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The Queen's Coffin Begins Final Journey; Royal Family to Gather in a Vigil in Scotland; Ukrainian Counteroffensive Retakes Russian Held Territories; Russians Retreat Amid Rapid Ukrainian Gains In East; U.K. Bids Farewell To Queen With Ceremony And Tradition; King Charles Met With Commonwealth Leaders On Sunday. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired September 12, 2022 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:00]
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BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST: Well, a very good morning from London. Welcome to our viewers around the world. I'm Becky Anderson at Buckingham Palace for you. And we begin with what is another emotional day here in London, and in Edinburgh, as Britain's Queen Elizabeth embarks on her final journey.
Right now, the Queen is lying in rest at the Palace of Holyroodhouse as it's known. The Royal family's official Scottish residence. A service will be held at St. Giles' Cathedral in the coming hours after procession takes her coffin to the cathedral along what is known as the Royal Mile.
King Charles III along with other members of the Royal family will attend that service a little later this morning. The coffin will then be flown from Edinburgh to London on Tuesday evening and the Queen's funeral will be held on September the 19th.
Britain's longest serving monarch died on Thursday, peacefully, at the age of 96 at her Scottish country estate in Balmoral. CNN correspondents are following the Queen's final journey from Edinburgh to London. Salma Abdelaziz is with me here at Buckingham Palace with what we can expect in the days ahead of that funeral.
First, let's begin with Nic Robertson outside the St. Giles' Cathedral where that service, Nic, for the Queen will be held in the coming hours. What's the atmosphere where you are at this point?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It's similar to yesterday. It's quiet. There are few people out at the moment. The stores are just beginning to open. A few joggers going up and down the Royal Mile here. And this, of course, is where the Queen's procession, bringing her coffin to St. Giles Cathedral, will run up and down. I think we can expect to see thousands of people at the side of the street here a little bit later on.
They will be here to see the Queen and to see their new king, as well. Because it will be a foot procession coming up the street. King Charles, the Queen consort and other royals are expected to walk up the street to St. Giles Cathedral. They'll have a prayer vigil there. Then King Charles will go back to the Palace of Holyrood House where he will receive the first minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon.
Her party, the Scottish National Party, very powerful, very influential, both here in Scotland and in parliament in London. After that, King Charles will, along with the Queen consort, go to the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood just across the road from the Palace of Holyrood House, and then there will be a motion of condolence in the parliament for the king and the Queen consort.
A little later, the King, the Queen consort, other members of the royals, will attend a vigil for the Queen where she will be lying in St. Giles Cathedral. After that, it's possible that members of the public will be able to go in and see the Queens coffin lying at rest there. So, this is going to be a busy day for the royals. A busy day for the King and a real opportunity for a lot of people to be able to see members of the royal family, in particular the King close-up, literally walking up the street right beside me here.
ANDERSON: Nic, I just want you to reflect on some of the images that we saw yesterday and I want our viewers to see the front page of the "Metro" in London today. A very iconic image here of the pallbearers carrying her majesty's coffin swathe in what is the royal standard for Scotland. I think this is one of the images that will be iconic from this stage of the Queen's funeral.
The streets along that 118-mile journey from Balmoral to Edinburgh yesterday lined with people as that funeral hearse and the car behind with, of course, Princess Anne in it, made its sort of last journey.
[02:05:06]
It was a six-hour journey. If you drive out in a regular basis it would be three, but that drive done slowly. And people in small villages along the route turning out to say their last goodbyes. The Queen has, well, certainly the Royal family has a very old and traditional relationship with Scotland. Just explain the emotion of yesterday, if you will.
ROBERTSON: Thousands upon thousands of people went to roadsides along the route of that journey. From Balmoral, they want through the village of Ballater onto the smaller town of Banchory, further down following the river Dee all the way headed eastwards to Aberdeen, the city of Aberdeen.
The whole journey along the River Dee, it's become known over the years as Royal Dee Side because this is an area that the Queen goes to regularly. The village of Braemar just close to Balmoral, the Queen would attend the Highland Games there. That was an annual event that she, by all accounts, enjoy very much.
From Aberdeen, then the journey swung southwards, sort of tracking just a little bit inland of the east coast of Scotland through Stonehaven, through Brechin into four (inaudible), small countryside town there. And onto Dundee, once an industrial powerhouse in Scotland before heading through Perth and into Edinburgh, Becky.
ANDERSON: Nic Robertson is in Edinburgh. Thank you, Nic. Well, Queen Elizabeth's funeral will be held at Westminster Abbey in a weeks' time where preparations are underway, including construction of temporary seating for the many mourners who are expected to attend. The dean of Westminster explained why the abbey held such a special significance for the Queen.
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DAVID HOYLE, DEAN OF WESTMINSTER: There is a very particular relationship between this building and our Queen. This is the church in which she was married in 1947. This is of course the place of coronation. When I was first appointed, I had an audience with her majesty. And it was really striking that the first thing we talked about was her memories of this place. She wanted to tell me why it was important to her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Let's bring in CNN's Salma Abdelaziz who is standing by here at Buckingham Palace with more. A week's worth of events as this lead up to the funeral on Monday continues. This is a long goodbye.
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A very long goodbye, but one that I think helps people come to terms with just how huge this loss is. And you heard there from our colleague, Nic Robertson, what's going to take place in Scotland. But tomorrow the homecoming. Tomorrow is when we see the Queen's remains arrive here in Buckingham Palace.
They will be accompanied by her one and only daughter, Princess Anne. They're expected to arrive at about 8:00 p.m., local time. The king, King Charles III and the Queen consort will welcome the Queen's casket and it will overnight here in Buckingham Palace tomorrow (inaudible) what's going to be a very poignant moment on Wednesday. And that is the procession that takes the Queen's body, that takes the Queen's casket to Westminster Hall where she will lie in state for four full days.
And you need to imagine this procession again, right here from Buckingham Palace, all along the mall (ph), pass the Prime Minister's office, pass Downing Street to Westminster Hall, where she lies in state with her family walking behind in silence for 40 minutes as Big Ben tolls, as gunfire salutes are given.
And as people line -- I'm sure we're going to start see people camping out here tomorrow night, right? Line that hallway greeting the family, giving their support, giving their solidarity. All of that culminating in four days she lies in state.
And it was just a few hours ago that they've released guidance on the lying in state. And it's really interesting to read, Becky, because it gives you a sense of just the scope and scale of this.
There's going to be airport style security. There are warnings about how long you're going to wait in line. So be careful about bringing water. Don't bring small children. And you can expect that tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of people are going to try to see the Queen in those four days to say their final goodbyes before, of course, that state funeral on Monday.
So, yet another stage coming up here after Scotland, yet another city, of course, that wants to say goodbye to the Queen. And what's really going to be a momentous four days that she lies in state and that poignant moment, I keep thinking about it.
[02:10:00]
We had that preview in Scotland of what that's going to look like. But just that procession, that's silent walk with her family behind her, taking her to lie in state. How awesome is that?
ANDERSON: And a busy day for Charles and Camilla who will leave here and go up to Scotland to share in the service for his mom. But he is already beginning to do the duties that will be expected of him as the sovereign. He's met the high commissioners for the commonwealth already and will be at Westminster Hall today.
He said his life will change irrevocably. I mean, he talked about that in the address that he made to the nation. And this week couldn't be more indicative of that.
ABDELAZIZ: I think his life will change, absolutely, but this is also a moment in which the public perception of King Charles has to change, right? He's someone who has been very much in our public view for a very long time now, but not in this role.
This is the moment in which he has to rise to that occasion that the Queen held, right, above the political fray. The person always in the background. The sort of strong, but silent, but present person that is always there. And so, you're seeing him take on that role.
And what's happening right now, with a tour of the four nations, with you seeing King Charles going up today to Scotland and then tomorrow, of course, he'll be in Northern Ireland. And then there's going to be a visit on Friday in Wales. So, already, that unifying force, that unifying tradition that the Queen had, he's following in those footsteps, trying to bring together the four nations in mourning, in solidarity at this time.
ANDERSON: At a time, and of course, the family is grieving the loss of his mom.
ABDELAZIZ: Absolutely.
ANDERSON: Thank you. Salma Abdelaziz with me here outside Buckingham Palace where King Charles III will lead a public vigil for his mother at St. Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh. As members of the Royal family gather together to mourn the monarch whom they knew not just as Queen, but as I said, as their mother and grandmother.
In his first public statement since the Queen's passing, Prince William said and I quote, "She was by my side at my happiest moments. And she was by my side during the saddest days of my life. I knew this day would come, but it will be sometime before the reality of life without granny will truly feel real."
Well, Prince William and his wife, Katherine, we're joined by Prince Harry and wife, Meghan, on what was a walkabout among crowds outside Windsor Castle. Their appearance together raising hopes that the frost that seems to have developed, and that is an understatement, between the brothers since Harry resigned from Royal life, maybe melting.
Well, joining me now is Marc Saunders, a journalist who has been covering Britain's Royal family for 25 years and written several biographies of the Royals. And I know you've had a keen interest in the lives of Prince William and Harry, of course. Before we talk about, you know, where that relationship goes next, just reflections on what we have witnessed, if you, will over the past, what, 72 hours.
MARK SAUNDERS, AUTHOR, DIANA AND THE PAPARAZI: I was in Windsor when it was announced. I was at the castle. First of all, if not, stunned disbelief. Then there was that even though we're in the age of technology, instant technology, people were stopping other people in the street. Have you heard the news? Very British. Very -- no tears.
And then the flowers began to arrive. And there was silence. But you remember the silence with Princess Diana. You remember the awful silence. But this wasn't an awful silence. This was a -- people began to realize it. We know it's going to happen. She was surrounded by her family. It was peaceful.
And it gave way to a very British way of mourning, which didn't seem to be mourning. And then, Friday was exactly the same. But now, I'm amazed at the reaction to King Charles. I keep saying Prince Charles. King Charles.
ANDERSON: Why are you amazed?
SAUNDERS: When he married Camilla at Windsor, I was there.
ANDERSON: 2005, so was I. Yes.
SAUNDERS: 2005. We were there. I remember thinking this is like one of those strange movies where you go into the future and you hear some bizarre person is president. That is what I felt like. I thought, I never thought this would happen. And remember my brief was with Princess Diana. I knew how much she was loved. And I never thought the public would accept Charles.
And then, gradually, it became more and more, this was the man who would be king. And I remember when he was here, just this -- not the last jubilee celebration, the one before, the 60.
[02:15:04]
And it was the first time, remember saying to you, that the people applauded Camilla. And I realized then William and Katherine's wedding was when the Queen realize that's it, I've done my job. The blood line is fine. There's going to be a king. There's an heir apparent. And I think the last 10 years of her life have probably been the happiest.
ANDERSON: Despite the fact that there have been some real lows, as far as the family is concerned. Haven't there?
SAUNDERS: Okay. We all know about the diaries that the monarchs keep, and she has access to those. So, if you are a queen and the combined forces of Spain, France, and the Roman Catholic Church are (inaudible) over and they're prepared to invade you, I guess that's a bigger problem than what the Queen's really had to face.
So, it's that resilience. It's that in the face of adversity, being cool. And I think she's always done that. And also, I guess she's got advisors and a very strong family.
ANDERSON: Let's talk about how you believe she will have coped with the departure of Prince Harry to America. The breakdown of the relationship, the clear break down of the relationship between the boys. I mean, what do you understand to be happening there? And how significant do you believe -- I think that, you know, I think -- I genuinely think of you as want to try and understand the significance of what we saw when they together, those two couples, conducted that walk about in Windsor the other day.
SAUNDERS: At the time, I was, what's the word I'm looking for? I thought, oh, no, this isn't good. This isn't good. Body language is something you never dislike (ph). We're watching people all the time. And I thought, this isn't good. This is very -- this is almost forced. Then I started to hear that it was kind of -- it took a long time.
And I realized Prince William looked as if he was in control. And Harry looked as if he was agreeing to do it. I think it was a good idea to do it. Especially with the success of Charles and Camilla in London. I think it's a very good idea to do it, but I thought so many people I always talking to said it was a bit strange, wasn't it?
The reaction from the crowd was, it was okay, but I don't think it was quite what we expected it to be. And I think there's been a part of ways. I really don't want do that thing where we start speculating because that's all been done before and (inaudible) we were wrong.
But I think there's been passing of ways and Harry's life is now overseas. And it almost seems odd him sort of jumping back in, into the Royal family now at this time. What's going to happen now, I don't know? How William is going to react to this, I don't know because William's focus will now be on his new job.
Charles and Camilla are now King and Queen. And William's job is really gone up a lot. I don't think they have time for this nonsense.
ANDERSON: You talked about, and that's a really interesting point. You talked about your brief having been with Princess Diana. You've known those two young men now. Young man, William is 40 now. You've known them for --
(CROSSTALK) It is, you're right. You've known them for years. I just refer to what we started this interview with, which was a statement that Prince William made about how the Queen, his granny, had been with him through the happiest moments of his life, and I'm sure he refers to his wedding, as one of those.
And through the saddest moments of his life. And I think that we have to assume that that was a reference to the death of his mother. The Queen, of course, criticized for the way that she responded in the early days to the death of Princess Diana. What was his relationship like with his grandmother over those early days and how has it developed?
SAUNDERS: This is a thing that we now know. When the Queen was being criticized, she made the comment to her people that William and Harry were her only concern. They were her only priority. And we now know that she took care of those boys and that was why they stayed Balmoral.
And I think the Duke of Edinburgh was just amazing. He really helped the boys cope. The Queen was there for them as well. And she absolutely refused to come down (inaudible). She absolutely refused to say, I'm not doing this. I'm taking care of this boys.
Now, in Britain it's traditional for the grandparents to have a very, very strong relationship with the grandchildren. Maybe not so much now, but it always was. And I know, myself, yourself probably, the only person you want to be with in an instance like that would have been your grandmother.
So, that, I think, got them through it. And his happiest days, well, we remember the look on the Queen's face. As I say, she knew that her job now was done.
[02:20:03]
That Katherine was perfect. Charles was happy with Camilla. And once the first child was born, that was a great time for her, I think.
ANDERSON: Always a pleasure having you on. Thank you so much for joining us. I expect to see you here with me in the days to come. It's Monday, September the 12th, today. The funeral to be held a week today between now and then and you will see an awful lot of activity here around this area and in Westminster as we look forward to the arrival of the Queen's casket here in London. Thank you, Mark.
We'll have a lot more from London in a few minutes. Let's go first bring in Michael Holmes who is with you at CNN Center in Atlanta. Mike?
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN HOST: Well, alright. Becky, thanks very much. We'll check in with you a bit later. Now, after the break, the Russians are out. The blue and yellow flags are going back up in northeastern Ukraine. The latest on Kyiv's stunning counteroffensive and what it means for Russian morale. That's when we come back.
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[02:24:59]
HOLMES: Welcome back. Russian forces are backpedaling in northeastern Ukraine, driven out by a stunning Ukrainian counteroffensive. But as they retreat, they are launching missiles against key infrastructure. Revenge, says Ukraine says. Firefighters racing to douse the flames in Kharkiv on Sunday after Russian strike hit a power plant. At least one person was killed.
Electricity knocked out in the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions. But those missiles aren't reversing major Russian losses. Ukrainian officials say their forces have retaken more than 40 settlements in recent days. And as Ukrainian troops roll in, video show them being welcomed as liberators.
(VIDEO PLAYING)
People under occupation for months are literally embracing the troops, hugging and thanking them with cries of joy. More blue and yellow flags going up and Ukraine's president praising his forces, addressing them directly in this message.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translation): The path to victory is a difficult one, but we are sure you are capable of it. You will reach our border, al its sections. You will see our frontiers and the enemies' backs. You will see the shining of the eyes of our people and of the occupiers' heels. They will call it goodwill gestures. We'll call it a victory.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, I spoke earlier with Malcolm Davis. He is the senior analyst on defense strategy and capability at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. I asked him about the Ukrainians operational tempo and what happens as the winter months approach.
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MALCOLM DAVIS, AUSTRALIAN STRATEGIC POLICY INSTITUTE: That is the critical factor here. Both sides realize that they are heading towards winter where everything will bog down again because the weather becomes untenable for fighting in the ground becomes boggy. There is snow and so forth.
So, I think the Ukrainians are trying to essentially achieve as much advance as possible before winter really hits so that they control that critical territory in the northeast. Then that gives them some chance of maybe fighting in the south, advancing towards Kherson and eventually, Dnipro, potentially even Mariupol.
Ultimately, their objective, of course, is to retake Crimea, as well, but that's going to have to wait until 2023. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Malcolm Davis speaking with me earlier there. He also said Ukrainian gains will be devastating for already battered Russian morale. Meanwhile, the pro-Kremlin leader of the Chechen Republic has offered some rare public criticism of Russia's defense ministry and its handling of the war.
Ramzan Kadyrov is calling for changes in Russia's military tactics in coming days saying, quote, "Mistakes have been made on the battlefield." His comments were posted in an audio message on his Telegram account. The Chechen leader has supplied thousands of fighters to the Russian campaign.
CNN's Clare Sebastian is tracking events for us in London there now. Good to see you, Clare. Taking territory is it holding territory? And while it has been a stunning few days, this is far from over.
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I think given the speed of the gains that the Ukrainian forces have managed to take in the last week or so, more territory in a week than Russia has taken since April. Michael, I think the imperative now is not just to continue with that, but to hold on to it.
The defense minister, Oleksii Reznikov, speaking to the Financial Times, said a counteroffensive liberates territory and after that, you have to control it and be ready to defend it. He said, of course, we have to be worried. Obviously, we know that when Russia is on the back foot, they can lash out.
And we already saw that with that attack on the civilian power plant in the region, which was plunged areas into blackouts. Some ominously, Margarita Simonyan, is a very prominent pro-Kremlin voice, head of the RT network, reposting something on Telegram that said electricity is a privilege, not a right.
So, they are willing to lash out at civilian populations. SO that is something to watch for here. But of course, we know that Russia's war effort increasingly and since the beginning, supported by the flow of information.
Interesting to note, that the defense ministry has not denied the retreat from Kharkiv, but is painting it more as a regrouping. So, that is how they are sort of portraying this at home, Michael?
HOLMES: Yeah. And you touched on this. There's been a lot of criticism even among pro-Kremlin vloggers and the television pundits, some of them anyway. Any word from the Kremlin on all of that sort of push back?
SEBASTIAN: We not really heard anything from the Kremlin, Michael, since the comments from Vladimir Putin last Wednesday, which appeared not to have aged very well in light of this retreat from Russian forces, that they have lost nothing in this war.
The Kremlin on Friday in their regular briefing deflected questions on the so-called special military operation to the ministry of defense, which is I said is sort of shifting the narrative there and painting this as an orderly regrouping of Russian forces.
[02:30:06]
Another sort of twist in the narrative is that they are now talking about how Russians are sort of fighting back against what they call superior NATO armed Ukrainian forces. So interesting how they're twisting that as well. But it is very significant what we're seeing from the Russian blogosphere which has been so supportive of the war now turning against it. That is something that we have not really seen at this scale yet.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Yes, yes. Some bloggers in the field, pro-Kremlin bloggers calling it a disaster. Clare Sebastian in London, good to see you, Clare. Thank you.
Now the next leg of Queen Elizabeth's final journey begins in the coming hours. People from all walks of life grieving along with the royal family. That story and more after the break.
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BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Welcome back. It's just after half 7:00 in London. I'm Becky Anderson. And details just now coming in of how the public can attend the queen's lying in state, which will take place at Westminster Hall in London from Wednesday. The government here says people will be able to fall past the coffin 24 hours a day from 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday until 6:30 a.m. on September the 19th. That is the day of the funeral.
The closed coffin will rest on a raised platform and large crowds are expected. Official say people may have to queue overnight. Airport- style security they say will be in place. Only small bags will be allowed.
[02:35:05]
Well, in the hours ahead the queen's oak coffin will be moved from where it is at the moment, which is the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh to St. Giles' Cathedral. There will be a service of prayer and reflection there attended by members of the royal family. And they are not alone in their grief, since people from all walks of life are mourning with them. Have a look at this.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If somebody gets to that age, you know it's going to come. But I think when you see the coffin in the court starts (INAUDIBLE) and even today (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With the screen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At the screen, so emotional.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: God says the king. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One, two.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I really, really like Charles. He had a lovely documentary for seventh year. And I think he comes across really, really well. I think he's also aged like fine wine. I think he -- he's doing well, I think was really, really nice. He's done a lot of work to charity.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think King Charles will do an unbelievable job. And it'll do just as good as the queen hopefully.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I think a bit. It was just the queen -- I think the queen is always going to be the best.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She used to be considered like related to every British family basically. Even we felt like when she gone (INAUDIBLE) like a member of the family would go on basically. That's a really shocking news.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm so grateful to have been alive for 24 years during your reign. And it gives me such pleasure to be a current student at the Royal Academy of Music where you are our patron. Sort of a grandmother to us all. It's not just a loss of a monarch or it's a loss of some like a family member. And I think the last time we really felt this was with Princess Diana.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's been through quite a lot with the country and then probably not going to see another queen again in our lifetimes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, it's a busy day ahead for King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla. The new monarch will meet with members of both houses of Parliament, of the commons and of the Lords at Westminster Hall in London. He will hear Parliament's condolences there before the royal couple travel to Scotland for Memorial events in Edinburgh today. The late queen's former press secretary discussed the pressure that the king is under to live up to his mother's legacy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLES ANSON, FORMER PRESS SECRETARY TO QUEEN ELIZABETH: I think you will definitely want to carry on the work of the queen and the support that the monarchy gives to different groups and different causes in society without getting involved in the politics. I think King Charles will want to do that. But he will have his own special interests that he will want to look at in terms of encouraging people and groups within society to make a better place of the United Kingdom and of course of the rest of the world.
Because don't forget, his -- he will also be king as the queen was of 15 other countries as well as this close relationship, as head of the Commonwealth with 55 countries around the world, over two billion people. So it's a very -- it's a very wide brief. But the purpose, right, is to -- is to really make a bit of a better society. The queen has done that outstandingly in her own steady way. And I think King Charles has a passion for making the world a slightly better place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: In the very short term, there are duties for King Charles in Edinburgh before the memorials to his mother beginning, including the ceremony of the keys and inspecting the guard of honor. All of this followed a day of official engagements for the king on Sunday. He met with leaders from around the Commonwealth at Buckingham Palace, along with other Commonwealth officials.
He's held a series of meetings with government officials already in his first few days as monarch.
[02:40:01]
Well, some in the Commonwealth are asking how much longer the British monarch should be their head of state. The prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda says voters there will answer that question within the next few years. ITV's In Woods has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IAN WOODS, ITV NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Four thousand miles away from London with less pomp and fewer dignitaries, a ceremony to confirm the status of a new king. Antigua is one of 14 nations which still retain the British monarch as their head of state.
MAURICE MERCHANT, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS: By the death of our late sovereign, have happy and glorious memory become our only lawful and rightful Lord Charles III by the grace of God, King of Antigua and Barbuda.
WOODS: But for how much longer? Minutes afterwards, the country's prime minister told ITV News that he plans to hold a referendum on becoming a republic.
GASTON BROWNE, PRIME MINISTER OF ANTIGUA: This is not an act of hostility or any difference between Antigua and Barbuda and the monarchy. But it is the final step, as I said before, to complete that circle of independence to ensure that we are truly sovereign nation.
WOODS: What sort of timeframe would you think on a referendum then?
BROWNE: So I'd say within the next -- probably three years.
WOODS: Antiguan saw their queen every day, though she hadn't been here for 37 years, her portrait on the local currency, the most tangible connection to a distant monarchy. And yet despite the remoteness of the head of state, many here seem to have had a genuine affection for the royal family.
ANNA CRICK, ANTIGUAN RESIDENT: (INAUDIBLE) and the passion that we have for her (INAUDIBLE) although we are independent, we know that we still look up to her.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She done a great job. So I just hope he can do what take up her mantle and do even more now what she was doing.
WOODS: Queen Elizabeth visited Antigua three times during her reign, including this tour four years after the islands became independent.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm very happy.
WOODS: Her son followed in her footsteps five years ago to see recovery efforts after hurricanes hit the region.
WOODS (on camera): Antigua is heavily reliant on tourism. The holidaymakers spent more time here than the head of state. If the islands are to keep the crown and the new king may have to demonstrate his relevance despite his remoteness.
WOODS (voice over): The Prime Minister says Antigua would remain a committed member of the Commonwealth even if the referendum removes the monarchy. But this may be the beginning of the end of King Charles reign in this corner of the Caribbean. Ian Woods, News at Ten, Antigua.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, still to come. A day of remembrance in the United States as Americans commemorated the anniversary of the deadly September 11th terror attacks. We'll have a report on that in just a few moments time. Do stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:46:04]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I hope we'll remember that in the midst of these dark days, we dug deep. We cared for each other. We came together. You know, we regained the light by reaching out to one another and finding something all too rare, a true sense of national unity. To me, that's the greatest lesson of September 11.
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HOLMES: And that was U.S. President Joe Biden delivering heartfelt remarks to all of those killed during the September 11th terror attacks. Meanwhile, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris and other political leaders joined families of 9/11 victims in New York as they remembered the tragic event. CNN's Polo Sandoval with this story.
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, here in New York City was a day of solemn remembrance as 9/11 families came together at the site where the Twin Towers one stood as they lead not only the country but the world as they mark 21 years since that awful day. We saw dignitaries coming together including Vice President Kamala Harris, Chuck Schumer, the senator of New York, as well as New York City Mayor Eric Adams, as they read out loud each one of the nearly 3000 names. Many of those family members still struggling to the tears, but at times even smiling as they celebrated the legacy of their loved ones. Also on hand, Alejandro Mayorkas, the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security an agency that actually was established after the events of that day. The secretary in a conversation with me talking to me about how the threats that the agency is monitoring.
How those threats have evolved from not just international ones, but also some that are domestic in nature.
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ALEJANDRO MAYORKAS, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: The threat landscape has evolved so dramatically. It is extraordinarily dynamic. You know, back 20 years ago, when this department was formed, the greatest terrorism related threat that we face was the foreign terrorist who tried to come into our country and do a severe harm. We then began to focus in the second decade on the individual already resident here in the country, radicalized by a foreign terrorist ideology.
Now we're seeing increasingly the threat of domestic violent extremism, individuals, you know, driven to violence because of an ideology of hate, anti-government sentiment, false narratives. 20 years ago, the cybersecurity threat by criminal actors, adverse nations, wasn't top of mind. Now it's something that we're very, very focused on.
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SANDOVAL: And the tributes will continue into the overnight hours. The iconic tribute in light, the installation with those two powerful beams of light that shine into the sky from Lower Manhattan. Those will be shining from dusk till dawn. Polo Sandoval, CNN, New York.
HOLMES: Parts of Chicago are underwater after severe rainfall caused flash flooding on Sunday. You can see their car stranded in the middle of a street looks more like a river. The flooding was worse than other parts of the city. Water so deep, you see that car there under a bridge. Other drivers looking on thinking better of trying it themselves. Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri joins me now with more on what the U.S. can expect this week. Pedram?
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN WEATHER ANCHOR: Yes, Michael. You know, when you see these storms come down especially in urban environments. You know, any amount of rainfall could quickly lead to flooding and pretty impressive run of rainfall there across portions of Illinois and to Wisconsin, three to six inches came down in the span of 24 to 36 hours and you'll notice that pocket of the Midwest, portions of the southeast along the Gulf Coast.
What a spots in the country here. That's a significant rainfall. And again, enough came down to where flood alerts still in effect across this region through Monday afternoon for any additional rainfall that could lead to flooding but the system is quickly on the move still could see some pure rates of heavy rainfall later on into Monday afternoon but the concern is you're generally marginal to slight which are one to two on a scale of one to four there.
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And you'll notice much cooler air what we'd like to call a false fall this time of year where you get a surge of cooler air coming in. Kind of giving you a hint of autumn, but temps dramatically warm up yet again. In fact, in Atlanta, low temperatures Monday night down to 58 degrees last time that happened back on the 10th of May. So about four months since last time it was this cool, but you'll notice it gradually inches back up again towards the middle 80s.
High temps in Chicago will aim for about 65 degrees. So you get a hint of autumn temps but generally speaking, the warm three back in action within the next week or so. Around Denver, Michael, climbing up to 88 degrees while in Phoenix, still close to the century mark their high of about 99.
HOLMES: Well, all right, Pedram, thanks very much. Appreciate that. All right, we're going to take a quick break. Becky, we'll be back with more after that.
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ANDERSON: Well, it's a tribute fit for a queen, the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai lighting up with images of Elizabeth II and the British flag.
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This the 828-meter-tall building, the latest in a string of iconic landmarks around the world to mark the death of the 96-year-old Monarch. Well, Queen Elizabeth was honored on Sunday ahead of a key horse race in England.
Well, this was the scene in Doncaster ahead of that race. Horse racing, along with many other sports in Britain was suspended after the monarch died as a mark of respect. Queen Elizabeth had a well- known passion for horses and for horse racing and owned a large table of very successful thoroughbreds.
Well, there's been much speculation and indeed some concerns since the queen's passing as to what would happen to her dogs. Say source tell CNN that the corgis will go to live with the Duke and Duchess of York, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson. Despite divorcing more than 25 years ago, the two do still live at the Royal lodge on the Windsor estate and the queen is also reported to have left behind an older mixed breed dog called Candy.
A doggy as we understand it, a mix of dachshund and a corgi and a cocker spaniel named Lissy. It's unclear who will be looking after those two but I'm sure they will be well looked after. I'm Becky Anderson in London. Our live coverage here outside of Buckingham Palace continues after this short break. Do stay with us.
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