Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral latest: Mourners gather in central London

Hundreds of Hong Kong residents on Monday poured into the city’s British consulate to pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II as some plan to watch the funeral on livestream at home or outside the consulate.

There was a queue stretching more than 300m outside the consulate as people waited up to three hours to sign the book of condolence. The city was under British rule for over 150 years before being handed back to China in 1997.

Among the crowd was 66-year-old Alexandra Wong, affectionately known as “Grandma Wong” among activists, who was recently released from prison after being jailed for eight months over her involvement in the 2019 protests.

“I plan to watch the Queen’s funeral outside the consulate,” she told the Financial Times, adding “there is nothing I should be afraid of”. The consulate itself is not planning any livestream events relating to the funeral for the public.

Showing nostalgia publicly and paying tribute to the Queen can be sensitive in the Chinese territory. A Beijing-backed local newspaper last week lashed out at those who encouraged the mourning of the Queen as “anti-China”.

Veteran Cantonese opera star Law Kar-ying was forced to apologise and pledge his loyalty to China following an online backlash, after he paid tribute to the Queen on Instagram and described Hong Kong as “a blessed land” during her reign.

On Monday outside the British consulate, a 75-year-old mourner, Virginia Fung, held a cardboard sign and called for people to return there later in the day to watch the funeral on livestream outside the building.