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Queen’s Commonwealth legacy lives on

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Queen Elizabeth’s legacy and lead role as monarch and head of the Commonwealth family will long be revered, said Cyprus Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides.

He wrote the tribute in the book of condolences for the death of Queen Elizabeth II, which was opened at the residence of the UK High Commissioner in Nicosia, Irfan Siddiq Obe.

Kasoulides, who signed the book on Thursday, expressed profound sadness on the passing of the Queen.

“Her legacy and emblematic role as monarch and head of our Commonwealth family will long be revered.

“Queen Elizabeth II will be remembered for her devotion and sense of duty to her people, a symbol of stability in an ever-changing world.

“Her reign will hold a special place in global history,” he wrote.

The minister offered his sincere condolences to the Royal Family, the UK Government and the British people.

Kasoulides, accompanied by Foreign Ministry Permanent Secretary Kornelios Korneliou, who also signed the book, had a short meeting with the UK High Commissioner.

President Nicos Anastasiades will join world leaders on Monday for the funeral of Elizabeth, Queen for 70 years, whose global stature was almost without equal.

Her body is lying in state in London’s ancient Westminster Hall, where tens of thousands are waiting patiently in line to pay their final respects to Britain’s longest-reigning monarch.

Officials expect about 750,000 people to view the coffin before the lying-in-state ends at 6.30 am on Monday.

The funeral will begin at 11 am at Westminster Abbey, the same church where Elizabeth was crowned in 1953, and last for about an hour.

At its conclusion, the Last Post will sound, and there will be a two-minute silence to be observed by the nation.

The body will then be taken on a gun carriage in a large procession, with Charles and members of the royal family walking behind, from the Abbey to the Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner. Guns will fire, and parliament’s Big Ben bell will toll every minute.

The state hearse will then convey the coffin to Windsor Castle, where there will be a further solemn procession before a service at Windsor Castle’s St George’s Chapel.

In a later private ceremony, Elizabeth will be buried with her husband of 73 years, Prince Philip.

He died last year at the King George VI Memorial Chapel, where her parents and sister, Princess Margaret, were also laid to rest.