World leaders mourn Queen Elizabeth II

President Lazarus Chakwera yesterday joined fellow world leaders in paying tribute to Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II who died on Thursday afternoon at the age of 96.

Yesterday, Chakwera visited the British High Commission in Lilongwe to register his sympathy on behalf of Malawians on the passing of the longest-reigning monarch in British history and the world’s oldest head of State.

Writing in the official condolence book, the President and the First Lady Monica Chakwera expressed their ‘deepest condolences to the British people and the whole of the Commonwealth at the passing of the Her Majesty the Queen’.

“We wish the Royal Family God’s comfort and the provision of God’s power as His  Majesty King Charles III leads on,” reads the tribute also shared on the State House official Facebook page.

Meanwhile, Secretary to the President and Cabinet Colleen Zamba in a press release yesterday said Chakwera has directed that flags should fly at half-mast in respect of the Queen who was also Head of the Commonwealth.

In her tribute, the new UK Prime Minister Liz Truss praised the late monarch’s extraordinary achievements during her 70 years on the throne, saying her sense of duty had been a personal inspiration to her and to many Britons.

In a televised address monitored on BBC television, Truss, who was appointed to office by the Queen on Tuesday this week, said the departed monarchy had provided the strength and stability Britain needed.

“Our country has grown and flourished under her reign. Britain is the great country it is today because of her,” Truss said.

She also urged all British people to come together and support King Charles III, who is the late monarch’s son and the

successor to the British throne “to help him bear the awesome responsibility that he now carries for us all”.

Added Truss: “With the passing of the second Elizabethan age, we usher in a new era in the magnificent history of our

great country, exactly as Her Majesty would have wished, by saying the words … God save the King.”

King Charles III, 73, formerly Prince Charles, has been heir to the throne since the age of three. He was, however, yet to be officially proclaimed as his mother’s successor at St James’s Palace in London when we went to press at 2.30pm yesterday.

On her part, Patricia Scotland, Secretary General of the Commonwealth, which comprises 56 member States, including Malawi, said the Queen loved the Commonwealth and the Commonwealth loved her.

Said Scotland in a statement posted on the Commonwealth website: “The growth and vibrancy of our modern Commonwealth is a credit to her and testament to her dedication, wisdom and leadership.”

Queen Elizabeth II travelled more than any monarch in history during her seven-decade reign, visiting every part of the bloc, including African countries such as Malawi and South Africa.

Presidents Joe Biden of the US, Vladimir Putin of Russia and Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa also paid their tributes, among several world leaders.

Currently the UK is observing a 10-day mourning and the Queen’s funeral is expected to take place on September 18, according to some British media reports.

Other reports also suggest that her body will lie in State at Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, Scotland where a funeral service will be held at St. Giles Cathedral. Her coffin will then be conveyed back to London for burial.