DW – September 9, 2022
Condolences have been pouring in from all over the world after Queen Elizabeth II died on Thursday.
She was the country’s longest-ruling monarch and met with many world leaders during her decades on the throne. She was aged 96 when she died.
Following the Queen’s death, her eldest son replaced her as monarch, taking the title King Charles III.
World leaders in mourning
US President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden released a joint statement describing Elizabeth as “a stateswoman of unmatched dignity and constancy who deepened the bedrock alliance between the United Kingdom and the United States,” with the White House saying she had met with 14 US presidents.
The Bidens later went to the British Embassy to pay their respects.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply saddened” and offered his “condolences to her bereaved family, the government and people of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the wider Commonwealth Nations.”
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a Tweet that he learned of the queen’s death with “deep sadness.”
Even Russian President Vladimir Putin wrote a telegram to King Charles, wishing him “courage and perseverance in the face of this heavy, irreparable loss.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping said the late queen’s death “is a great loss to the British people” and pledged to work with the new king to strengthen relations between Beijing and London.
Germany remembers Queen’s role after WWII
German leaders also joined in the chorus of condolences, highlighting the queen’s role in repairing the relationship between the UK and Germany after the Second World War, during which she had volunteered in the Women’s Auxiliary Territory Service, working primarily as a mechanic.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that the queen “was an example and inspiration to millions, also here in Germany. Her commitment to German-British reconciliation after the horrors of World War II will never be forgotten. She will be missed, not the least for her wonderful humor.”
President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in a statement that “her natural authority, her immense experience, her exemplary performance of duty will remain in our living memory.” He added that after World War II, “the hand of reconciliation was also the hand the of the Queen.”
“We mourn, with our British friends, the loss of Queen Elizabeth II,” Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock wrote on Twitter. “She was a source of strength and confidence for her country… Germany remains eternally grateful to her for reaching out to us for reconciliation after the terror of the Second World War.”
Fellow monarchs send messages of condolence
European monarchs joined the outpouring of mourning, with messages from kings of the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Spain.
“With sadness, my family and I have today received the news that my dear relative, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, has passed away,” King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden said.