News of Queen Elizabeth II’s death was received with sadness in Stockwell, an area of London known as “Little Portugal”, where the monarch was remembered this Friday by some Portuguese “as if she were a mother”.
“We have lost our mother”, José Silva, owner of Tugal Food, a company that sells frozen fish, told Lusa as he prepared to distribute the merchandise to restaurants in the British capital.
Queen Elizabeth II died Thursday at the age of 96 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, after more than 70 years of the longest reign in British history.
“Everyone was sad yesterday. We had the TV on to watch the news. A lot of people were sad,” Fernanda Pereira told Lusa, behind the counter of the Madeira Próspero cafe, one of the many Portuguese-named establishments in the Stockwell. area in south London.
A few doors down, the owner of the Rose Deli cafe, Rosária, who has lived in London for 35 years, confirmed the same scenario: “The atmosphere was sad. It’s a loss, I was queen so long ago. It’s not easy.”
Sitting on the terrace of Café Estrela, the translator Di Lia, who emigrated to the UK at the age of 14 and has lived in London for over 40 years, confided to Lusa that Rainda “will be missed” among the Portuguese, who are used to refer to her as “the godmother”.
“They call her the godmother because of the benefits she has given them,” said the Portuguese, who defended that Isabel II “helped the emigrants, including the Portuguese, a lot” to access social subsidies.
For Maria Fernanda Vitorino, who has lived in London for over 30 years and already has British grandchildren, the Queen is admired by the Portuguese and other immigrants for promoting a diverse society, open to citizens of different origins.
King Charles III “will not be the same again”
Seated at adjacent tables, Di and Maria Fernanda agree that with Carlos III as king “it won’t be the same”.
The two Portuguese women praise Isabel II’s integrity and seriousness, saying unanimously that they wished “no one” the “life of prison” and the pressures to which the Queen was subjected during her 70-year reign.
“It’s going to be hard shoes to put on,” said Di, for whom the death of Elizabeth II is “the beginning of the end of the monarchy.”
“For a while [a monarquia] will continue, but there is a tendency to end,” agrees Maria Fernanda, citing economists according to which “the monarchy takes more than it gives to the country’s economy”.
António Ramalho, who owns a cafe in Stockwell and has lived in London for 33 years, believes the Queen’s death “changes nothing”.
“The only thing that can change are the pound notes,” which have portrayed the image of Elizabeth II for decades.
Sitting at a coffee table in Stockwell, José Albuquerque, who is 43 years old and has lived in London since he was 15, remembers with emotion the day he saw the Queen pass by, when he was a chauffeur and walked through London with tourists.
“We were stopped by scouts and I saw the Queen. It was the only time I’ve seen her in 27 years,” said the now owner of Three Lions restaurant, who believes “99% of people in London have a special affection for Elizabeth II.
He admitted in a hushed voice that he “had tears in his eyes” on Thursday when he heard of the monarch’s death, which he compared to the loss of his own grandmother.
“It’s like a mother. It’s the mother of all of us”, known person.
Source: DN
