London, UK
Reuters
The death of Queen Elizabeth II has stilled the business of state in Britain at a time when the government, Bank of England and companies are battling to contain inflation and mitigate a deep economic crisis.
New Prime Minister Liz Truss – appointed by the queen on Tuesday, just two days before she died – wasted no time to set out one of Britain’s biggest ever economic packages on Thursday, just as news emerged of the queen’s deteriorating health.
Tributes are placed following the passing of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, at the Victoria Memorial, in London, Britain, on 9th September. PICTURE: Reuters/Sarah Meyssonnier
But since then a period of national mourning has been declared that will run until the funeral, with parliamentary business suspended for 13 days and the Bank of England delaying a critical interest rate decision by a week.
Across London, corporate and diplomatic meetings were cancelled while some major stores and theme parks shut as organisations struggled to find the right response to the death of a monarch for the first time in Britain for 70 years.
AUSTRALIAN PM HONOURS QUEEN WITH WREATH-LAYING CEREMONY; CANADA TO HOLD ACCESSION CEREMONY
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid tribute to Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II after a wreath-laying ceremony at Parliament House in Canberra on Saturday, saying Australians were mourning an “enormous loss”.
Albanese, Governor General David Hurley and other dignitaries laid floral wreaths at the foot of a bronze statue of Queen Elizabeth at the parliament’s Queen’s Terrace.
An image of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II is illuminated on the sail of Sydney Opera House, following the Queen’s passing, in Sydney, Australia, on 9th September. PICTURE: Reuters/Jaimi Joy
The Queen, who died on Thursday aged 96, unveiled the bronze statue of herself in 1988 during a visit to open the nation’s new parliament house.
Speaking after the ceremony, which was conducted in silence, Albanese said King Charles’ reflections on his late mother were “extraordinarily fitting”.
“So many Australians have made moving tributes and are mourning this enormous loss,” he added.
The British monarch is the head of state in Australia, among 14 realms outside the United Kingdom, although the role is largely ceremonial.
There has been an outpouring of tributes in Australia since the death of the Queen, who was Britain’s longest-reigning monarch and the nation’s figurehead for seven decades.
As a mark of respect, the Australian flag is flying at half-mast and on Friday a 96-gun salute – one round for each year of the Queen’s life – took place on the Parliament House forecourt.
A giant portrait of the Queen was displayed on the sails of the Sydney Opera House.
Albanese, who has previously spoken in support of moving toward a republic, said he talked on Friday night with British Prime Minister Liz Truss about the depth of sadness in both countries.
Queen Elizabeth II visited Australia 16 times during her reign, with the first visit in 1954 and the last in 2011.
Meanwhile, in Canada, a ceremony to proclaim the accession of Britain’s King Charles will take place on Saturday in Ottawa, the office of Canada’s Governor General said on Friday.
The ceremony will be held at 10am EDT at Rideau Hall, the official residence of the British-appointed governor-general, who acts on behalf of the monarch.
Charles, 73, automatically became king of the United Kingdom and the head of state of 14 other realms, including Canada, when his mother, Queen Elizabeth, died on Thursday at age 96.
Although Canada ceased being a colony of Britain in 1867, it remained in the British Empire until 1982, and is still a member of the Commonwealth of former empire countries that have the British monarch as head of state.
– With SAM MCKEITH and STEVE SCHERER/
Reuters
Premier League soccer matches were postponed, the second day of the men’s cricket test match was suspended, while a PGA golf event was shortened after it cancelled play on Friday then could not guarantee it would have the staff to continue on Monday.
The 96-year-old queen, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, died on Thursday, at a time of already huge political and economic upheaval with the economy at risk of going into a lengthy recession later this year.
The Bank of England had been expected to raise interest rates next week to tackle inflation that hit 10.1 per cent in July, a 40-year high and the highest of any leading rich nation.
Severe situation
Truss’s support package, set to cost more £100 billion, was designed to protect households and businesses from the surging energy prices that have turbo-charged inflation. The measure had been delayed by a two-month hiatus while the governing Conservative Party elected a new leader.
Showing the severity of the situation, £40 billion was also set aside to ensure energy firms did not run out of cash amid such volatile trading.
However economists have complained of a lack of detail and it is not now clear when an expected “fiscal event” will be held to set out the scale of the government borrowing required to fund the plan. Truss’s spokesperson said the policy would still come into force on 1st October.
Asked whether it was frustrating that parliament had to pause during such a critical time for the economy, one Conservative lawmaker who asked not to be named said it was but that parliament had to get things right.
“There is a general feeling that we need to deal respectfully with the funeral arrangements and therefore parliament does have to cease operations until then,” he said.
The late Queen is likely to lie in state at parliament’s Westminster Hall while business is suspended in the days before her funeral, so lawmakers and the public can pay their respects.
On Friday lawmakers dressed in black reconvened in parliament to allow politicians from all parties to pay tribute to the late queen, delivering their speeches in the normally raucous chamber to a respectful silence.
A date for the funeral has not been set but it is expected in about 10 days time.
Leading the political response new Prime Minister Truss recalled how the last time Britain lost a monarch the then Prime Minister Winston Churchill spoke of the death stilling “the clatter and traffic of 20th century life in many lands”.
“Now, 70 years later, in the tumult of the 21st century, life has paused again,” she said.
– Additional reporting by ELIZABETH PIPER
