The Grenadier Guards are given just six hours' notice to get haircuts and prepare their ceremonial tunics ahead of the Queen's state funeral, it has been revealed.
Queen Elizabeth II, Britain's longest serving monarch, died yesterday afternoon at Balmoral Castle at the age of 96.
She has been succeeded by King Charles III who is expected to make his first address to the nation as sovereign at 6pm this evening.
Plans are now in place for 17 days of mourning, with details of the Queen's funeral set to be announced in due course.
The six coffin bearers, who all stand at least six feet tall, will be issued rubber boots - so they are less likely to slip while carrying the late Queen.
The regiment will lead the Army's contribution to the state funeral, and Her Majesty was the regiment's Colonel-in-Chief.
Its senior company, meanwhile, is called the Queen's Company, the Mail reports.
But the Queen's Company is currently deployed in Iraq and therefore, a company made up of newly qualified guardsmen, is expected to step in their place.
Guardsmen were last night put on six hours' notice to take part in events to mark her reign, known as Operation Bridge.
The Bearer Party - which is the name given to the coffin bearers - have been selected from Nijmegen Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards.
A Guards source said: "The soles of normal guard boots are made of wood and steel and are very slippery. So it is much safer to wear rubber.
"But the rubber boots are only issued for special occasions so there is a rush on to get everyone involved fitted."
Yesterday, senior soldiers were summoned by the Grenadier Guards' drill sergeant at Lille Barracks in Aldershot for a briefing.
The Grenadier Guards is the most senior regular Army regiment, dating back to 1656.
Meanwhile, King Charles III spoke of his grief soon after Buckingham Palace announced the Queen's death yesterday evening, with the monarch dying “peacefully” at Balmoral near Aberdeen.
Charles will now turn his mind to matters of state as he begins his first full day as the nation’s new monarch having spent much of his 73 years in preparation for the role.
One of the first acts of the new King – whose chosen title was confirmed by Prime Minister Liz Truss – was to speak of his grief and highlight the “respect and deep affection” in which the Queen was “so widely held”.
Charles, whose wife Camilla is now Queen, said in a written statement: “The death of my beloved Mother, Her Majesty The Queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family.
“We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished Sovereign and a much-loved Mother.
“I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world.
“During this period of mourning and change, my family and I will be comforted and sustained by our knowledge of the respect and deep affection in which The Queen was so widely held.”
Tomorrow morning, an Accession Council – the formal proclamation of Charles as King – will take place at St James’s Palace in London.
The first public proclamation of the new sovereign will then be read in the open air from the Friary Court balcony at St James’s Palace by the Garter King of Arms.
