Dignitaries from around the world are gathered to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth the second, which includes Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

“Every time I got to meet with her majesty, her generosity and her gracefulness made that moment, the most important moment ever. She had a way of reaching out and connecting with whoever she met with and actually connecting with crowds and people who only saw her on television,” Trudeau says. “The ability she had to reassure and inspire and ground. Anyone she interacted with is something that was always remarkable no matter how many times I’d seen her, no matter how long I got to see her for at any given moment, her ability to focus entirely on you on the person she was talking to and make it an extraordinarily memorable moment was unparalleled.

Trudeau says this is also an opportunity to gather with leaders from around the world, to note the remarkable service of Queen Elizabeth II, “To talk about the values that guided her and I saw as we move forward into the future, certainly this is a moment for reflection on 70 years of extraordinary service to Canada and to the Commonwealth and reflect on the work we have to do going forward as a world to bring people together.”

Queen Elizabeth II passed away on September 8th.  A state funeral is being held today in London, England.

Trudeau is joined by former PM’s Kim Campbell, Jean Chrétien, Paul Martin, and Stephen Harper, along with Governor General Mary Simon, and Michaëlle Jean and David Johnston, who formerly held the role.

Indigenous community leaders and members from The Order of Canada are also in attendance today.