Hampshire joins nation in mourning before state funeral
HAMPSHIRE will join the nation in remembering Queen Elizabeth II in a national Moment of Reflection on Sunday, September 18, a day before the State Funeral.
The county’s Lord-Lieutenant, Nigel Atkinson, said: “The death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has seen a huge outpouring of grief across Hampshire, together with the whole nation and Commonwealth.
“At this time of profound sadness, I imagine that many of us across our Hampshire communities may wish to pause and reflect, in a personal act of mourning and remembrance during the next few days.
“On numerous occasions, our county had the honour and privilege of welcoming Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. There have been visits of military and naval significance to Aldershot and Portsmouth; as well as to Highclere and Broadlands – including for the Royal honeymoon in 1947, at the start of Her Majesty’s incredible 73-year marriage; later then to Winchester for the 900th anniversary of Winchester Cathedral in 1979; and in more recent years, the naming ceremony for the Queen Elizabeth liner in Southampton in 2010 and the commissioning of HMS Queen Elizabeth in Portsmouth in 2018. We will hold dear the memory of these visits in our hearts.”
Leader of Hampshire County Council, Councillor Rob Humby, said: “It is with great sorrow that we must pay our final respects to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, and we invite residents across Hampshire to join the National Moment of Reflection in one minute’s silence at 8pm on Sunday 18 September, which will be observed across the UK.
“The State Funeral on Monday, September 19, will honour the culmination of Her Majesty’s lifetime of duty to our nation, and at the county council’s headquarters buildings in Winchester, our flags will remain lowered at half-mast on what will be a day of sombre commemoration for the remarkable life of our longest reigning sovereign.”
A public Book of Condolence at the Great Hall in Winchester is available for people to add their thoughts and memories of the late Queen and messages of sympathy to the Royal Family.
A Book of Condolence is also available to sign at Winchester Cathedral.
Messages of condolence may also be added online, via the Buckingham Palace website www.royal.uk
Letters of condolence, from the Lord-Lieutenant of Hampshire and from the county council, have been sent to the Royal Family this week, offering Hampshire’s deepest sympathies. Read in full, the letter from the Lord-Lieutenant of Hampshire.
Schools and further education settings will remain open throughout the period of national mourning with the exception of Monday 19 September, which has been declared a Bank Holiday for the State Funeral for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Hampshire’s libraries and Household Waste Recycling Centres will also be closed on this day. Further information about the operation of other Hampshire County Council services and facilities on September 19, can be found on the county council’s webpages.
Next Tuesday, September 20, the day following the funeral, Hampshire County Council will return flags on its headquarters buildings to full mast, and the Book of Condolence opened at the Great Hall will close at 5pm.
For further information about the arrangements for the State Funeral, key cathedral and church services to be held in Fareham and across Hampshire over the coming days, as well as details of a public screening of the televised State Funeral at Winchester Cathedral on Monday, visit www.hants.gov.uk.
PICTURED: Hampshire’s Lord Lieutenant, Nigel Atkinson, signing the Book of Condolence at the Great Hall in Winchester. Photograph courtesy of Hampshire County Council
