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CNN Live Event/Special

Queen Elizabeth Lies In State At Westminster Hall; World Leaders And Dignitaries To Attend Monday's Funeral; Thousands Pay Their Respects To The Queen; Liberated Ukrainians Relieved As Russian Troops Retreat. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired September 14, 2022 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[15:00:54]

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: A very good evening to you and a warm welcome to London, the British capital, where Queen Elizabeth's coffin is at Westminster Hall.

As Britain's longest serving monarch lies in state for the next four days until her funeral at Westminster Abbey on Monday. Over those four days, hundreds of thousands of people are expected to file past and pay their respects. The guards on watch and on vigil around the clock.

The coffin will be moved to the Abbey on Monday morning.

Matthew Chance is now at the corner of Parliament Square. So, now when we were with you last hour, I think you're where they are coming out after paying their respects.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Richard. There is only one exit once this giant queue are filtered through -- this giant amount of people is filtered through the Westminster Hall, and people have paid their respects to Queen Elizabeth II's coffin, which is of course, lying in state there.

There is only one way they can leave, and it's through this -- it is through this door here and you're seeing a constant stream of people having just paid their respects to Queen Elizabeth II now coming through and exiting the area.

Some of these people, we have been speaking to them have been standing in line for well, the whole day, actually, although they only opened the room where the casket is lying from five o'clock local time, so for the past three hours, but they've been obviously streaming through ever since.

I've been trying to get a chance to speak to some people when they come through, maybe these people here.

Hi, I would like to you speak to you on CNN? Was it worth it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, absolutely, it was.

CHANCE: Was it? Can you tell us what the atmosphere was like inside?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is very silent?

CHANCE: Very silent.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Yes. Very thankful to her.

CHANCE: Why was it important for you to pay your respects in this way?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, what an amazing person, what a Christian faith, what a life devoted to duty. Yes.

CHANCE: Thank you very much for joining us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, thank you very much.

CHANCE: There you have it. I mean, actually, these people are being moved in in batches, and then presumably led out in batches as well.

So, you've got to sort of moment where, you know, there aren't that many people coming through. But you know, what police tell us, Richard, is that they're anticipating or they're planning for 2,000 people an hour, at least, to be moving past the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II and obviously coming out this way as well.

And so they're busy at work, you can see over there, look, if we can just point the camera over there, they are erecting barricades to make this scene as secure as possible and as capable as possible of dealing with the hundreds of thousands of people that are going to be coming through here over the course of next few days until her State Funeral, of course, on Monday morning.

Obviously, we'll be bringing you those experiences, those stories as we come to them here outside the Palace of Westminster -- Richard.

QUEST: Matthew, I'm looking at the queue tracker, which is what they've said, and it looks like it says the queue is currently 2.6 miles long. Does that sound about right?

CHANCE: It does. I mean, from the -- you know, the very unscientific visual glances that I've had of the length of the queue, it looks about that long. It's going right the way -- right the way back. Two point six miles is a long queue, by the way, a long line of people, you know, to be waiting in.

But actually from the standings that I've taken from the people who've been through that process, it is moving quite quickly. You know, people are spending about three-and-a-half, four hours, tops, at this point waiting in that line.

And so there is quite an efficient process underway. It is obviously been very carefully organized and choreographed, very efficient process underway to get people moving through and to get them to file past and then to come out the other end.

[15:05:16] And of course, it has to be efficient if they're going to give these

hundreds of thousands of people, possibly there is half-a-million people, the opportunity to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth in this way.

QUEST: Matthew, thank you. Thank you for bringing -- staying with us this evening.

And so as the UK says goodbye, the queue of members paying their respects has been quite remarkable. It stretches for miles along the banks of the Thames, eventually it could reach the Suffolk Park, but the day began with the solemn procession from Buckingham Palace.

Here is how the day unfolded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just to be able to go and actually pay your respects, it is -- what can you say? You know, it's just really important that I do it.

MOST REVEREND JUSTIN WELBY, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY: But also what a gift it is that I can actually play a part in saying goodbye.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Which thy well beloved son shall then pronounce --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Britain's Queen is being remembered in Europe as well. The European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen called her a legend.

During her State of the Union Address, the Commission President said the Queen was a source of inspiration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

URSULA VON DER LEYEN, EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT: She was a constant throughout the turbulent and transforming events in the last 70 years, stoic and steadfast in her service. But more than anything, she always found the right words for every moment in time.

From the calls she made to our evacuees in 1940, to her historic address during the pandemic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: What's becoming clear is the sheer number of different roles that the Queen played from monarch to mother, to in many ways, patron of so many organizations and societies, as one of thousands of Girl Guides in the UK, which is the country's largest girls only group.

The organization help its members become empowered young women, and the young Elizabeth you see the pictures here served as a guide and a ranger.

Then as Queen, she became the Guides patron.

Emma Guthrie is with us, the group's Assistant Chief Guide.

What did having the Queen as patron bring, if you will?

EMMA GUTHRIE, ASSISTANT CHIEF GUIDE, GIRLGUIDING UK: So, the Queen has been a huge part of our organization for a really long time. I think having her as a Guide and then continuing through the organization and becoming our patron was really special to the organization.

[15:10:10]

And what she resembled for so many people was a leader, she was our leader ad you can tell that around the world and what she gave was community and service.

And what we ask of our members is that they try their best, and that the they help one another. They help the communities and she really embodied so many of those values.

QUEST: But was she engaged in that sense? Over many years, she held this post? Did she attend? Did she take an interest? I mean, I always think when I hear about the sort of Royals as patrons, I wonder how much involvement they have.

GUTHRIE: She was definitely very supportive. And actually, I had the opportunity to meet her as so many of our members do at one of the Garden Parties that she hosts and she invites lots of people who support their communities.

So she was definitely engaged and interested. As you see, she was a patron for lots of organizations, and she was an incredibly busy woman, but I think by being your patron, she symbolized to so many, including many in the Royal family, the importance of where she held organizations like Girlguiding.

QUEST: Right? Do we know -- and we're looking at pictures from the 1940s -- do we know how she was as a Guide? Do we have any knowledge of what it was like when she was a Guide?

GUTHRIE: Well, she actually took part in a lot of the similar activities that our girls take parts in today. Although, our program has changed a lot. She went camping. She earned badges in swimming and first aid and horse racing, things that we know that she loves. She clearly carried that love of horse racing throughout her life, and a real passion for the outdoors in particular.

QUEST: Thank you for joining us. I'm very grateful. Thank you.

Now, the issues concerning the Royal funeral. Well, you have the logistics, of course of actually holding a funeral. It is made multiple times more difficult by the numbers of foreign dignitaries, Heads of State, and the hundreds of thousands of mourners who are paying their respects.

We'll look at the logistical complexities of the Queen's funeral, in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:15:03]

QUEST: So, there is the queue tracker. It's gone down to 2.4 miles, but they do believe that 750,000 people, up to, will head to Westminster to pay their respects.

Anna Stewart is with me. We don't really know, do we? We don't really know. I mean, 300,000 or so for the Queen Mother. They are saying 2,000 an hour. I know it's not a numbers game, per se, but do we know?

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: It is a numbers game, and I haven't yet been counting each and every one of them, Richard. I think it is a little bit for that, but there are certainly thousands, I would say that I've met today and this queue is actually only 2.6 miles, which may sound to our viewers like a really long distance, it was up to three miles earlier (AUDIO GAP).

... is that there could be so many people, it could actually long surpass what they have here at the moment.

So, expected maximum would be from what I've heard is up to around a million people could be coming and whether or not they'll be able to get through that many people between now and the ending of -- through the ending of lying in state on Monday morning is anyone's guess.

QUEST: Right. But that's -- I mean, we don't know because it's only the day one, and we've still got the weekend when people, of course, are off work and can make the trip to London.

But at the moment, and again, listening to what people have been saying. We're talking five to seven hours.

STEWART: At this point where I am, and I'm not quite yet at the end of the queue, earlier today, someone was here at 2:00 PM. They've just gone through. So, we're working at about five-and-a-half hours at the moment. But of course, there was a massive sort of gap for the last hurdle. So, that has now moved up slightly.

I think you're right in terms of the weekend. We saw last weekend, for instance, huge crowds outside Buckingham Palace, people at the floral tribute garden. So, there were certainly more people then.

I also think a lot of Royal fans wanted to be part of the procession, they wanted to see the procession. So if you think of all the thousands of people we saw lining the Mall, and around Whitehall, then lots of those people perhaps will be coming here again.

So many people I've spoken to I've taken time off work specifically already to be (AUDIO GAP) -- QUEST: Your microphone -- your microphone continues to drop in and

out, Anna, but we're going to stay with you because I do want to ask you. There is a level of sophistication about this operation, nothing that I've seen before, wristbands so that people can go off to the loo, concession stands for food.

The information that I'm reading: What to bring, what not to bring, how it's going to go, seems to be of a different quantum level.

STEWART: They've planned this, Richard, for years and years and years and actually I found the guidance quite alarming. You know, you might be moving for 30 hours, you might not sit down. Think twice before you bring your kids, don't bring liquids. There will be airport staff security. There was a lot of information for people.

In terms of the marshals, we believe about a thousand volunteers of marshals helping the queue through. At this stage though, they are still actually struggling to keep up. As you can imagine, the people right here have yet to get their wristbands. They will, as they progress through the queue.

But this is a pretty massive operation: How you could prepare for up to a million people all wanting to go to the same place within four days? Well, it's quite a feat. And so far, people are pretty happy in this queue. They are moving fast -- Richard.

QUEST: Anna Stewart in London. We will be back with you more when there is more to talk about on that.

The crowds are huge and the Metropolitan Police has already said this will be the largest policing operation that they've ever undertaken. They are bringing in police officers from all over the country.

The funeral will also be one of the largest diplomatic events of the century. You've got Heads of State from around the world and just to give you a few names, Presidents Biden, Bolsonaro from Brazil, the New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern along with the Australian Prime Minister.

Simon Morgan is with me. He served as a personal protection officer for the Royal family for six years, now the Director at Trojan Consultancy.

First of all, before we talk about the operation they're going to put on, tell me about, as much as one can, being a PPO with the Royals and the Queen.

SIMON MORGAN, SERVED AS PERSONAL PROTECTION FAMILY FOR THE ROYAL FAMILY: It's a great job. It is certainly a high point of my career. I used to be on a Public Order Unit and a Firearms Team. I was selected for Royalty protection.

And it was a great part of my career working with great people in terms of colleagues, but having great principals like the Royal family.

QUEST: What was the queen like? What was she like?

MORGAN: Extremely personable. She completely understood what protection was all about. Obviously, she'd kind of had it all her life.

Our job was to work in and around her, a lot of the time she worked in around us. She knew when we were uncomfortable with something and she would work around us, which you know, for a principal is fantastic that they completely understand what you're doing.

And she understood why we were there, which when you strip it all back, you're there to preserve life.

[15:20:20]

QUEST: Is there a difference between the way she would have looked at it and say, some of the younger members of the Royal family?

MORGAN: Maybe, you know. She had been subject to attack herself, you know, back in 1981. There was an attempt with Marcus Sarjeant firing a starting pistol at her.

QUEST: Yes. I remember.

MORGAN: So, you know, she surely -- she will understand the value of it, and I am certain, when you consider the younger members of the family, they're coming through a different generation.

We've come through international terrorism with regards to Ireland, but Islamic fundamentalism is slightly different.

QUEST: So when we look at this week -- this weekend -- on Monday's funeral, I mean, I'm choosing my words extremely carefully because the last thing I want to do is forecast in any shape, form, or description what could or could not happen, but it is a target.

MORGAN: Well, the planners have certainly thought about that doomsday scenario. Any operation is being planned up to that point. Otherwise, you've already looked at failure if you haven't planned to that point. But yes, it's the biggest policing operation the Metropolitan Police has ever dealt with.

But it's been on the table for a number of years. It has been looked at. It has been revisited. It's been tabletop. And indeed, parts of it have already been tried and tested with other events that we've had here over the years.

QUEST: Of all the people who are coming, I mean, which would give you the most concern security -- the US President?

MORGAN: The US President is obviously one of the biggest targets in the world.

QUEST: But he comes with a large phalanx of his own security as well.

MORGAN: Yes, very much so. And you have to -- you know, the Secret Service work in and around protection teams here in the UK. But you know, you're putting, as you said previously, all the all the world's dignitaries in one place at the same time. We certainly don't want a scenario where we change history on Monday.

But you know, it is a security operation, and it is a public safety operation, as well.

QUEST: Look at the list of people who are coming. You've got the Australian Prime Minister, you've got the Japanese -- interestingly, the Japanese Emperor, which is coming, which I think is elevated, and you've got King Abdullah, along with a whole host of Royal families.

MORGAN: Yes.

QUEST: So, what happens with all these people and their own security?

MORGAN: They have to work with the Metropolitan Police Protection teams. Police protection teams here in the UK have primacy, and anybody coming in, effectively has to play by our rules. A lot of that is a legislative process with regards to use of force, carriage of firearms. So, people have to play by our rules as we very much have to play by their rules when we go to their country and they have primacy.

QUEST: A lot of the countries who will come, and like the United States, will have longstanding security relations with the United Kingdom will know those rules. And I mean, as I understand it, you know, if you're talking about Australia, New Zealand, the Five Eyes countries, essentially everybody is in lockstep on terms of security matters.

MORGAN: Absolutely. Absolutely, because of that Five Eyes project, and lots of these relationships have been built over time where they visited us and we visited them.

QUEST: What worries you the most? I mean, with the tutored and experienced eye, besides the obviousness of so many people in one place at one time, what worries you the most?

MORGAN: I think the single cause issue, somebody who has decided that they are going to use this event to publicize their cause to the world's media. Lots of other things -- international terrorism need support; fixated individuals, they are being monitored, but that individual whose decided, "Day, date time, place, I'm going to do this." And it could be simply as you know, running in front of the gun carriage, you know, to highlight their cause. That is someone that's always my greatest concern.

QUEST: Right, and I find -- because this becomes difficult now, doesn't it?

MORGAN: Certainly.

QUEST: Because at the same time, you have to allow people to protest, which of course is a huge -- there is a huge argument in this country at the moment over somebody who was arrested or at least detained.

Not the one with Prince Andrew, but somebody else just holding up a sign basically saying, "Not my King."

MORGAN: Yes.

QUEST: And as a protection officer -- as a protection officer, once you have established that they don't pose a physical threat to your principal, I guess, that's the end of it for you. I mean, they can protest as much as they like.

MORGAN: They can, but certainly when we're talking about these scenarios, in the current circumstances that we are, we have to look at a public order situation, a crowd dynamics situation. What if that individual actually upsets the people around him, the people around him decide now that they're going to take action into their own hands.

[15:25:06]

If we look at the scenario in Scotland, the interaction with the police getting involved, I think actually saved that individual from being assaulted.

QUEST: A final thought. In there, forget the hardened police, firearms galore. In there, what did you feel today?

MORGAN: It's tough. It's been a very surreal couple of days, from the moment that the Palace made that announcement, something wasn't right, and then when you saw the family going up to Scotland, from a protection perspective, you know, that's really not great to have a move like that. You wouldn't do it unnecessarily and that built --

QUEST: What about that picture of William driving the car, with the others all in the car. How did that happen?

MORGAN: Yes, that's kind of choice, and as protection officers, you get to facilitate that. You put mitigation in place, and it is kind of a choice.

So the Royal family do drive themselves. So, it's not unusual by any means. But you put mitigation in place to have that. But my biggest moment was last night, when the Queen kind of came back to Buckingham Palace, and the special escort group were all lined up outside and bowed their heads, that to me, showed extreme professionalism and extreme respect.

QUEST: I'm grateful you came tonight, sir, to talk.

MORGAN: Thank you very much.

QUEST: Thank you.

The Mayor of London says the city has never seen an event like it in its history, and Sadiq Khan says, you can think of it like the London Marathon, the Olympics, and the previous world weddings, all rolled into one.

CNN's Bianca Nobilo asked the mayor, well, putting all of that together. Is the city ready? (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR SADIQ KHAN, LONDON: We are -- it is unprecedented. I mean, the world has not seen a funeral like this. She was loved, revered, our monarch for more than 70 years.

We've got police officers from around the country and we've got the Armed Forces. We've got stewards and others, because people are to pay their last respects to Her Majesty, the Queen. People are being queuing for some time. Now, they want to be able to see Her Majesty laid in state.

She'll be leaving Buckingham Palace today for her last time just, after two. Our King and the immediate family will be following behind by foot. They arrive at Westminster Hall at three, and along the route you will see literally hundreds of thousands of people paying their respects to Her Majesty, the Queen.

It's quite personal for many people. We all have our own relationships with Her Majesty. I know she will lay in state for the next five days before the State Funeral on Monday, and we expect to see over the course of the next few days, hundreds of thousands of people personally pay their respects to Her Majesty, the Queen, but also we expect to see Prime Ministers, Presidents, members the Royal family and others from across the globe, coming to pay the respects over the next few days in London.

She was born in London, Her Majesty, and we're really proud that she's back home in London. Clearly, she had a huge amount of affection for Balmoral and Windsor.

And on Monday, of course, she'll be leaving London for the last time going to Windsor Castle.

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And you've been speaking to members of the public in this queue. There's a huge Commonwealth presence. How does it make you feel as Mayor of London that the world's eyes are on London right now, what it's capable of and what it does best?

KHAN: I am somebody's born and raised in London. My parents came from Pakistan, my grandparents are from India. She was our Queen. And one of the things about Her Majesty, the Queen is not only is she our Queen, I speak as the Mayor of London, I speak as someone who is British, but the Queen of the Commonwealth, but also people who aren't members of the Commonwealth saw her as their Queen.

She was the continuity during the course of their lives across the globe. Presidents come and go, Prime Ministers come and go. Some members of respectable families come and go, she was ever present.

But the really reassuring thing is our King, King Charles III had the best possible mentor and the best possible apprenticeship and that's why I'm so confident he will be a wonderful King, and the message from our city is "Rest in peace, Queen Elizabeth, II. Long live King Charles III." Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.

The mourners will be passing all night long. It is of course, half past eight here, 24 hours a day, and just watch for a few seconds as the line moves forward. That's the speed it's going in certain parts. It slows down because they go in in batches.

But it proves the point, you've got to keep moving and there is no room to sit down and you can't bring bags or much with you. But that's not stopping people joining a two-and-a-half mile line, which takes about five to seven hours to go through.

Good evening.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:30:05]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

QUEST: We have said many times that the city and the country have never seen anything like it before and probably would not see the like of it again.

Exactly what did happen today as the queen's coffin traveled from the palace to Westminster Hall?

CNN's Bianca Nobilo takes us through the events of the day.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Queen Elizabeth II departed Buckingham Palace for the final time. Her coffin revealed for a grand farewell, adorned with the Imperial State Crown on top of the gun carriage of the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery.

Flanked by her treasured Grenadier Guards and Household Cavalry, in a procession led by her four children, King Charles III; in ceremonial field marshal uniform, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward.

The ceremonial and the operational regiments breaking through the silent crowds. Flights were partially suspended during the 14-minute procession for silence over the skies.

Symbols of Britain's parting famous London thoroughfares to the tunes of classic music selected by the late queen and minute (ph) guns fired from Hyde Park echoed through the mall and Whitehall.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

NOBLES (voice-over): The only spoken words were prayers led by the Archbishop of Canterbury at Westminster Hall.

JUSTIN WELBY, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY: And to God's gracious mercy and protection, we commit to you.

NOBLES (voice-over): Where her English oak coffin, draped in the Royal Standard, is placed on a catafalque.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was ready for the long. Stay it didn't matter whether I was 24 hours, 48 hours I was, ready to stay. On because this is a woman that means much more than my destiny (ph). She is modest.

[15:35:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And she communicated with us at our level when we brought disadvantaged children to meet her.

NOBLES (voice-over): A line of mourners snaked through central London waiting for their turn to pay tribute to the queen, lying in state until her funeral on Monday.

SADIQ KHAN, MAYOR OF LONDON: The really reassuring thing is our king, King Charles III, had the best possible mentor and the best possible apprenticeship. And that is why I am so confident he will be a wonderful king.

NOBLES (voice-over): The scale and security and seas of crowds today give us a glimpse of what to expect as the city prepares for the queen's funeral next week -- Bianca Nobilo, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: Salma's with me, Salma Abdelaziz.

Extraordinary day.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think as an outsider to this country, as someone who has lived here for seven years, fell in love with it, I am still having this moment of culture shock, Richard.

Just walking around the streets, like you said the. City has never seen anything like it. It is really astounding.

QUEST: As a relatively new reporter, this is one of the biggest stories you've ever touched upon.

ABDELAZIZ: It is huge and it is one of these moments where you feel that you are learning quite actively about this country as you're covering the story. I think the pomp and the circumstance of the monarchy -- that was always very clear to me; that was something I had seen.

But the people, the outpouring of support, the waiting in line for hours --

QUEST: Does it feel weird? Does it feel weird, bordering on -- because, you know, quite often, the politically correct always sort of scorn the sort of people who -- well, not that you would. But you know, line up for six hours to say and pay respects to a woman they've never met.

And yet, if you're British, it feels right.

Can you see what I'm saying?

ABDELAZIZ: Absolutely, I see what you're saying. It has put a question in my mind, which is this about personal regard for an individual?

For the queen, the woman, this person we hear over and over again, who's always been there my whole life, as you hear.

Or is this about the monarchy, the institution, the larger. Thing and that is my question right. Now is what is this about?

Personal regard for the woman that was seen as grandmother, mother?

Or is this about larger traditions and monarchy and institution and the family?

I think that is yet to be seen. But what an extraordinary moment to witness it.

QUEST: And Princes Harry and -- the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex, it's almost as if -- let's have a bit of soap opera whilst we're about it because they did get together, which is exactly what the queen would have wanted.

ABDELAZIZ: It is and we have seen them now for the second time since her passing, since these events have taken place side by side.

I think today was particular potent, particularly important because they were behind in that procession. Of course, it was so reminiscent of what happened with Princess Diana for so many people watching that moment, now seeing them as adult men.

But there are huge divisions there.

Is this a temporary moment in respect of what is happening?

Or is something actually being healed here?

(CROSSTALK)

ABDELAZIZ: I would not want to speculate. But there are still oceans between them quite literally. Harry still lives in United States; of course, his brother now ascending to a higher position and moving further through the monarchy. There is a huge divide just when it comes to their own personal life experiences on a day-to-day basis.

QUEST: Then we saw Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, who, again, we have not heard anything like this before, experienced it behind Kate and then holding hands with her husband as they left Westminster Abbey. They will -- she will be wondering what they have left behind. Or maybe not.

ABDELAZIZ: This is the question. There is so much speculation around that relationship and around what was the jealousy or the ambition or the interest.

Ultimately, the facts are, Harry and Meghan did leave. They have established a life outside of this country. Yes, they are entering briefly into the fray. But the decision they made, that is a final decision. That is a decision to live in the United States, to live outside of the bounds of that royal family.

QUEST: And they are going to have a lifetime of having to navigate that when major events like this come along. Of course, Harry is still going to obviously be intimately involved because his father's the king.

ABDELAZIZ: Absolutely, absolutely and sometimes it comes down to minor details, like what do they wear?

But it's also about how do the public receive them?

[15:40:00]

QUEST: Very glad you came here this evening. Thank you very much.

Now as you and I continue, President Zelenskyy made a high-profile visit, a symbolic celebration. We will talk about that after the break.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

QUEST: The Ukrainian military says that Russian shelling has decreased significantly, is the word they are using, around Kharkiv, after Kyiv's surprise counteroffensive. President Zelenskyy made an unannounced visit to Izyum, one of the largest cities that has since been recaptured.

He said he was shocked by the amount of death and destruction that he saw there. Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian forces had retaken about 8,000 square kilometers from Russia this month. Ben Wedeman is with me from Kyiv.

Ben, an assessment, please.

Is this a sea change in your view in the prosecution of this war one way or another?

Does this fundamentally alter the balance of power?

(AUDIO GAP) BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: -- defensive, as you mentioned. They've lost a huge amount of land. They have suffered a huge symbolic defeat.

And what we are seeing is that, when President Zelenskyy was in Izyum today, he said that our flag will fly over every Ukrainian city and village. What he is saying is that all of the territory that Russia has controlled or its proxies in the Donbas, in Crimea, the intention of the Ukrainian government is to regain all of it.

There is no room for territorial compromise to bring this conflict to an end. The Ukrainians are -- now the morale has gone through the roof, we see this in Kyiv, the feeling is perhaps, even though there is still no real light at the end of the tunnel of this war, a corner has certainly been turned -- Richard.

QUEST: Right. So this question, though, as the Russians say that actually it is not the Ukrainians that have turned the tide but NATO, through its supply of weaponry to Ukraine.

How true is that?

WEDEMAN: Certainly there is no question about it that some of the weaponry that has been provided by NATO --

[15:45:00]

-- particularly the United States, has made a huge difference. We see this over the last few months with the HIMARS, the high mobility artillery rocket systems provided by the U.S.

They have allowed the Ukrainians to, in a sense, counter the advantage the Russians have in terms of just the number of artillery pieces. For instance, today, the Ukrainian military is saying that the Russians in the Kharkiv area have had to pull some of their S-300 -- that is a very sophisticated air defense system -- out of Ukrainian territory itself and into Russia because they are vulnerable to these HIMARS systems.

So there is no question about it that the aid, the weaponry and the other forms of support provided by NATO have made a huge difference. But at the end of the day, let's not forget, the people on the ground fighting the Russians are the Ukrainians themselves, Richard.

QUEST: Ben, thank you, sir, in Kyiv tonight.

After yesterday's truly dreadful business on Wall Street, U.S. stocks are marginally lower. It has the steep losses that we saw. Yesterday was just horrible. We want to talk about the markets. The worst day since June of 2020.

And it was all because of inflation and consumer worries about consumer inflation. There was better news today; the producer prices index fell last month. But even so, the Dow is still up. You can see exactly how the day has gone.

Rahel Solomon is with me.

Rahel, look, there was no valid justification for a 5 percent, 4 percent drop yesterday because of a tinge on the CPI number.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: To that we agree, Richard. I completely agree. But I think that, as you know, there has been this complacency in the market that maybe the worst of inflation was behind us. Maybe because we have the strong jobs number, maybe we might get out and actually see a soft landing to your point.

But perhaps this news is some more encouraging news that we got today, that producer price index, which showed prices declined modestly, 0.1 percent, that is nothing to celebrate in the streets.

But it is something. And here is what I think is really interesting, Richard. This is the second consecutive month of declines for producer inflation. We have not seen that since the very beginning of the pandemic. January, February, March and April is the last time that we saw consecutive declines.

So look, it is not a lot but it is encouraging. It is something. Anything on the inflation front that is encouraging I think a lot of folks will take.

QUEST: Except, I will challenge you on this, except you have to factor in how much of this is a result of, say, for example, energy prices, which have dropped by 25 percent in the United States, versus the increase in labor costs because of the continuing tight labor market. We do not really know how that balances out.

SOLOMON: That is the whole thing; you are right. This was largely driven by energy, which by the way, when you look under the hood of this report, you see that this was largely driven by a fall in prices for goods. Services actually still increased.

So this is largely energy and, as we know, energy prices are volatile and can move in the other direction. That said, we saw prices fall for things like lumber; that is encouraging. We saw prices fall for other raw materials.

Again, it is not much but it is some encouragement. It is a sign that perhaps we could see this, what we saw in the report, show up a few months down the road in consumer inflation. That is why many people think that this is the leading indicator, that it could indicate what is in the pipeline and what we might see in consumer prices.

QUEST: The Fed next week, 50 basis or 75?

SOLOMON: Oh, Richard, Richard, Richard, you know that is not the debate anymore. The debate is actually now is it 75, which most of the market is pricing in, I am actually starting to see 100 basis points. I think we are looking at 75 basis points, which, you know, as someone pointed out earlier, is the new 25 basis points.

It would be the third consecutive rate hike of that magnitude which is still significant, it is still something. That is why I think the Fed is going to keep it at 75 and not go any higher. But it definitely don't think they're going any lower.

QUEST: Rahel Solomon, it is good to see you, thank you. We will find out next Wednesday at the New York stock exchange. QUEST MEANS BUSINESS will come from the NYSE next Wednesday when that result is announced.

So Max Foster, who is our royal correspondent, has masterfully led us through the coverage over the last several days.

[15:50:00]

He will be with me for a few thoughts on today's events (ph).

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QUEST: On this clear London night, the line to pay the final farewell is now more than four kilometers. Those who are determined to offer their respects, regardless of how long it takes.

The ceremonial aspects of it, as the king led his family behind the carriage, behind the coffin of his mother.

The ceremonies have been planned for years, decades and the queen approved every aspect of it. Max Foster is with me.

So before we get to the nitty-gritty of it, Max, you have covered this. You have planned for this, along with everybody else. Now it is happening in front of you. All that stuff that you have waited to deal with.

What is it like?

MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT: It is just amazing how it has all come together but also, it is a pomp and ceremony, how we hoped it would be. It has all gone just so well.

But also something interesting that happened this morning, we were talking about how this would be a silent procession. But something changed; at the rehearsal this morning, they added the music.

QUEST: Really?

FOSTER: Yes. We are not being told what happened. Obviously they had music planned--

QUEST: So the Royal Marine Band and the Household Cavalry, the Lifeguards' band played as well.

FOSTER: It was meant to be silent -- I don't know whether all of it was meant to be silent or a part of it but certainly there was more music added this morning after the rehearsal. I don't know what changed that. But that was, for me, a bit of a surprise. I was expecting a much more solemn event. But of course, it still worked brilliantly anyway.

QUEST: And the mood of the royal family -- you've spent years, you can read their body language, what did you make?

FOSTER: Well, they weren't interacting, where they?

But this was the thing: whenever you switched to anyone, talked to anyone in the palace about tensions in the family they'd say, this is about the queen. It is why we have not seen much of them. It has very orchestrated and why they are all just looking ahead or looking down all day.

The utter focus has been on the queen and allowing the public to remember her. So it must have been very emotional last night, the coffin in the palace; that was their goodbye, in a way, handing the coffin over to Parliament, effectively handing it over to the people and having their opportunity to pay their respects.

Quite a lot of emotion there in the hall we have been seeing today. People are very tired, having queued for a long time as well.

QUEST: Right. And now we are going to go on to the funeral, which of course, again, I sort of think that perhaps today's procession was a high point because, you know, the next procession is only from Westminster to the Abbey. And the funeral service will be what it is. But this was that classic, through the streets of London that we saw.

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FOSTER: I was speaking to Isa earlier, she was speaking to a member of the House of Lords and he said to her that this is the central part of the whole mourning process.

[15:55:00]

More so than even the funeral because of what it symbolizes, lying in state in Westminster Hall. I guess it depends on what perspective you are coming from. We are going to get more details tomorrow about the actual funeral. We have of course heard that President Biden is coming, the emperor of Japan's coming.

QUEST: Yes, I was interested, the emperor of Japan; I was surprised.

FOSTER: Well, he does not travel very much, doesn't he?

QUEST: No.

FOSTER: I came once to a monarchs' meeting for one of the jubilees here. The emperor came at the time there. This is a different regime, of course. But they do not necessarily travel to other people's...

QUEST: And all those crowned heads of Europe --

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FOSTER: Yes, it is going to be incredible. I think all the European monarchs are coming. It looks like many from the Middle East, who, of course, would represent those countries anyway.

QUEST: Good to have you, sir. Thank you very much indeed. It's been a busy few days. It has been a privilege to be here with you.

FOSTER: Thank you.

QUEST: Our coverage continues, of course. Bianca is with you in the next hour. Because the news never stops, neither do we. This is CNN.