country’s largest tabloid newspaper, dubbed the funeral ‘the greatest goodbye ever’, anticipating an event attended by 2,000 people including 500 world leaders and heads of state
Germany: Bild’s front page carried a live feed of events in London alongside touching tributes to the monarch and the news that George and Charlotte will take part in events for the woman they knew as ‘Gan Gan’
France: Newspaper Liberation said the nation was at a standstill as businesses closed, placed tributes in their windows, or changed the colour of their logos as a mark of respect to Her Majesty
Germany: Tagesspiegel, the largest newspaper in Berlin, said the sheer scale of funeral arrangements for the late Queen would be a reflection of her greatness and would ‘go beyond all expectations’
Italy: News wire service Ansa carried an image of the Queen’s coffin lying in state on its front page alongside half a dozen stories dedicated to the funeral today
New Zealand
Italy: The Queen’s funeral will be ‘the most-watched event in history’, according to Italy’s La Reppublica, which estimated that billions of people worldwide will be following the events
Belgium: Tabloid HLN carried news of the Queen’s funeral at the top of its homepage, saying that history is being made with the passing of a monarch ‘who gave herself to others’
Germany: Die Zeit, the country’s newspaper of record, says the Queen’s funeral – accompanied by a huge police operation – shows the power of the Crown and emphatically demonstrates that republicanism in the UK is dead
Pakistan
Netherlands: The country’s national broadcaster carried news of the Queen’s funeral prominently, saying it will be viewed by billions and attended by monarchs and leaders from around the world
France: Le Parisien, largest newspaper in the French capital, anticipates a ‘grandiose’ funeral that it dubbed ‘a ceremony for history’ that will be watched by ‘huge crowds’ on the streets
India
Ireland: Despite a fraught history with England and the monarchy, Irish newspapers also carried the funeral prominently – perhaps a mark of respect for the Queen’s role in helping bring about peace
Italy: Corriere della Serra estimates that 4billion people around the globe will watch the funeral, which it says has brought the country to a halt as people pay their final respects
America
America
Germany: Newspaper Welt called the funeral ‘the event of the century’, a ‘gigantic act of state’ that will attract leaders and dignitaries from across the globe
France: Le Monde paid tribute to Buckingham Palace’s ability or orgnaise ‘highly ritualised, seemingly immutable moments’ which it says will strengthen the legitimacy of the monarchy
Australia
Argentina
Spain: El Pais anticipated an ‘unprecedented state funeral’ which it said would bring to an end ‘the era of Elizabeth II’ whilst also reporting on the presence of Spanish royals in London
Spain: Barcelona’s La Vanguardia also believes that 4billion people will tune in to watch the funeral and reports on the presence of both the sitting Spanish monarch and his abdicated father at the event
America
America
Israel
Ireland: The Irish Times uses a photo of Helen Mirren playing the Queen on its front page to commemorate her life in film, whilst also reporting on events in London which it says will be seen in-person by 2million
Brazil