The attack on two police officers on Friday a few hundred yards from the Palace of Westminster in London, where Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin is on display, is a reminder that the threat is never far away. Since the sovereign’s death on September 8, the British authorities have worked hard to prepare a funeral that promises to be historic. A logistical and security challenge.
Since Wednesday, thousands of Britons have been waiting for hours to gather in front of the coffin of the late monarch. The queue still reached 8 kilometers on Friday morning. Access had to be suspended due to crowds.
On this basis, the British authorities forecast that between 750,000 and one million people could attend the funeral on Monday in the streets of London. At the funeral of the Queen Mother in 2002, 200,000 people were present.
“I don’t think the city has ever experienced this,” London Mayor Sadiq Kahn said a few days ago. “It’s like we’re running the marathon, the Notting Hill Carnival, the royal weddings and the Olympics at the same time.”
“Mass Challenge”
Bob Broadhurst, who oversaw the achievement of Kate and William’s marriage or the 2012 Olympics, says in the British newspaper The Guardian that currently the authorities face a real “puzzle” in the face of multiple threats.
Terrorist attack, demonstrations, particularly anti-monarchy, movement of crowds… The Queen’s funeral is difficult to organize because the “royal family wants to be seen and wants to be close to their public”, which is “absolutely terrifying” for officials of security
This massive crowd will come to pay their last respects to Queen Elizabeth II, notably during a procession between Westminster Hall and Westminster Abbey, where the Queen’s funeral will take place. 2,000 people were invited to this ceremony, including 300 heads of state from around the world and their team members. “It’s like organizing 100 state visits at once,” said an official quoted by the BBC.
The Metropolitan Police’s newest chief, London Police, acknowledged there was “a huge challenge” in terms of security, but authorities “have been preparing for years and years to have a safe event”.
“This is the biggest police operation ever carried out by the British police,” Simon Morgan, a former officer in charge of protecting the royal family, was quoted as saying by news.
snipers
When Glasgow hosted the climate conference, COP26, last fall, 10,000 police officers patrolled the event daily. Their number should be at least equal, if not higher, for this funeral day. Police from Northern Ireland and Scotland have already been coming to reinforce the ranks, for at least two weeks.
The army is also involved in the deployment of 1,500 officers from the Royal Military Police, the British military police. Snipers must be positioned on rooftops, as was the case during the Queen’s coffin procession in Edinburgh, Scotland.
“It makes sense to have this deployment, given the threat, and given that in London the spaces will be black with people”, analyzes Professor Fussey, professor of sociology at the University of Essex. “They are deployed at big events. At the Olympics there were snipers. When you do really one-off events like this, you have to make surveillance more military.”
Source: BFM TV
