'When he grows up, we'll tell him he was there': Parents bring babies to see queen's coffin

Record ID: 1688785

  • Title: 'When he grows up, we'll tell him he was there': Parents bring babies to see queen's coffin
  • Date: 13th September 2022
  • Summary: EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (SEPTEMBER 13, 2022) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PARENTS QUEUING WITH THEIR BABIES OUTSIDE ST. GILES CATHEDRAL TO PAY THEIR RESPECTS TO QUEEN ELIZABETH AS HER COFFIN LAYS IN STATE VARIOUS OF THE MACDONALDS QUEUING WITH THEIR DAUGHTER ILSA (SOUNDBITE) (English) FATHER QUEUEING WITH BABY, MACDONALD (FIRST NAME NOT AVAILABLE), SAYING: "She is only three months (old)." MOTHER QUEUEING WITH BABY, MACDONALD (FIRST NAME NOT AVAILABLE), SAYING: "And she was born on Jubilee weekend, so we wanted to have her involved in this as well." JOURNALIST: This is a significant moment, so what would you tell her later on, because now we have a new king (unintelligible). FATHER QUEUEING WITH BABY, MACDONALD (FIRST NAME NOT AVAILABLE), SAYING: "Yes, it's actually quite nice to be able to share this with the wee one and obviously, we will tell her when she's old enough to understand that she was here, part of the history, at such a sad, sombre time." JOURNALIST: And for you mom, can you tell us what does it mean? MOTHER QUEUEING WITH BABY, MACDONALD (FIRST NAME NOT AVAILABLE), SAYING: "We've come to pay our respects because the queen is all we know as the monarchy in our country so ...and we've grown up with the queen and it's such a very strange time knowing that we are going to have a king instead." PARENTS CLARISSA AND DAVID QUEUEING WITH THEIR 5-MONTHS-OLD BABY BOY, JACK MOTHER QUEUEING WITH BABY, CLARISSA (LAST NAME NOT AVAILABLE), SAYING: "We're really excited to be here, it's great to be able to share this moment with our baby and hopefully when he grows up, he'll..." FATHER QUEUEING WITH BABY, DAVID (LAST NAME NOT AVAILABLE), SAYING: "We will be able to tell him he was there." JOURNALIST: What is going on for you now? FATHER QUEUEING WITH BABY, DAVID (LAST NAME NOT AVAILABLE), SAYING: "Some sadness but happy to be sharing the moment with everybody else. Everybody that has come along." MOTHER QUEUEING WITH BABY, CLARISSA (LAST NAME NOT AVAILABLE), SAYING: "It's a big historical moment and we're...it was really important for us to be able to be here and be a part of it." JOURNALIST: You are really close now. What would you say to him later on? MOTHER QUEUEING WITH BABY, CLARISSA (LAST NAME NOT AVAILABLE), SAYING: "This is your queen when you were born. She was so cool, she's been in office for so long and she really served her country really well. The new king....you've got a new king, darling." FATHER QUEUEING WITH BABY, DAVID (LAST NAME NOT AVAILABLE), SAYING: "Yeah, a new king for him, in his life." WOMEN QUEUING WITH BABIES IN PRAMS OUTSIDE ST. GILES CATHEDRAL
  • Embargoed: 27th September 2022 13:53
  • Keywords: Edinburgh Queen Elizabeth St Giles Cathedral babies coffin historical moment lie in state parents pay respects
  • Location: EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
  • City: EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
  • Country: UK
  • Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Europe,Royals
  • Reuters ID: LVA001496813092022RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Queueing for hours to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth in Edinburgh on Tuesday (September 13), Clarissa and David said it was important for them to share this "big historical moment" with their five-month-old son, Jack.
    They were among thousands of well-wishers who wanted to bid farewell to the queen, as her coffin was lying in state inside St. Giles' Cathedral in the Scottish capital.
    Dozens of parents with babies were spotted filing slowly past the coffin of Britain's longest-serving monarch.
    "We will be able to tell him he was there," says David. His partner added: "We're really excited to be here, it's great to be able to share this moment with our baby."
    Nearby, another couple, the MacDonalds, were queuing with their baby daughter Ilsa, who was born three months ago, on the Queen's Platinum Jubilee weekend.
    "We will tell her when she's old enough to understand that she was here, part of the history, at such a sad, sombre time," the father says.
    "We've come to pay our respects because the queen is all we know as the monarchy in our country," his partner added.
    The queen's coffin was draped in the Royal Standard of Scotland flag and topped with a wreath of white flowers and the Crown of Scotland, historically used for the coronations of monarchs of Scotland.
    Some mourners stopped to bow as they passed, and others wiped away tears.
    Queen Elizabeth died on Thursday (September 8) in her holiday home at Balmoral in the Scottish Highlands, and her coffin was taken along the Royal Mile in the Scottish capital on Monday (September 12) to lay at rest in the city's St. Giles Cathedral for 24 hours.
    (Production: Oliver Barth, Marco Trujillo, Liliana Ciobanu)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2022. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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