Long Live the King
On Thursday, news of Queen Elizabeth the Second’s death shocked the world. In Belize, Prime Minister John Briceño declared that the nation has entered a period of mourning. In paying our respect, Governor General Froyla Tzalam requested that all flags be flown at half-mast across the country during this period. But, what does the death of Queen Elizabeth the Second mean for Belize, a nation that only just received its independence forty years ago, while Her Majesty the Queen was already head of the British Monarch? What impact will her death have on the Constitution of Belize, our system of governance and even our currency? We have all that for you in tonight’s newscast. But first, we take you to St. John’s Cathedral where the church bell tolled in the early hours of the morning. News Five’s Paul Lopez reports.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
This morning, at exactly eight a.m., church bells at St. John’s Cathedral in Belize City began to toll. The clang reverberated across the Old Capital, a solemn signal of the death of the longest reigning monarch in British history, Queen Elizabeth the Second and the rise of a new head of state, King Charles the Third. Prime Minister John Briceño spoke with reporters this afternoon.
Prime Minister John Briceño
Prime Minister John Briceño
“Like all Belizeans, we were shocked. We knew it was coming. But, we didn’t expect it to come so fast. On Monday she met with the past Prime Minster and present Prime Minister, and now to find out that four days later she is dead. We are all grateful for the work that Queen Elizabeth the II has done for seventy plus years as the Queen of England and the Commonwealth. She is the only Queen that Belize has known since 1981. She visited Belize twice and people were excited about when about her visit. So, we are saddened by her death and we certainly I take the opportunity to express on behalf of all Belizeans our deepest condolence to the family, to King Charles III and his entire family, and the loss of not only the Queen of the Commonwealth, but a mother and a grandmother.”
On Thursday, a declaration was made that the nation is now in a period of mourning. Flags are being flown at half-mast across Belize until the queen’s funeral on the eighteenth of September. Today, the Prime Minister explained that September Tenth celebrations, while still scheduled to take place, will be dampened.
Prime Minister John Briceño
“This is tough one. We know that Belizeans have been locked up for two years. Belizeans now want a chance to be able to come out. If we as a government were to say there will be no parade tomorrow, immediately the U.D.P. is going to shout out that the P.U.P. wants to kill the tenth of September. That is certainly not true. So, what we have done, Minister Fonseca had consultations with the St. George’s Caye Committee to ask for advice. They are insisting that they still have the parade, but they have also assured the committee that the parades is going to be done tastefully tomorrow, and trying to hold it down as best as we possibly can.”
Belize’s head of state is no longer Queen Elizabeth the Second. Thetitular Head of State is now King Charles the Third, the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth. The Office of the Governor General of Belize, in a press release, following the death of Queen Elizabeth the Second, wrote, “Long Live the King”, signaling the turn of an era. King Charles the Third arrived at Buckingham Palace this morning as the United Kingdom is in mourning. He made his first public appearance as king in a prerecorded address.
King Charles III
“I speak to you today, with feelings of profound sorrow. Throughout our life, Her Majesty the Queen, my beloved mother, was an inspiration and example to me and to all my family, and we owe her the most heartfelt debt any family could owe to their mother, for her love, affection, guidance, and example. Queen Elizabeth was a life well lived, a promise with destiny kept, and she is mourned most deeply in her passing. That promise of lifelong service I renew to all today. Alongside the personal grief that all my family are feeling, we also share with so many of you in the United Kingdom, in all the countries where the Queen was head of state, in the Commonwealth, and across the world a deep sense of gratitude for more than seventy years in which my mother as queen served the people of so many nations.”
Prime Minister John Briceño has placed his vote of confidence in the leadership of King Charles the Third, referring to the king’s wit and passion for conservation.
Prime Minister John Briceño
“I have met with him on a few occasions, and I have spoken to him. We know that he is big into conservation. He was big into conservation before it was in vogue, or the thing to do. From the seventies he was talking about conservation. So, every time we meet we talk about conservation and what it is that we can do. He is excited about what Belize is doing. The last time we met I think it was Kigali and he was very excited about the Blue Bond and asking for explanation and how it worked out. And, he also was putting us in touch with other groups that can help to raise funds for conservation. I know him to be a person that has some wit when he is speaking with you. He is down to earth. He is humble despite the fact that he comes from such an important family. And, I do believe that he is going to do well.”
According to the royal protocols that lay out what happens when the queen dies; the day of the queen’s death is referred to as ‘D-Day’. On the day of the queen’s funeral, which will be D-Day+10, a state funeral will be held at Westminster Abbey. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.
