By Faten Omar

KUWAIT: The UK Embassy in Kuwait held a commemorative ceremony in the memory of Queen Elizabeth II, on Wednesday, in cooperation with the Embassy of Ukraine, where ambassadors and Kuwaiti officials paid tribute to Britain's Queen. In a press statement, UK's Ambassador to Kuwait, Belinda Lewis said "It is a musical event dedicated to the memory of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, where her favorite music was played. The embassy aims to make today's event a very personal tribute to her."

Ambassador Lewis praised Kuwait's gesture in honoring the memory of Queen Elizabeth, adding, "We are deeply grateful for the many heartfelt messages of condolences that we have received." "I was very touched by the Kuwaiti government, the ruling family, and Kuwaiti nationals who sent us texts and signed the book of condolences. There was also a wonderful gesture made by the Kuwait government, to lower the flags at half-mast to mourn the departure of Britain's Queen," she continued.

KUWAIT: Ukrainian paintings on display.

KUWAIT: Guests at the memorial. - Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

KUWAIT: Ukrainian nationals display their cultural fare at a stall at the memorial.

Regarding the ceremony, Lewis indicated that it included live piano music and photos projected on the screen of Her Majesty's life. "She is a unique figure in history - we wanted a more personal and a different event. It felt right to think about her as a human being - she was a mother, grandmother, as well as queen. We thought about what she enjoyed. She would want us to continue with activities to bring people together. Also, she loved music and that is why we wanted music to be the theme of our event today."

KUWAIT: Music being played at the memorial.

She pointed out "It is a joint event planned in cooperation with the British and Ukrainian embassies. Before the sad news of her Majesty's death, we were planning to help celebrate Ukrainian cultural week, because the Ukraine embassy will not celebrate its national day this year due to the war. We originally planned a fabulous catwalk show with beautiful dresses, jewelry, glasses, and accessories from Ukrainian designers."

Oleksandr Balanutsa

In turn, the Ambassador of Ukraine to Kuwait, Oleksandr Balanutsa, stated "I would like to thank Ambassador Belinda for this event as initially we had planned an event to support Ukraine, although we changed the concept after the death of the Queen." He also expressed the Ukrainian embassy's love and passion for music, devoting it to the memory of the queen, adding "We will be praying for the queen and the royal people. We will give back the love to the British people."

Balanutsa emphasized that within the last six months, the Kuwaiti government has been providing Ukraine with the needed humanitarian support. "We do believe that even with the change of the parliament and the new government, this support will continue." "In today's event, we have four exhibitions representing Ukraine, as well as a Ukrainian artificial intelligence start-up, where the computer presents the painting," Balanutsa noted. Britain's Queen Elizabeth II died at the age of 96 at her Balmoral residence in Scotland. She was Britain's longest-serving monarch and celebrated 70 years on the throne this year.