Labour's deputy leader has spoken about the chilling moment she saw a note saying that the Queen's health was failing - and that Keir Starmer needed to leave the chamber to be briefed.
Angela Rayner - who said her family are "big royalists" - said she was thinking "oh my God, this is going to change everything" when frontbenchers were handed the message.
She said the note was "in plain English" and made clear the gravity of the situation.
She told The News Agents podcast, presented by Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel: "I read between the lines on that because you don't get a note saying the Queen's unwell if she's got a bit of a cough and cold."
The MP said "it was kind of the first thought that went from my mind was a personal thought of ‘oh my God, this is going to change everything’."
In a wide-ranging interview she added that a scaled back coronation would be a "kind gesture" as Brits struggle to pay their bills.
Ms Rayner said she was handed the note while Mr Starmer was speaking about the cost of living crisis in the Commons - and was prompted to hand it over by Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle.
Describing her efforts to inform her party leader, she said: "Well I was trying to get the note to him without being too dramatic, but also not knowing exactly what was going on, but that I needed to get him out of the Chamber.
"But yeah, and then it was only when The Speaker kind of indicated, because I kept the note and I was trying to think, how am I going to get it to Keir without totally ruining what he's trying to say."
She continued: "So I was kind of waiting for my opportunity to do it. And then I looked over at Mr Speaker and he's giving me the nod of ‘this is actually quite urgent’, i.e. don't wait for your opportunity. So I kind of knew that it was quite an important moment."
Ms Rayner said she felt "incredibly sombre" as the reality of the situation dawned.
After leaving the Chamber, she and Mr Starmer were briefed by Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, and learned about the monarch's passing shortly before it was announced.
Looking to the future, Ms Rayner said it would be a "kind gesture" to scale back the coronation in light of the cost of living crisis, stating: "I think people will see that as a really responsible, kind gesture. They know he comes from privilege, they know that he's not worried about his gas bill."
She continued: "There's a lot of people that’ll be angry, because there is a lot of upset out there, because people are absolutely petrified about their future.
"But I think from my background, which is very working class as well, the fact that somebody of his stature recognises that, actually is quite a respectful thing.
"That somebody, the King of our nation has said ‘I recognise that things are difficult for you’. Actually, I think that's quite a respectful thing for him to do."
