Gibraltar was “under a cloud of sadness” on Friday, a day after the death of Queen Elizabeth II aged 96, as the British enclave on the southern tip of Spain canceled its national day, the prime minister said.
“The death of Queen Elizabeth II was a terrible blow to all Britons and to the people of all their kingdoms and commonwealth,” Gibraltar leader Fabian Picardo said in a statement.
“All of Gibraltar is under a cloud of sadness today,” he said, announcing the cancellation of the territory’s national day on September 10, which would have been its first post-pandemic celebration.
Known as The Rock, Gibraltar covers just 6.8 square kilometers (2.6 sq mi) and is dominated by a massive block of limestone whose white cliffs soar more than 400 meters (1,300 feet) above sea level.
“The (British) Prime Minister (Liz Truss) said Her Majesty was ‘the rock on which modern Britain was built’. I agree… but I take it a step further,” said the Chief Minister.
“Gibraltar was HER rock. And she was ours.”
The Queen visited Gibraltar only once, in May 1954, almost a year after her coronation. Picardo said the enclave “appreciated their visit…which left an indelible mark” and cemented their “loyalty to the Crown.”
While Spain ceded Gibraltar permanently to Britain in 1713 after a military struggle, Madrid had long wanted it back in a thorny dispute that has fueled longstanding tensions.
But the 34,000 residents have no interest in being anything other than British.
Earlier, cannon fire rang out across Gibraltar as it joined the ceremonial “death guns salute” held in all four corners of the UK in memory of the late monarch, who died at her Balmoral estate in Scotland on Thursday.
96 shots were fired – one for each year of their lives – from two locations in London, Edinburgh Castle in Scotland, Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland and Cardiff Castle in Wales, as well as the Channel Islands and Gibraltar.
On Saturday, when the late Queen’s son and successor is officially proclaimed the new Sovereign, the Royal Gibraltar Regiment will fire a 21-gun salute at 11:00 GMT “in honor of the proclamation of the new King Charles III in London”, said Picardo.
