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Queen Elizabeth II laid to rest

Longest serving British monarch died on Sept. 8

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4 years ago

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Queen Elizabeth II's coffin draped in the Royal Standard during her funeral services at Westminster Abbey (Screenshot from live feed/press pool)

World leaders joined the British royal family and 2,000 other dignitaries for the hourlong state funeral service of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey Monday.

King Charles III, accompanied by Queen Consort Camilla, the Prince William with his wife Kate and their children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, the king’s siblings, Princess Anne, Princes Andrew and Edward, the king’s younger son, Harry, their wives and the extended royal family escorted the coffin into the services and later attended the private interment at the royal vault at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle where the deceased monarch will rest alongside her husband, Prince Philip.

The king accompanied by Queen Consort Camilla is seen here with his sister Princess Anne during state funeral services for their mother Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey Sept. 19, 2022.
(Screenshot live feed/Press Pool)

The state funeral was attended by numerous heads of state including the new British Prime Minister Liz Truss, U.S. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Leaders of most Commonwealth countries attended, with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese making the nearly 24-hour journey from the other side of the globe.

In addition to political and other dignitaries including other European royals attended along with Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako. Japanese news outlet Asahi Shimbun reported, citing Imperial Household Agency officials, that a Japanese emperor has only attended the funeral of a foreign head of state or royal family member on one previous occasion, when then-Emperor Akihito attended the funeral of Belgian King Baudouin in 1993.

Spain’s King Felipe VI and his wife Queen Letizia were among the European royals who attended. Former Spanish King Juan Carlos I and former Queen Sofia were be present. The former king is the great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria and a distant cousin of Elizabeth.

Reuters reported that Jordan’s King Abdullah II, who remembered the queen as an “iconic leader” and “beacon of wisdom and principled leadership,” also attended.

The Nave of Westminster Abbey during state funeral services for Queen Elizabeth II
(Screenshot live feed/Press Pool)

Elizabeth oversaw a significant change in the role of the monarch and the U.K.’s place on the world stage in the 70 years she was on the throne. Reuters noted that the 40th sovereign in a line that traces its lineage back to 1066, Elizabeth came to the throne in 1952 and became Britain’s first post-imperial monarch.

She oversaw her nation trying to carve out a new place in the world, and she was instrumental in the emergence of the Commonwealth of Nations, now a grouping comprising 56 countries.

She guided her government over the administrations of 15 prime ministers starting with Winston Churchill and ending with her asking Truss to form a government as prime minister only a couple of days before her death at Balmoral Castle, her summer home in the Scottish highlands.

Queen’s legacy on LGBTQ issues was complicated

In 1952, when she took the throne after the death of her father, King George VI, same-sex sexual relations were criminalized in U.K. The same laws were also brought to the Commonwealth countries that it colonized.

By the time she died, the landscape for LGBTQ rights looked dramatically different — at least in the U.K. — in part because she approved of many pro-LGBTQ measures, such as same-sex marriage. That support has led some to argue that she was a “quiet” supporter of LGBTQ rights, but to others she was just doing her job.

Elizabeth, among other things, pardoned Alan Turing, an acclaimed World War II codebreaker and computer scientist who died by suicide two years after his 1952 conviction for “gross indecency.” 

Elizabeth gave royal assent to the Sexual Offenses Act of 1967, which decriminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations among men in England and Wales who are at least 21.

Elizabeth gave royal assent to the marriage equality law that took effect in England and Wales in 2014. Elizabeth has also urged the U.K. to ban so-called conversion therapy.

Additional reporting by Michael K. Lavers, Reuters and AFP

Queen Elizabeth II’s Funeral at London’s Westminster Abbey – LIVE (previously recorded):

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United Kingdom

Queen Camilla meets with JK Rowling

Edinburgh meeting took place on last day of Pride month

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2 weeks ago

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July 2, 2026

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(Photo via The Royal Family/X)

Queen Camilla on Tuesday met with JK Rowling.

The Royal Family on X said the meeting took place at Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. The post included a picture of Camilla and Rowling together.

“With a shared passion for books and a deep commitment to children reading for pleasure, The queen and author JK Rowling have met at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh,” it reads. “Her Majesty and Ms. Rowling discussed the importance of ensuring that young people have access to books and the vital part reading plays in opening doors for future generations.”

Rowling over the last decade has emerged as a vocal opponent of transgender rights. Her meeting with Camilla took place on the last day of Pride month.

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United Kingdom

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to resign

Announcement comes after Labour Party election loses, ambassador scandal

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4 weeks ago

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June 22, 2026

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British Prime Minister Kier Starmer announces his resignation on June 22, 2026. (Screen capture via The Telegraph/YouTube)

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday announced he will step down once his party chooses his successor.

Starmer succeeded Rishi Sunak of the Conservative Party in No. 10 Downing St. in 2024.

The Labour Party included a ban on so-called conversion therapy in England and Wales in its elections manifesto. King Charles III in last month’s King Speech that he delivered in the British House of Lords said a transgender-inclusive ban is among the British government’s legislative priorities.

Charles delivered his King’s Speech days after the Labour lost more than 1,000 council seats in local and regional elections. The May 7 vote took place against the backdrop of widespread criticism over Starmer’s decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the U.S., despite his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

Former Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is seen as the frontrunner to become Labour’s new leader — and the UK’s next prime minister. Burnham was sworn in as an MP in the House of Commons hours after Starmer announced his resignation.

Starmer in his resignation announcement said he expects his successor will be in place before MPs return from their summer recess on Sept. 1.

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United Kingdom

UK government makes trans-inclusive conversion therapy ban a legislative priority

King Charles III on Wednesday delivered King’s Speech

Published

2 months ago

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May 14, 2026

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(Photo by Rob Wilson via Bigstock)

King Charles III on Wednesday said a transgender-inclusive ban on so-called conversion therapy in England and Wales is among the British government’s legislative priorities.

“My government will bring forward a bill to speed up remediation for people living in homes with unsafe cladding [Remediation Bill] and a draft bill to ban abusive conversion practices [Draft Conversion Practices Bill],” said Charles in his King’s Speech that he delivered in the British House of Lords.

The government writes the King’s Speech, which outlines its legislative agenda. The British monarch delivers it at Parliament’s ceremonial opening.

“Conversion practices are abuse, and the government will deliver the manifesto commitment to bring forward a trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices,” said the government in an addendum to the speech.

Then-Prime Minister Theresa May’s government in 2018 announced it would “bring forward proposals to end the practice of conversion therapy in the U.K.”

Then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government in 2022 said it would support a ban that did not include gender identity. The decision sparked outrage among British advocacy groups, and prompted them to boycott a government-sponsored LGBTQ conference that was ultimately cancelled.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party ahead of the 2024 elections included a conversion therapy ban in its manifesto. Charles delivered the King’s Speech against the backdrop of growing calls for Starmer to resign after the Labour Party lost more than 1,000 council seats in local and regional elections that took place on May 7.

Stonewall, a British advocacy group, on April 30 said the government “has failed to meet its own timeline to publish a draft bill to ban conversion practices.”

“We should not have to wait any longer,” said Stonewall CEO Simon Blake in his group’s statement. “Conversion practices are abuse. LGBTQ+ people do not need fixing or changing. They need to hear and feel that government is going to protect their safety and dignity. Not at some random date in the future. No more delays.”

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