At a tumultuous national moment in Britain, a symbol of unity and stability is mourned
LONDON — By the dozens, then the hundreds, then the thousands, Britons from all walks of life converged on the ornate gates of Buckingham Palace in central London, first in fearful anticipation, then in mourning for the only monarch that virtually any of them had ever known.
Some wept. Some clasped hands. Others gazed around somberly, lost in their own thoughts.
Even before the formal announcement late Thursday afternoon of Queen Elizabeth II’s death at 96, as the day’s last light was vanishing amid bursts of rain, crowds had begun to form outside the palace,
