Londoners, people from other parts of the country, and international tourists waited in Hyde Park to say farewell to Queen Elizabeth II as her coffin passed through Hyde Park Corner on the Queen’s final journey to Windsor.
The Queen’s departure and the succession of King Charles III raised strong commitment levels from the monarchists.
Kumu from Hawaii, “We decided to dress in our traditional garments and honour Queen Elizabeth II. We are here to represent the royal standard from the native Hawaiians.”
Kumu and 40 family members of the native Hawaiian community travelled to London for the Fashion Week, and witnessed the procession of the Queen’s funeral in Hyde Park, when the Queen’s coffin passed by the Albert Memorial in Kensington Gardens.
The native Hawaiian talks about his belief in the British monarchy and the former Hawaiian royal families.
“We came to London from Hawaii 3 days ago; we were invited to attend the London Fashion Week. We knew the Queen’s funeral was taking place in London, so we stayed to pay our respect to the late Queen. We will leave tomorrow.”
“We spent USD 85,000 for a group of 40’s return tickets, excluding the accommodation fees. Hawaii had Kings and Queens and royal families. We are the last descendants of the Hawaiian royal family. It was important for us to honour the royal family in the UK because we had such a strong connection between the British and Hawaiian royals.”
“Her outfits represent royalties,” Kumu said, introducing a member of his family who held a feathered royal kāhili and wore a feathered helmet. “Only the Hawaiian royal families are allowed to wear feathers. Anyone who’s not royals and wears feathers would be sentenced to death in Hawaii,” he further explained.
“For me, Queen Elizabeth II was a traditionalist, like our people. We are also traditionalists as we still dress this way and still honour our traditions as old as we can. Our traditions are the foundation of who we are. We honour our ancestors and the relationships with the genealogy of the Hawaiian royal families.”
“I wish King Charles III the best. God save the King.” Kumu concluded.
Mrs. Hassell, from Bermuda, also reveals how they, as international tourists, came to be here, “We are in London for vacation. We knew Queen Elizabeth had passed when we left home, and we knew that we were going to witness this amazing, once-in-a-lifetime experience in England.”
Mrs. Hassell came to Hyde Park with her niece, who travelled from Croydon, to watch the Queen’s coffin pass by.
“We are here on vacation for 4 weeks. We knew Queen Elizabeth II had passed when we left home, and we knew that we would be in England to see this amazing historical moment. So we got up early this morning to Hyde Park to witness the Queen’s coffin pass by.”
“We watched most of the state funeral on TV this morning, but we still want to come out here and see the actual procession and experience this once-in-a-lifetime moment for us.”
“We’ve been queuing at Hyde Park since 11.40 am this morning. It was so crowded in Hyde Park. We walked down the Park until we found a spot to stand.”
“Bermuda is a Commonwealth country. Our leader, the Premier of Bermuda, is here today in London to attend the Queen’s funeral in Westminster Abbey. It’s nice to be here in the crowd with everyone to show respect and honour to Queen Elizabeth, the legacy of the British royal family.”
“This is my first trip to London. We are going to Buckingham Palace to see the seas of flowers later today.” Mrs. Hussell informed.”
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