Queen Elizabeth’s funeral: What happened so far

Sep 19 2022

As people from all over the globe watch on, the funeral for Queen Elizabeth II continues at Westminster Abbey.

Having kicked off at around 11am, the Queen’s lying in state ended at 6:30am. An estimated 300,000 people queued to pay their respects, with time reaching an estimated 17 hours.

As the Westminster Abbey opened, the King’s Guard trooped through the gates of the building, with two solders stained at the metal gates awaiting the start of the proceedings.

At around 9:30am, the tenor bell started to toll once every minute 96 times, marking every year of the Queen’s life. The coffin was carried on the state funeral gun carriage from Westminster Abbey to the abbey, towed by 142 sailors from the Royal Navy.

With procession took about eight minutes, with prayers and hymns being sung. After the Last Post played, a two-minute silence was held nationwide in honour of the monarch. The national anthem was subsequently sung, bringing the state funeral service to an end.

The procession, following the coffin and led by the King, will be made up of several groups, with each accompanied by a service band. These groups include representatives from the NHS and members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, as well as detachments from the armed forces of the Commonwealth.

Guns were fired in Hyde Park by the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery every minute during the procession, while Big Ben tolls every minute.

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From Sweden to Vienna: What’s next for Alexandra Alden?

Sep 19 2022

Song writer and musician Alexandra Alden has been hitting several international hotspots in promotion of her brand new album ‘Leads to Love’ alongside her international ‘wonderband’.

The mini tour kicked off in Sweden, accumulating rave reviews in the Netherlands, Belgium and Malta, and going on to perform on multiple Dutch TV shows. Drummer Luke Briffa, guitarist Jimmy Bartolo, bass guitarist Jurriaan De Kok, keyboard player Daniel Van Der Duim and photographer Justine Ellul joined in on the fellowship.

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She then took to off to Norrkoping, for the first edition of Future Echoes Showcase Festival – a massive feat for any Maltese artist. With another intimate show at a local shop, ‘Mandala’, Alden made her way to the UK, starting in Wales with three performances at Focus Wales Showcase Festival.

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She then took to London a week later and was subsequently invited to the first edition of SPIKE The Bulgarian Showcase Festival. With shows in Belgium and the Netherlands to round it all off, she was then invited to Waves Vienna as the first Maltese artist to perform there.

This was the penultimate stop in her 2022 tour, but she also got to meet EU President Roberta Metsola, EU President of Commission Ursula Von der Leyen, First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska, and MEP Cyrus Engerer.

The final showcase location is yet to be revealed in the coming days and sees Alexandra leaving European grounds to one of the music capitals of the world.

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Leads to Love is an album about the butterfly effect and feelings of belonging. In this case, the ‘butterfly’ is in fact a ‘ladybird’ in Alden’s world, which she found living in her windowsill at the age of 19. During her travels throughout her life, Alden has found beauty in the idea that having one’s ‘everythings spread apart everywhere’ can also mean that one has the opportunity to also belong everywhere.This trip has definitely solidified these thoughts- how one small action can lead to greater things and how a simple connection with someone can alter your life in some way, even if with just a beautiful and memorable experience.Alexandra’s outfits and some of the bands accessories were provided by Luke Azzopardi Studio following a ‘white-on-white’ theme.

This project is supported by the Arts Council Malta.

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Horace Gauci reportedly replaces Mario Mallia as St Albert College headmaster

Sep 19 2022

Following the letting go of former headmaster Mario Mallia from St Albert the Great College, it was revealed by close reliable sources from within the school that Rector Aaron Zahra has reportedly appointed educator Horace Gauci as the new headmaster.

Sources also confirmed that the new head master is allegedly presently at school and has started work. Our sources also informed us that there don’t seem to be any plans to make Horace official headmaster anytime soon to avoid media turmoil. MaltaDaily is also informed that all staff, MUT, Ministry of Education, DQSE and Secretariat for Catholic Eduction are all aware of Gauci being the new headmaster as this was discussed earlier today in a meeting between the staff and the aforementioned authorities.

This comes after the Malta Union of Teachers releases a statement expressing distrust at rector and board of the college choosing the new personnel for the school.

The rector and board cancelled a meeting last minute with the MUT and its lawyers as they attempted to find a way forward as the school reopens in a few days. However, following the meeting cancellation, the MUT stated that it is willing to support the Dominican Order on condition of the rector and board resigning or being removed from office.

Meanwhile, the situation at the college remains critical as empty promises are reportedly being made to educators and no preparations for the new scholastic year are being made.

More information as this story progresses.

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Everything you should know about Queen Elizabeth’s funeral

Sep 19 2022

The reign of Queen Elizabeth II will be given the official send-off today, Monday 19th of September at 11am in the UK. The funeral will take place at Westminster Abbey, where the queen married Prince Philip in 1947, and where she was crowned in 1953.

This will be the first monarchs funeral to take place at Westminster Abbey since the 18th century, and the first state funeral since Winston Churchill’s in 1965.

With livestream broadcasts on BBC and other international platforms, this is a one of a kind funeral which many alive today have not witnessed up until now.

The queen’s body lay in state in Westminster Hall, the oldest building in the Houses of Parliament. At 10:44, the coffin was set to travel across Parliament Square to Westminster Abbey.

The service will be held there, with a walking procession taking place afterwards, carrying the coffin past Buckingham Palace to Wellington Arch at Hyde Park Corner. From there the coffin will travel to Windsor Castle, the queen’s chief residence outside of London.

The Queen will be interred next to her husband in the King George VI memorial chapel, which is named after her father. The palace has not released a formal guest list for the funeral, but reports indicate that around 500 VIP guests are expected.

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