Queen Elizabeth II offered the nation her service and devotion and in return the country bade farewell to the late monarch with all its heart on Monday.
The UK ground to a halt for the state funeral, before she was laid to rest at Windsor Castle.
Throughout the ceremony, field guns fired every minute and the muffled bell of Westminster Abbey rang out 96 times, once for every year of her life.
After her death, the late monarch was described by Prime Minister Liz Truss as the rock on which modern Britain was built, and the country was ready after ten days of official mourning to show its appreciation for her reign.
King Charles III was visibly moved throughout the service and looked close to tears as the national anthem was sung, echoing off the eaves of the gothic Westminster Abbey.
He added a personal touch with a wreath that adorned the queen’s coffin and a handwritten note. The message said: “In loving and devoted memory.”
For the royals, who sat facing the crowned heads and representatives of Europe's regal families from across the continent, the splendour of the moment was also one of personal sadness.
The future heir, Prince George, 9, was comforted by his mother, the Princess of Wales, who put a caring hand on his knee during the service.
It was the largest gathering of royals this century as 500 overseas guests joined the 2,000 strong congregation, including King Abdullah of Jordan and the Sultan of Oman.
In the religious service, the Archbishop of Canterbury said that the grief felt around the world arose from her abundant life.
“She was joyful, present to so many, touching a multitude of lives,” said Justin Welby. “People of loving service are rare in any walk of life. Leaders of loving service are still rarer.
“We can all share the queen’s hope which in life and death inspired her servant leadership. All who follow the queen’s example, and inspiration of trust and faith in God, can with her say: ‘We will meet again’.”
Flowers ranged from bouquets of red roses and pink lilies to potted plants and wreaths from foreign royals. Those picked from the significant gardens that were treasured by the queen included lilies, dahlias, roses, and greenery including Eucalyptus.
Pallbearers from the Grenadier Guards brought the coffin to the gun carriage and Royal Navy sailors pulled the flag-draped cortege along Whitehall and The Mall, past the gates of Buckingham Palace and under the Wellington Arch. There the coffin was transferred to the state hearse for its departure from London to the royal citadel at Windsor.
Restless children were reined in by their parents, crying babies were shushed and the adults craned their necks as the king’s guards passed the giant black and gold front gates of the palace.
Elizabeth Jones, 72, whose parents named her after the queen, joked that she had a marriage like the late monarch as her husband is also called Philip.
“We always loved the queen,” Mrs Jones, from Warwickshire, said. “She’s been there for almost all of my life.”
People had secured their spots at the barriers along the route, some days in advance.
Paul, an admirer of the monarchy, was visibly touched by the occasion as he waited alongside his wife Justine and son Alex. The family wore all black as a mark of respect for the queen.
“It was the queen’s dignity and grace and her sense of responsibility that I always admired,” he said. “She had a kind of unique life.”
Louis Bollard, dressed in a union flag, watched the queen’s funeral on the big screens in Hyde Park.
“The funeral was very powerful,” he said. “Seeing it was quite enchanting and mesmerising. It was a really, really nice, fitting tribute.”
Across the country people used the public holiday to watch the funeral on big screens in public squares and with friends and family in private gatherings. More than one million travelled to London.
A major power cut on the railways west of London left thousands stranded unable to get to the capital. For those stuck on trains, mobile phones were tuned into the events in Westminster.
Gaby Thomas, 29, who travelled from Castle Cary, Somerset, with her father, said she had been scheduled to arrive hours before the funeral began.
“My dad is a former naval officer and he wanted to see the procession and the military involved,” she said. “It’s just about being there. We are still hoping to catch the end of the procession.
“It’s a typical British thing to happen.”
There was also rare disruption for the journey of the US president Joe Biden who was given dispensation to use his motorcade headed by a limousine known as 'The Beast'. It took so long to navigate a tight corner that the American leader was almost 10 minutes later getting to his seat.
Smoother arrangements were in evidence early on Monday when dozens of world leaders gathered in Chelsea to be taken by bus to the ceremony. African leaders were among the first, with Sudan’s military leader Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, among them.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier rode in a sleek, dark BMW and Italian president Sergio Mattarella arrived in his embassy’s Maserati.
The arrival at St George's Chapel in Windsor revived memories of the queen marking the death of her husband Prince Philip with very few family members during the Covid-19 pandemic 16 months earlier.
There was a mix of family and statesmen for the queens committal. Among those invited to the service were prime ministers from countries where the queen was head of state, former British prime ministers Sir John Major and Sir Tony Blair, who are Garter Knights, and current premier Liz Truss.
The commemoration concluded with the Imperial State Crown, Orb and Sceptre lifted from the coffin and placed on the altar.
Once the Lord Chamberlain, head of the queen's household, broke his wand of office on the lid, the coffin was removed to the royal vault.
UK opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer said a woman who ruled for 70 years would always be with those who lived during her reign. “We are lucky to call ourselves Elizabethans,” he said.
Queen Elizabeth II's 70-year reign - in pictures
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Iran's dirty tricks to dodge sanctions
There’s increased scrutiny on the tricks being used to keep commodities flowing to and from blacklisted countries. Here’s a description of how some work.
1 Going Dark
A common method to transport Iranian oil with stealth is to turn off the Automatic Identification System, an electronic device that pinpoints a ship’s location. Known as going dark, a vessel flicks the switch before berthing and typically reappears days later, masking the location of its load or discharge port.
2. Ship-to-Ship Transfers
A first vessel will take its clandestine cargo away from the country in question before transferring it to a waiting ship, all of this happening out of sight. The vessels will then sail in different directions. For about a third of Iranian exports, more than one tanker typically handles a load before it’s delivered to its final destination, analysts say.
3. Fake Destinations
Signaling the wrong destination to load or unload is another technique. Ships that intend to take cargo from Iran may indicate their loading ports in sanction-free places like Iraq. Ships can keep changing their destinations and end up not berthing at any of them.
4. Rebranded Barrels
Iranian barrels can also be rebranded as oil from a nation free from sanctions such as Iraq. The countries share fields along their border and the crude has similar characteristics. Oil from these deposits can be trucked out to another port and documents forged to hide Iran as the origin.
* Bloomberg
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
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World record transfers
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
The specs: 2018 Opel Mokka X
Price, as tested: Dh84,000
Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: Six-speed auto
Power: 142hp at 4,900rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 1,850rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh960,000
Engine 3.9L twin-turbo V8
Transmission Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Power 661hp @8,000rpm
Torque 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.4L / 100k
Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule
- 1st Test India won by 304 runs at Galle
- 2nd Test India won by innings and 53 runs at Colombo
- 3rd Test August 12-16 at Pallekele
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Dates for the diary
To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:
- September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
- October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
- October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
- November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
- December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
- February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
What is Folia?
Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal's new plant-based menu will launch at Four Seasons hotels in Dubai this November. A desire to cater to people looking for clean, healthy meals beyond green salad is what inspired Prince Khaled and American celebrity chef Matthew Kenney to create Folia. The word means "from the leaves" in Latin, and the exclusive menu offers fine plant-based cuisine across Four Seasons properties in Los Angeles, Bahrain and, soon, Dubai.
Kenney specialises in vegan cuisine and is the founder of Plant Food Wine and 20 other restaurants worldwide. "I’ve always appreciated Matthew’s work," says the Saudi royal. "He has a singular culinary talent and his approach to plant-based dining is prescient and unrivalled. I was a fan of his long before we established our professional relationship."
Folia first launched at The Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills in July 2018. It is available at the poolside Cabana Restaurant and for in-room dining across the property, as well as in its private event space. The food is vibrant and colourful, full of fresh dishes such as the hearts of palm ceviche with California fruit, vegetables and edible flowers; green hearb tacos filled with roasted squash and king oyster barbacoa; and a savoury coconut cream pie with macadamia crust.
In March 2019, the Folia menu reached Gulf shores, as it was introduced at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, where it is served at the Bay View Lounge. Next, on Tuesday, November 1 – also known as World Vegan Day – it will come to the UAE, to the Four Seasons Resort Dubai at Jumeirah Beach and the Four Seasons DIFC, both properties Prince Khaled has spent "considerable time at and love".
There are also plans to take Folia to several more locations throughout the Middle East and Europe.
While health-conscious diners will be attracted to the concept, Prince Khaled is careful to stress Folia is "not meant for a specific subset of customers. It is meant for everyone who wants a culinary experience without the negative impact that eating out so often comes with."
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Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
