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American Morning

Queen Elizabeth Going On National Television Today to Thank Nation

Aired April 08, 2002 - 08:55   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Queen Elizabeth is going on national television today to thank the nation for the huge outpouring of support and sympathy following the death of her mother.

Our Richard Quest has been watching the long lines of mourners who filed past the casket of the queen mother, and he joins us live from London.

Good morning, Richard.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Jack.

Amazing, extraordinary and deeply moving. Those are some of the words that are being used by the royal family to describe this outpouring of emotion and sheer will by the British people.

You know, it's coming up to 2:00 in the afternoon here in London, and already, the lines, or the queues as we say here, are really stretching really several miles from the palace of Westminster in Westminster Hall. It's estimated that it's a wait of five to six hours to go through to pay your last respects to the queen mother.

And those doors of the Westminster Hall will stay open until the early hours of the morning. They've decided, Blackrod (ph), the official responsible for all of this, has decided that the doors will stay open until the last possible moment, to allow as many people, and to file past the coffin.

And, Jack, it's estimated that a quarter of a million people will, by the time it's over, have paid their final respects.

Now, once the laying in stage is over, the coffin will be moved from the palace of Westminster behind me to Westminster Abbey on the other side of parliament square, a distance of about 300 yards, and that will be for the funeral service, a funeral service before some 2,000 invited guests and members of other royal families. And interestingly, Laura Bush, the first lady, will represent the United States -- Jack.

CAFFERTY: Those services are scheduled for tomorrow, are they not?

QUEST: Yes. This time, they will be just coming to an end around about 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time, your time, is when the service is when the service is well and truly under way. The queen mother's coffin again, with the crown, the crown she wore in 1937, will be taken by hearse, only accompanied by Prince Charles from London to Windsor Castle for the final internment and committal ceremony when she'll be laid to rest next to her beloved husband, the late King George VI.

One other note, Jack, the big event this afternoon that we're expecting in the next few hours is what's been called the prince's vigil. Princess Charles, Prince Edward, and the four grandsons will all hold a 20-minute vigil at the coffin side early this evening. And that will be followed, of course, by that address by Queen Elizabeth II, a momentous address.

You know, Jack, Queen Elizabeth normally only talks to the nation once a year, her annual Christmas address. The last time she, if you like, gave an extra speech or made an extra statement was, of course, the night before Diana's funeral, five years ago.

And, Jack, the whole idea for the queen not only to say thank you to the people, but what she wants to do is set the tone for the funeral tomorrow -- Jack.

CAFFERTY: All right, Richard appreciate your coverage very much. Thank you. Richard Quest, live in London.

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