Summary
Here’s a roundup of today’s events as the Queen’s coffin has arrived at Buckingham Palace, ahead of her lying in state from tomorrow.
The Queen’s coffin has been welcomed by crowds of mourners as it arrived at Buckingham Palace. It will rest in the Bow Room, before it is moved on Wednesday to lie in state at the Palace of Westminster.
Officials have set out the formal plans for a queue up to five miles long for people to pay respects to the Queen lying in state, a complex logistical exercise including toilets, first aid and round-the-clock refreshments on the route.
King Charles will be joined by his sons the Prince of Wales and Duke of Sussex as they walk behind the Queen’s coffin from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall. Charles, William and Harry – along with Prince Andrew, Princess Anne and Prince Edward – will follow the coffin on foot.
Dozens of Clarence House staff have been given notice of their redundancy as the offices of King Charles and the Queen Consort move to Buckingham Palace after the death of the Queen, the Guardian has learned.
King Charles visited Northern Ireland and said he would “seek the welfare of all the inhabitants of Northern Ireland”, in a formal response to the region’s assembly on his visit to Hillsborough Castle to meet the public and politicians. He met Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill and Ireland’s president Michael D Higgins.
A service of reflection for the life of the Queen took place at St Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast.
That’s all for today. Tomorrow the Queen will be taken from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall where she will lie in state until Monday.
The Trussell Trust, which runs more than 1,400 foodbanks in the UK, has defended a decision by some of its branches to close on the day of the Queen’s funeral.
A food bank in Stoke-on-Trent said it would close three distribution centres on Monday, and others in East Elmbridge, East Grinstead, Grantham, Ringwood and South Sefton said they would follow suit.
A food bank in Wimbledon has done a U-turn after saying it would shut. PA Media reports it said it now had enough volunteers to open and added: “as a reminder we are not a government service and run solely on people’s donations of time, money and food.”
Emma Revie, chief executive of the Trussell Trust said: “Food banks in our network run sessions on different days and at different times.
“Food banks are best placed to make the right decision for their communities and will ensure everyone who needs support can access it as they do with every bank holiday.
“As each food bank is an independent charity, we’d encourage people who need support to contact their local food bank to check their opening hours.”
Updated
Princes William and Harry to join King Charles in walking behind coffin to Westminster Hall
The King will be joined by his sons the Prince of Wales and Duke of Sussex as they walk behind the Queen’s coffin from Buckingham Palace to where she will lie in state.
Charles, William and Harry – along with Prince Andrew, Princess Anne and Prince Edward – will follow the coffin on foot as it makes its journey to Westminster Hall on Wednesday afternoon.
Anne’s son Peter Phillips and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence will also walk in the procession, as well as the Duke of Gloucester and the Earl of Snowdon.
Camilla, Queen Consort, Catherine, Princess of Wales, and Sophie, Countess of Wessex, as well as Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex.
The procession will leave the palace at 2.22pm and is expected to arrive at Westminster Hall at 3pm.
A service lasting around 20 minutes will be led by the Archbishop of Canterbury accompanied by the Dean of Westminster.
Chaplains from different faiths and denominations will be offering support to people queuing to see the Queen lying in state at Westminster Hall.
The service will start at 9am on Wednesday and will run until Sunday. Chaplains will be engaging with the crowd during daylight hours.
Identified by hi-vis vests which have Faith Team printed on them, the chaplains will move along with the crowd, introduce themselves, have conversations and if requested, pray with people, PA Media reports.
The team of chaplains has been recruited and commissioned by Lambeth Palace and the dioceses of London and Southwark – and received an induction led by the spiritual care team at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS foundation trust.
Updated
Details revealed of queueing system to view Queen's coffin
Officials have set out the formal plans for a queue up to five miles long for people to pay respects to the Queen lying in state, a complex logistical exercise including toilets, first aid and round-the-clock refreshments on the route.
With hundreds of thousands of people expected to queue for many hours to get the chance to view the Queen’s coffin in Westminster Hall, volunteers from groups including the Scouts and Salvation Army have been drafted in to help.
Official guidance to the public coming to London warns those thinking of attending to expect “very long” queues, very possibly overnight, and to especially consider this if bringing children.
People will be issued with coloured and numbered wristbands, showing their place in the queue and meaning they can leave it to use toilets or fetch food and drink.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, which is leading on the arrangements, plans to provide live updates on the length of the queue, and where it begins at any given time. It will be closed if the numbers waiting are too great to ensure those in the line will reach Westminster in time.
The process, formally known as lying in state, begins at 5pm on Wednesday after the Queen’s coffin is taken in a procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, the 11th-century structure at the heart of the parliamentary estate.
From then, those who have queued will be able to file past the coffin 24 hours a day until 6.30am next Monday, the day of the Queen’s funeral.
Justin Trudeau has declared a federal holiday for the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, granting a handful of employees across Canada a day off.
“Declaring an opportunity for Canadians to mourn on Monday is going to be important,” the Canadian prime minister said on Tuesday. “For our part we will letting federal employees know that Monday will be a day of mourning where they will not work.”
But in Canada, nearly 90% of workers fall under provincial jurisdiction, and most were given little indication if they are expected to show up to work Monday. Trudeau said he was working with the provinces on a possible public holiday.
Center Parcs announces U-turn over closure plan
There has been a U-turn in one of the more bizarre of the corporate announcements in the aftermath of the Queen’s death.
Center Parcs, which runs a number of holiday villages across the UK had planned to evict guests on Monday, when the Queen’s funeral will take place.
However after an outcry, there has been a reversal from bosses on Tuesday night.
A spokesman said: “We have however, reviewed our position regarding the very small number of guests who are not due to depart on Monday and we will be allowing them to stay on our villages rather than having to leave and return on Tuesday. The villages will still remain closed on Monday and we will be offering a discount for the lack of facilities available on that day.”
Updated
Emily Dugan has been outside Buckingham Palace earlier this evening, where she asked mourners what they thought of the Guardian’s story this evening that Clarence House has made staff redundant.
In the small crowd outside the gates at Buckingham Palace, many were shocked at the Guardian’s revelations about the handling of redundancies at Clarence House.
Podiatrist Christhell Hobbs, 57, is a regular attendee at royal events and was in the throng for Kate and William’s wedding.
She said of the staff facing redundancy: “I think it’s sad. They have families they have to support.”
Hobbs, who left Fairlight near Hastings in East Sussex first thing in the morning to see the Queen’s coffin arrive on Tuesday evening, added: “Many of them have put in many good years of service and now they’re told ‘we don’t want you’. You have to be human about this.”
Korina Massicat, 22, from east London is studying politics at Durham university. She said: “[these are] people who’ve been working hard and are faithful and loyal. Nobody deserves to be fired because someone dies.”
Lexi, 26, a fashion student at Central St Martins in London who was right outside the palace gates, said: “It’s quite shocking. I don’t get it, she only just passed away. It’s more important to get the funeral done – I don’t think this was a good time to do it right now.”
Gary Taylor, 54, from Gray’s End, is a property developer and an enthusiastic Royalist. He kept a royal scrapbook as a child but conceded “It is bad timing. It’s not what you would expect because it’s so soon.”
A sizeable contingent in the crowd refused to believe the news, even when shown it online. “That’s scaremongering, that is” said one woman, looking disgusted. Another said “people aren’t prepared to hear negative stuff at the moment”.
The speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, is due to sign the condolence book for the Queen in Washington DC later today.
NEW: The British ambassador is stopping by the Capitol tonight so Speaker Pelosi can sign the condolence book honoring Queen Elizabeth II
— Matt Laslo (@MattLaslo) September 13, 2022
Updated
This timelapse video shows miles-long queues outside St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh to see the Queen’s coffin.
The line continued to grow from Monday evening, as people waited for the first opportunity to view the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II in Edinburgh cathedral where King Charles III presided over a vigil.
Penny Lancaster was seen in her police uniform at RAF Northolt, shortly before the Queen’s coffin arrived in London after leaving Edinburgh earlier today.
The 51-year-old, who is married to crooner Rod Stewart, began working as a special constable last year and earlier confirmed she would be working during the Queen’s funeral on Monday.
On Tuesday evening she was pictured engaging and marshalling expectant crowds and helping a wheelchair user.
Updated
Our colleague Emily Dugan reports on the moment the Queen’s coffin arrived at Buckingham Palace:
As the motorcade pulled up outside the gates, the motorbikes cut their engines and the crowd fell silent in the darkness.
The hush continued as the brightly lit hearse slowly pulled in through the rain.
Once the hearse was in the driveway, the crowd broke out in applause and a round of three cheers for the Queen.
Kim Frances, 44, from Anna Valley in Hampshire, said: “That was so emotional.
“She’s home now.”
Updated
King Charles became annoyed with a leaking pen during a visit to Northern Ireland’s Hillsborough Castle on Tuesday.
Charles, alongside the Queen Consort, Camilla, was attending a reception at the castle, where he met with members of Northern Ireland’s assembly.
During a book-signing ceremony towards the end of the visit, Charles realised he had initially signed the wrong date and then complained about the pen he was using, with the Queen Consort saying it was leaking “everywhere”.
The pen was swiftly vanished by a royal aide before Camilla sat down to sign the book herself.
Updated
Emily Dugan reports from outside Buckingham Palace that many there were shocked at the Guardian’s revelations about the handling of redundancies at Clarence House:
Podiatrist Christhell Hobbs, 57, is a regular attendee at royal events and was in the throng for Kate and William’s wedding.
She said of the staff facing redundancy:”I think it’s sad. They have families they have to support.”
Hobbs, who left Farilight near Hastings in East Sussex first thing in the morning to see the Queen’s coffin arrive on Tuesday evening, added: “Many of them have put in many good years of service and now they’re told ‘we don’t want you’. You have to be human about this.”
Korina Massicat, 22, from east London, is studying politics at Durham University. She said: “[these are] people who’ve been working hard and are faithful and loyal. Nobody deserves to be fired because someone dies.”
Lexi, 26, a fashion student at Central St Martins in London who was right outside the palace gates, said: “It’s quite shocking. I don’t get it, she only just passed away. It’s more important to get the funeral done – I don’t think this was a good time to do it right now.”
Gary Taylor, 54, from Gray’s End, is a property developer and an enthusiastic royalist. He kept a royal scrapbook as a child but conceded: “It is bad timing. It’s not what you would expect because it’s so soon.”
A sizeable contingent in the crowd refused to believe the news, even when shown online. “That’s scaremongering, that is”, said one woman, looking disgusted. Another said “people aren’t prepared to hear negative stuff at the moment”.
Read the exclusive report here: King Charles’s staff given redundancy notice during church service for Queen
Updated
Queen Elizabeth's coffin arrives at Buckingham Palace
The Queen’s coffin has been welcomed by crowds of mourners as it arrived at Buckingham Palace on a rainy Tuesday evening in the capital.
The coffin will rest in the Bow Room, before it is moved on Wednesday to lie in state at the Palace of Westminster, where thousands are expected to pay their respects to the Queen.
Her lying in state ends at 6.30am on Monday, just hours before the state funeral which will take place at 11am at Westminster Abbey.
Updated
The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, tweeted that he has met the three people who are at the front of the queue to pay their last respects to the Queen.
These amazing ladies are numbers one, two and three in the queue to pay their last respects to our late Majesty the Queen. I chatted with them this evening and we sang the first verse of Praise my soul the King of heaven. Wonderful! pic.twitter.com/xLVmqtthlG
— Stephen Cottrell (@CottrellStephen) September 13, 2022
Our colleague Gwyn Topham reports:
Flights over central London will be rerouted or delayed on Wednesday and Monday to stop aircraft noise disrupting ceremonial processions before the Queen’s lying in state and during her funeral.
Heathrow airport, for which flight paths for landing normally cross the capital, said flights would be affected tomorrow afternoon and on Monday.
A spokesperson said:
Out of respect for the period of mourning following the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Heathrow will be making appropriate alterations to our operation.
Some flights between 13.50 – 15.40 local time tomorrow, Wednesday 14 September, will be disrupted to ensure silence over central London as the ceremonial procession moves from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall. Passengers will be notified by their airlines directly of any changes to flights.
We anticipate further changes to the Heathrow operation on Monday 19 September, when Her Majesty’s funeral is due to take place, and will communicate those in more detail over coming days. We apologise for the disruption these changes cause, as we work to limit the impact on the upcoming events.
Updated
The pallbearers have loaded the Queen’s coffin onto the hearse and it has now left the airfield at RAF Northolt en route to Buckingham Palace.
A cavalcade transporting the Princess Royal and her husband, V Adm Sir Tim Laurence, followed close behind, PA reports.
Updated
The Princess Royal, her husband, V Adm Sir Tim Laurence, and the lord chamberlain have disembarked the plane carrying the Queen‘s coffin at RAF Northolt.
They walked in silence to join the reception party, including the prime minister, Liz Truss, on the airfield, reports PA.
The pallbearers have removed the Queen’s coffin from the aircraft and are moving it towards the hearse.
Updated
Princess Royal says it was a 'privilege' to share her mother's final journeys
The Princess Royal released a statement on Tuesday evening:
I was fortunate to share the last 24 hours of my dearest Mother’s life. It has been an honour and a privilege to accompany her on her final journeys. Witnessing the love and respect shown by so many on these journeys has been both humbling and uplifting. We will all share unique memories.
I offer my thanks to each and every one who shares our sense of loss. We may have been reminded how much of her presence and contribution to our national identity we took for granted.
I am also so grateful for the support and understanding offered to my dear brother Charles as he accepts the added responsibilities of the monarch. To my mother, The Queen, thank you.
Updated
The C-17 Globemaster carrying the Queen’s coffin, pictured after landing at RAF Northholt on Tuesday evening at around 6.55pm.
Updated
Queen Elizabeth's coffin arrives at RAF Northolt
The Queen’s cortege will shortly leave RAF Northolt after the aircraft transporting her coffin from Scotland has landed in London.
As we reported earlier, the coffin will rest in the Bow Room, before it is moved on Wednesday to lie in state at the Palace of Westminster, where thousands are expected to pay their respects to the Queen.
Its arrival at Buckingham Palace will be witnessed by King Charles III, the Queen Consort, and other members of the royal family at around 8pm.
Groups of mourners are braving the rainy conditions near the royal residence so they can get a glimpse of the cortege on Tuesday evening.
Updated
A guard of honour has assembled on the airfield at RAF Northolt ahead of the arrival of the Queen’s coffin by plane from Edinburgh.
The guard is formed of three officers and 96 non-commissioned officers and gunners of The Queen‘s Colour Squadron, PA reports.
They will transfer the coffin to the official hearse, which will take the Queen to Buckingham Palace.
Updated
King Charles’s staff given redundancy notice during church service for Queen
Our colleagues Pippa Crerar and Caroline Davies report on this exclusive story:
Dozens of Clarence House staff have been given notice of their redundancy as the offices of King Charles and the Queen Consort move to Buckingham Palace after the death of the Queen, the Guardian has learned.
Up to 100 employees at the King’s former official residence, including some who have worked there for decades, received notification that they could lose their jobs just as they were working round the clock to smooth his elevation to the throne.
Private secretaries, the finance office, the communications team and household staff are among those who received notice during the thanksgiving service for the Queen, at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh on Monday, that their posts were on the line.
Read more of this exclusive story: King Charles’s staff given redundancy notice during church service for Queen
Updated
Our reporter Emily Dugan is chatting to the crowds of people at Buckingham Palace awaiting the arrival of the hearse carrying the Queen’s coffin:
Small crowds are beginning to gather in the rain outside Buckingham Palace ahead of the arrival of the Queen’s coffin.
Sandra Baker, 78, a former diary secretary to the Cabinet Office under John Major, came with her two daughters to sit close to the palace on The Mall.
Dressed in black under a plastic mac bought in haste at Charing Cross station, she arrived at midday from Orpington to make sure she had a front row spot in her camp chair.
“I just had to come today to see our Queen. I’ve watched everything on television so far and my husband’s recorded it all for me when I get home.”
Evie Page, 3, was one of several children laying flowers next to a cardboard cutout of the Queen on the edge of St James’s park.
Her mother Jodie Page, 40, said: “I just wanted to bring the kids down because it’s a bit of history. I remember coming up when Princess Diana died and laid flowers and it’s a similar thing.”
Evie seemed less convinced by the day’s historical significance. Once her bouquet was down she toddled off to chase squirrels.
Louise Cook, 55, a midwife from Brentwood in Essex, was in prime position under a Union flag umbrella next to the palace gates. It is her first time at any Royal event.
“I’ve always supported or had an affection for the Royal family but nothing they’ve done before ever lured me,” she said. “I’ve always been content to watch it on television.”
She said this moment was different. “She’s given 70 years’ service. The least I can do is pay my respects to her.”
Despite the increasingly heavy rain, she intended to stay until 8pm, when the Queen’s coffin arrives. “I’ll stay until she’s home,” she said.
Updated
King Charles III and the Queen’s Consort have arrived at Buckingham Palace after returning from Northern Ireland.
The crowds erupted in cheers and applause as his motorcade of five motorbikes and three cars drove into the palace gates.
Charles could be seen waving as he sat next to Camilla in the car, PA reports.
The Queen’s coffin is currently being flown from Edinburgh and is expected to land in London at around 6.45pm.
Updated
Our colleague Libby Brooks has been in Edinburgh talking to people who queued to file past the Queen’s coffin at St Giles’ Cathedral:
Jo Williams was one of the very first to view the Queen’s coffin on Monday, arriving at the Meadows at 5.30am before the official queuing arrangements had started.
Williams, who drove from Manchester and had to hurriedly source a replacement electric wheelchair after her own broke down, said the effort was well worth it.
The moments in the cathedral passing the Queen’s coffin are ones she will remember always: “there was a lot of security of course but when you got inside it felt really calm and dignified. I felt at rest but also emotional: it was like she was there.”
“It was still a shock to see it. She’s the person who’s on our money and ran our country and it’s hard to believe she’s gone.”
A prison officer for 13 years before illness forced her to give up her job, 41-year-old Williams said she was most touched to see the Scottish crown on top of the coffin: “It was such a lovely thing that even though she’s not with us she’s still our Queen.”
“I can’t believe I was able to come here and see her in a wheelchair. I’d never have been able to if she’d been in London.”
Updated
In Hillsborough Castle, Alex Maskey, the speaker of the Northern Ireland assembly and a Sinn Féin member, passed on condolences to the new King, while also addressing the political context of the changes in the region during Queen Elizabeth’s lifetime.
King Charles thanked Northern Ireland for the condolences, and said that his mother never ceased to pray for the best of times for its people, “whose sorrows our family had felt”, in a reference to the death of Lord Mountbatten in 1979.
Updated
Queen Elizabeth's coffin leaves Scotland for London
The Queen’s coffin has left Edinburgh Airport and is being flown to London.
After landing at RAF Northholt, the coffin will be driven to Buckingham Palace.
The coffin will rest in the Bow Room, before it is moved on Wednesday to lie in state at the Palace of Westminster, where thousands are expected to pay their respects to the Queen.
Its arrival will be witnessed by King Charles III, the Queen Consort, and other members of the royal family at around 8pm.
The Princess Royal has accompanied the Queen’s coffin from Scotland and back to England’s capital city.
Pallbearers from the Queen’s Colour Squadron of the Royal Air Force (RAF) carry the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II.
The coffin is draped in the Royal Standard of Scotland as they carry it into the RAF C17 aircraft at Edinburgh airport.
Updated
King Charles and the Queen Consort arrive back in London
King Charles III and the Queen Consort have arrived back in London after their trip to Belfast.
Camilla disembarked the plane beneath a transparent umbrella, while Charles walked behind, PA reports.
Flanked by royal staff, they left in a cavalcade followed by a police car en route to central London.
Updated
The Princess Royal, who accompanied the Queen’s Coffin from St Giles Cathedral, has now boarded the aircraft.
The journey to London will take approximately an hour.
The Queen’s procession has now arrived at Edinburgh airport.
The pallbearers are now moving her coffin onto the plane, before it is flown to RAF Northholt.
Updated
King Charles III and the Queen Consort are pictured departing Belfast City airport and are now flying to RAF Northholt.
Updated
The latest pictures as the Queen’s coffin was moved into a hearse by pallbearers and started the journey to London.
A guard of honour and pipers followed the cortege towards Edinburgh Castle and on to the airport.
Updated
King Charles III departs Belfast for London
The King and the Queen Consort have departed Belfast City airport and are returning to London ahead of the arrival of the Queen‘s coffin in the capital later this evening.
Updated
The Princess Royal is accompanying the Queen’s coffin in the procession and is sat in the state Bentley.
Updated
The Queen’s coffin procession is making its way slowly past large crowds of mourners through Edinburgh city centre.
At times there was a hushed silence from the mourners in attendance, but also occasional moments of clapping as people paid their respects to the Queen prior to her journey to London.
Queen Elizabeth’s coffin leaves St Giles’ Cathedral at start of journey to Buckingham Palace
The Queen’s coffin has now left St Giles’ Cathedral and will now make its way to the Edinburgh airport before being flown to London.
It will then lie in state in the Palace of Westminster.
Updated
Some 300 police officers are stationed on the roads surrounding RAF Northolt ahead of the arrival of the Queen‘s coffin by plane there on Tuesday evening, PA reports.
One officer is positioned every 20 yards as part of security arrangements, as huge crowds are expected to watch the flight from the roads, the RAF has said.
This is Joe Middleton taking over the live coverage for this evening
Updated
Sky has edited the UK broadcast of the latest episode of the satirical news show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver to remove jokes about the Queen’s death.
Two segments were dropped from the British version of the HBO satire show, which aired on Sunday night in the US.
In one of the segments, Oliver says the UK “is clearly still reeling from the shocking death of a 96-year-old woman from natural causes”.
In another comment, Oliver said the “nicest thing the Queen of England ever did for anyone was die the week” Liz Truss became prime minister “because for at least a week, she’s not going to be getting justifiably destroyed” for ruling out a windfall tax on oil and gas companies.
The service of thanksgiving to the Queen at St Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast has ended.
During the service, the head of the Catholic church in Ireland paid tribute to the late monarch and said “faithfulness, care, dutifulness, love and devotion” had all been part of her long reign.
The Queen is part of the reconciliation of Ireland, the archbishop of Armagh, John McDowell, said.
The archbishop said:
All of these could be employed to describe her relationship with Northern Ireland, with patience binding them all together, but paying attention especially to what she said most recently, the word which I think will be most associated with Queen Elizabeth and Ireland, north and south, is reconciliation.
He said the Queen “followed where Jesus led, as women often have, in the elusive and unfinished work of reconciliation here in Ireland”.
The King and the Queen Consort will soon make their way to Belfast City airport, from where they will fly to London.
Updated
The Foreign Office is organising the arrival of as many as 500 heads of state and dignitaries for Queen Elizabeth’s funeral in what officials say is the equivalent of telescoping hundreds of state visits into the space of two days.
Invitations have been sent out to every country with which the UK has diplomatic relations, except Russia, Belarus and Myanmar.
The Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisi, has not been invited, but Iran has been asked to send its ambassador. Iran currently does not have an ambassador, but may send its acting ambassador, the chargé d’affairs, Seyed Hosseini.
No formal condolence has been sent to the British government by the Iranians, and in some hardline Iranian press there have even been threats to Iranians not to express condolences.
Among those expected to attend with their partners if they wish are the US president, Joe Biden, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, the Japanese emperor, Naruhito and New Zealand’s prime minister, Jacinda Ardern. The Chinese president, Xi Jinping, has been given the chance to attend, but is only this week making his first trip outside China, to a conference in to Kazakhstan, where he will meet Vladimir Putin, since the pandemic began.
Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, will also attend, although in the past year there has been a low-key row about whether the EU would be granted full diplomatic status in the post-Brexit UK.
Updated
King Charles III will play a role in “promoting reconciliation” in Northern Ireland and beyond, the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) leader, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, said.
The new King already has a “very sharp insight into the politics of Northern Ireland”, Donaldson said just before the arrival of the King and the Queen Consort at Hillsborough Castle this afternoon.
He said:
We will see a King who is very much engaged, sensitive to the political differences here in Northern Ireland, and yet keen and willing to play his part as head of state of this nation in taking forward the peace process and building reconciliation.
Asked about the presence of Sinn Féin at today’s event, Donaldson replied:
It is an indication of how far we have travelled in Northern Ireland. I think this would not have been possible and it wouldn’t have happened during the dark days of our troubled past. Of course we have a long way to go, but is a sign of political maturity.
Updated
In Hillsborough Castle, Alex Maskey, the speaker of the Northern Ireland assembly and a Sinn Féin member, passed on condolences to the new King, while also addressing the political context of the changes in the region during Queen Elizabeth’s lifetime.
King Charles thanked Northern Ireland for the condolences, and said that his mother never ceased to pray for the best of times for its people, “whose sorrows our family had felt”, in a reference to the death of Lord Mountbatten in 1979.
Inside St Anne’s Cathedral, Britain’s prime minister, Liz Truss, is seated beside Ireland’s taoiseach, Micheál Martin, and the Irish president, Michael D Higgins, and his wife, Sabina.
Sitting directly behind them are the Sinn Féin, vice-president, Michelle O’Neill, and the DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson.
Updated
Thanksgiving service for Queen begins
A service of reflection for the life of the Queen has begun at St Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast.
Following a trumpet fanfare by the band of the Royal Irish Regiment, the King and the Queen Consort have entered the cathedral and are escorted to their seats at the very front of the congregation.
More than 800 people from across Northern Ireland and further afield are attending the religious service.
The King and Queen Consort have arrived at St Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast for a service of prayer and reflection.
Greeted by the Lord Lieutenant of Belfast, the royal couple are introduced to faith and community leaders from across Northern Ireland.
Prime minister Liz Truss is also attending the service, as well as Ireland’s president Michael D Higgins, Taoiseach Micheál Martin and the Irish foreign affairs Simon Coveney.
Updated
King Charles III and the Queen Consort travelled to Belfast in Northern Ireland on a tour of the United Kingdom’s constituent countries after the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Upon arrival, they stepped out to greet well-wishers before heading on to visit an exhibition at Hillsborough Castle.
Updated
King Charles has shaken hands with representatives of all political parties at Hillsborough Castle including Michelle O’Neill, the leader of Sinn Féin in Northern Ireland; Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the DUP leader’ and the leader of the Alliance party, Naomi Long; Doug Beattie, the head of the Ulster Unionist party; and Matthew O’Toole, a member of the legislative assembly for the SDLP.
MP Steve Baker, who was appointed Northern Ireland minister, guided the royal party through the brief walk around before the King and the Queen Consort left for a second engagement in Belfast.
Here he is next to Camilla as they meet Sinn Féin’s Alex Maskey and O’Neill.
Camilla meets Sinn Fein leader Michelle O'Neill. Steve Baker in the line up with the royal party pic.twitter.com/5XVYK56q32
— Lisa O'Carroll (@lisaocarroll) September 13, 2022
“He is taking the throne at the time when the politics is in a really bad state,” Lord Hain, former Northern Ireland secretary told the BBC.
Sinn Féin stayed away from Sunday’s accession proclamation ceremony in Northern Ireland as the party does not have “political allegiance to the British crown” but has said it would attend other official events as a mark of respect for the Queen and her family.
Updated
The King and Queen Consort have left Hillsborough Castle and are now on their way to St Anne’s Cathedral.
A service of prayer and reflection will be held at the cathedral, where the royal couple will be joined by the prime minister.
It was a mark of the near 25-year peace in Northern Ireland, that it was a veteran Republican Alex Maskey who delivered the message of condolence to King Charles on his visit to Northern Ireland.
Twice interned in the 1970s, Maskey is Sinn Féin’s longest-serving public representative and now speaker at the Stormont assembly.
In a message of condolence on behalf of the people of Northern Ireland, he said the Queen had not been “a distant observer” in the transformation and progress of relationships among the people of the country.
He said the monarch had “demonstrated how individual acts of positive leadership can help break down barriers and encourage reconciliation”.
Maskey added:
She showed that a small and insignificant gesture - a visit, a handshake, crossing the street or speaking a few words of Irish - can make a huge difference in changing attitudes and building relationships.
The Queen’s recognition of both British and Irish traditions, as well as the wider diversity of the community was “exceptionally significant”.
He added:
In all of this she personally underlined that one tradition is not diminished by reaching out to show respect to another.”
Updated
A group of civil liberties protesters have gathered on the pavement opposite the entrance to St Giles’ Cathedral, where the Queen’s coffin is lying at rest, holding blank sheets of paper and a blank banner and “protesting their right to protest”.
Civil liberties protesters opposite St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh holding up blank paper and canvas: “This is t just a private funeral, it is an exercise in state sponsored myth building” pic.twitter.com/9gDw5Mxk11
— Libby Brooks (@libby_brooks) September 13, 2022
Quan Nguyen, wearing a grey tartan kilt, said:
We are here because people have been arrested or threatened with arrest for holding up anti-monarchy signs. If we did so now the police would take us away, which is why are signs now are blank.
I’m not against the Queen, but we should be allowed to ask questions at this time, about whether we still need the same type of monarchy, about the cost of living crisis, about nationalism.
Lots of people are asking those questions in private, but on the streets we are told people should just grieve.
As two women walking by accused him of disrespect, he replied that it was not but added:
This is not just a private funeral. It is a state-sponsored exercise in myth-making.
The group, who described themselves as concerned friends, were joined by some passersby. Alison told the Guardian:
This is a really busy Edinburgh street, where people are trying to get to their jobs or childcare but are being corralled. This is a public space and we have as much right to be here as the people attending the ceremonies for the Queen.
Updated
Some still pictures have been issued of King Charles meeting political leaders before the formal speeches.
Robert Booth has been at Hillsborough Castle today for the Guardian, and spoke to people in the crowd there:
King Charles III spent 10 minutes greeting crowds outside Hillsborough castle gates who saluted his arrival with a short chant of “God save the king”. He laughed and smiled as he and the Queen Consort accepted good wishes and bouquets of flowers, but one woman who offered condolences said he replied: “I don’t wish this on anybody.”
He made the remark after Ingrid Graham, 36, who owns a nail business, said to him: ‘I’m sorry for your loss, your majesty,” she told the Guardian.
“Losing his mother, that’s what he meant from it.” She said he had “sad eyes”.
Joyce Martin, 60, a retired electricity board worker, who spoke with him, said: “I feel very sorry for him. I know [his programme] is protocol, but it’s his mother and he needs to grieve.”
She told him: “I loved your mother and said she was a great lady and gave all for her country right to the end. I said you are very welcome in Northern Ireland. He said thank you very much and gave me a very firm handshake.”
There was a slightly festive air in the gathering. One couple had brought along a corgi dog which became a minor attraction, while seven men dressed in Napoleaonic-era military costumes called the Hillsborough Fort Guard, milled about adding to the colour.
Catherine Rogers, 41, leader of the First Hillsborough Scouts squirrels group, which gave Charles a drawing of a rainbow and a corgi made by Luca, 6, added: “I think he’s doing his duty. I lost my mum recently and I wouldn’t want all this media.”
Updated
Away from Northern Ireland for a moment, London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, has posted some images from a memorial service at City Hall for the late Queen, describing her as “a source of great stability” whose “remarkable service to our nation will never be forgotten”.
I was honoured to pay tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II this morning at a memorial service at City Hall.
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) September 13, 2022
During a time of great transformation, she was a source of great stability. Her Majesty's remarkable service to our nation will never be forgotten. pic.twitter.com/k9Cw5sRd71
Updated
It was notable that neither the speaker of the Northern Ireland assembly, Sinn Féin’s Alex Maskey, nor the new King, shied away from talking about the history of Northern Ireland or the long years of conflict, and Maskey alluded to the current stalemate.
Maskey said that at one point it would have been unthinkable for someone “from my own background and political tradition” being in the position to deliver this address. He said:
We can of course, never forget that over the last decades, too many have experienced tragedy and sorrow which will never leave them. We have seen great efforts to build a peaceful future … as frustrating as it may at times be.
Queen Elizabeth was not a distant observer in the transformation and progress of relationships between these islands. She proudly demonstrated that individual acts of positive leadership can help break down barriers and encourage reconciliation. Queen Elizabeth showed that a small but significant gesture – a visit, a handshake, crossing the street or speaking a few words of Irish can make a huge difference and change attitudes and build relationships. Her recognition of both British and Irish citizens as well as the wider diversity of our community was undoubtedly significant.
Of course, such acts of leadership do not come without risks, or the need for courage and determination to see them through. I represent the elected assembly of a society which has struggled with the legacy of our past and how to move on from it without leaving those who have suffered behind.
During her visit to Dublin, Queen Elizabeth said that whatever life throws at us, our individual responses will be all the stronger for working together and sharing that load. Let us all pay heed to that. As we remember Queen Elizabeth’s positive leadership, let us all reflect that such leadership is still needed. And let us be honest with ourselves enough to recognise that too often, that leadership has been lacking when it has been most required.
Updated
Charles says that his mother, the Queen, was aware of her own role, saying:
My mother felt deeply the significance of the role she has played in bringing together those who history had separated, and extending a hand to make possible the healing of long-held hurts.
He said he would dedicate himself to a similar role, saying:
At the very beginning of her life of service, she made a pledge to dedicate herself to her country and her people and to maintain the principles of constitutional government.
This promise she kept with steadfast faith.
Now with that shining example for me, and with God’s help, I take up my new duties resolved to seek the welfare of all the inhabitants of Northern Ireland.
The King and Queen Consort have now left the room.
Updated
King Charles says Queen Elizabeth 'never ceased to pray for the best of times' for the people of Northern Ireland
King Charles is speaking now. He has thanked Northern Ireland for the condolences, and said that his mother never ceased to pray for the best of times for the people of Northern Ireland, “whose sorrows our family had felt” in a reference to the death of Earl Mountbatten in 1979.
Updated
Maskey, a Sinn Féin member of the assembly, directly addressed the political context of the changes in Northern Ireland during Queen Elizabeth’s lifetime, saying:
On the walls of parliament building in Stormont are images from two of Queen Elizabeth’s visits during the coronation year 1953 and the second for the diamond jubilee in 2012. It is extraordinary to consider how much social and political change Queen Elizabeth witnessed in the time between those visits, and indeed throughout her long reign. Yesterday an assembly of Unionists, Republicans, nationalists met to pay tribute to the late Queen. When she first came to the throne, no one would have anticipated an assembly so diverse and inclusive.
Updated
Alex Maskey, speaker of the Northern Ireland assembly, has passed on condolences to the new King, saying: “During this period of public mourning for Queen Elizabeth, we are mindful that you and your family grieve on the passing of a mother, a grandmother and great grandmother.”
Updated
King Charles III has entered the room in Hillsborough Castle and the formalities are about to begin. The King and Camilla, the Queen Consort are seated on two thrones at the head of the room. Alex Maskey, the speaker of the Northern Ireland assembly, is addressing the new monarch.
Updated
There has been a slight delay to the timetable here, and we are still awaiting the arrival of King Charles III to receive official condolences here at Hillsborough Castle. But the final political dignitaries including Alex Maskey, the speaker of the Northern Ireland assembly, are in the room now, so we should be starting here soon.
Updated
A reminder that as these ceremonies take place today, which will involve – at least at some points – all of the major political parties in Northern Ireland, there is still a deadlock which means that the Northern Ireland assembly is not currently sitting. It has been five months since there was a functioning assembly, and it is yet to reconvene after the elections three months ago.
Updated
King Charles III is currently having a private audience with the Northern Ireland secretary, Chris Heaton-Harris. This photo has been issued of the two men meeting.
Updated
Here are some of the pictures of the new King and Camilla, the Queen Consort, on their arrival at Hillsborough Castle, where they have inspected floral tributes that have been left to the late Queen Elizabeth II.
Charles greeted people in the crowd, and there were some smiles and laughs among the conversations. It wasn’t all sombre condolences.
King Charles will not pay tax on the fortune he has inherited from the late Queen, although he has volunteered to follow his mother’s lead in paying income tax.
Under a clause agreed in 1993 by the then prime minister, John Major, any inheritance passed “sovereign to sovereign” avoids the 40% levy applied to assets valued at more than £325,000.
The crown estate has an estimated £15.2bn in assets, of which 25% of the profits are given to the royal family as the sovereign grant. The estate includes the royal archives and the royal collection of paintings, which are held by the monarch “in right of the crown”.
These assets cannot be sold by the King and they are in effect surrendered to the government in return for a grant. The government’s guidance concludes that it would therefore be “inappropriate for inheritance tax to be paid in respect of such assets”.
Separately, Charles also inherits from the Queen the Duchy of Lancaster, a private estate that includes portfolio of lands, properties and assets held in trust for the sovereign.
He is exempt from inheritance tax on these assets, among others, in order to preserve “a degree of financial independence from the government of the day”.
Read more of Daniel Boffey’s report here: King Charles will not pay tax on inheritance from the Queen
News travels around the globe faster in 2022 than it did in 1952, when Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the throne. Today one of the furthest-flung – and coldest – bits of British territory held its own ceremony to proclaim the new King. The government of the British Antarctic Territory has issued a picture of the event on social media.
King Charles III was proclaimed as the new Monarch in the British Antarctic Territory at a ceremony at Rothera pic.twitter.com/BQCLVCou6Q
— BAT Government (@GovBAT) September 13, 2022
This is Martin Belam taking over the live coverage for the next hour or so. You can reach me at martin.belam@theguardian.com
Updated
There was no sign of any protesters this morning in Parliament Square – where a police officer had yesterday threatened a man with arrest if he held up a sign saying “not my king” – although the focus on the new monarch had moved on elsewhere anyway. Rain was also bucketing down.
Among royalists and others who had come to lay flowers and tributes to the late Queen near Buckingham Place meanwhile, it was not hard to find resolute opposition to protests during the current period of national mourning.
“It’s just not the time,” said Ian Riley, a Parachute Regiment veteran who had come from Twickenham with his wife, Jean, and had been walking among the floral tributes left under trees in Green Park.
We are in a period national mourning and that to me is just not an opportune moment for protests against the monarchy.
In relation to the incident in London, he insisted that he and other members of the public would have taken offence in the current climate at the sight of a notice of the type which at been the issue in the case of the barrister and activist who had been threatened with arrest in Parliament Square.
Jean, a retired NHS administrator, added:
We heard about what happened in a few places and to be honest we feel like it’s encroaching on a family’s grief. They’re in the public eye and should have some time and space.
Updated
Thousands are still queueing to view the Queen’s coffin at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh before her lying-at-rest ends at 3pm.
And finally I’m coming towards the Meadows: there are still thousands here waiting for their change to pay respects to the Queen. Her lying at rest ends at 3pm pic.twitter.com/3hprZhH9Nx
— Libby Brooks (@libby_brooks) September 13, 2022
Edinburgh scenes: to the right it’s the student freshers’ fair with the requisite Marxist Students Federation stall; to the left the queue to file past the Queen’s coffin pic.twitter.com/ok3vA47u4t
— Libby Brooks (@libby_brooks) September 13, 2022
Updated
The queue to view the Queen’s coffin at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh has now closed.
More than 26,000 people had viewed the late monarch’s coffin since Monday, the Scottish government said.
The queue has now closed. Please do not attempt to join the queue.
— Scottish Government (@scotgov) September 13, 2022
Over 26,000 people have already had a chance to pay their last respects.
We are doing everything we can to ensure that those currently in the queue can do so before 3pm, when the Lying at Rest will end.
The Queen’s coffin will be taken from the cathedral to Edinburgh airport at 5pm today, where it will be flown to London. The Princess Royal will accompany the coffin.
After arriving at RAF Northolt, the coffin will be driven to Buckingham Palace.
Updated
King Charles has just arrived at Hillsborough Castle in Northern Ireland to chants of God Save the King.
He and the Queen Consort Camilla were greeted by delighted crowds. He went along the line smiling and laughing and receiving flowers for over five minutes.
“I spoke to him and he spoke back!” yelled one woman in delight as he passed.
The King is due to meet political leaders from Northern Ireland and hold a meeting with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.
Updated
The King has arrived at Hillsborough Castle, where he will view an exhibition about the late Queen’s long association with Northern Ireland.
The royal couple are greeting crowds who have gathered at the castle, the official royal residence in Northern Ireland.
Updated
King Charles III has arrived in Northern Ireland for the first time as monarch.
Updated
Long before dawn, the horses that will accompany the Queen’s coffin were being put through their paces; from being pelted with union jack flags and flowers, to the cacophony of loud bangs and people sobbing that will greet them along the Mall.
They will be joining 500 members of the military on Wednesday afternoon to accompany the Queen’s coffin from Buckingham Palace down the Mall to Westminster Hall, and are gearing up for the funeral on Monday, which will be the biggest parade of its kind in living memory.
Early on Tuesday morning, a full rehearsal of the military procession took place around Westminster along streets closed to traffic, with soldiers marching in full uniform to the sound of funeral marches by classical composers such as Mendelssohn, Beethoven and Chopin. This will be followed by another rehearsal on Thursday morning for the funeral’s 4,500-strong military parade.
The King will lead a procession behind the late Queen’s coffin. The coffin will leave Buckingham Palace at 2.22pm and arrive at Westminster Hall at 3pm. The procession will travel via Queen’s Gardens, the Mall, Horse Guards and Horse Guards Arch, Whitehall, Parliament Street, Parliament Square and New Palace Yard.
The procession will have a slow and sombre pace, with drummers beating 75 beats per minute – something that is proving a particular challenge for the horses.
“It’s quite a tall order to ask them to walk at a slow march pace. Any of our normal parades it’s a natural horse walking pace which is a bit more forward-going than human pace, so we’re asking them to half that again,” said Sgt Tom Jenks, 30, who is riding the lead horse in front of the gun carriage that will be pulling the coffin.
His horse, Cassius, will be retiring after the parade after 12 years’ service, including Margaret Thatcher’s funeral, and has been kept on for his experience. Other horses have been selected for their black colour and calm temperament.
Prince Andrew heckler charged
A 22-year-old man who was arrested in Edinburgh yesterday afternoon after he shouted personal abuse at Prince Andrew during the procession of the Queen’s coffin along the Royal Mile has been charged with breach of the peace.
Footage of the incident showed him shouting at the prince as he walked alongside his siblings behind his mother’s coffin. He referred to allegations regarding his relationship with the US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
A Police Scotland spokesperson said:
A 22-year old man was arrested and charged in connection with a breach of the peace on the Royal Mile around 2.50pm on Monday.
He was released on an undertaking to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court at a later date and a report will be sent to the Procurator Fiscal.
To appreciate how far Northern Ireland has travelled here is An Phoblacht's 1/9/1979 report on Mountbatten's assassination.
— Rory Carroll (@rorycarroll72) September 13, 2022
'Has sent shock waves shrieking through the blue-blooded nerve centre of the British ruling class... many more blows are still needed.' pic.twitter.com/Ib0PZq7u2Y
'A discriminate operation to bring to the attention of the English people the continuing occupation of our country.'
— Rory Carroll (@rorycarroll72) September 13, 2022
Contrast that with Sinn Fein and King Charles interactions today. Northern Ireland, lest we forget, has safeguarded a precious peace. pic.twitter.com/jDVLeSZgYp
King Charles arrives in Belfast
The King and the Queen Consort have arrived at Belfast City Airport from Edinburgh.
The royal couple will be greeted by the Lord-Lieutenant of the County Borough of Belfast, Dame Fionnuala Jay-O’Boyle, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Chris Heaton-Harris and the chief executive of Belfast City Airport, Matthew Hall.
Two children from a local cross-community primary school are also at the airport to greet the King.
The King and the Queen Consort will then travel to Hillsborough Castle, the official royal residence in Northern Ireland.
Updated
The Royal Shakespeare Company is to screen the Queen’s funeral on Monday at its main theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.
It is offering free tickets for the event in honour of the Queen, who was the RSC’s patron for more than 60 years.
Thousands of patients have had their hospital appointments cancelled because of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral on Monday, according to reports.
Some NHS trusts have urged all “non-urgent” procedures and clinic appointments to be postponed after it was announced that the Queen’s state funeral will become a bank holiday and a national day of mourning, openDemocracy reports.
Cancelled “non-urgent” appointments include hip and knee replacements, cataract surgery, maternity checks and some cancer treatments. Many patients had been waiting months for surgery only to have it cancelled a week beforehand.
At one central London hospital trust, doctors were told:
The day of the State Funeral will be treated as a bank holiday so please go ahead and start rescheduling patients.
The decision to cancel appointments was taken despite hospital waiting lists at an all-time high: almost 6.8 million people were waiting for appointments at the end of July. More than 377,000 of these patients had been waiting for more than a year.
Invites to the Queen’s funeral have not been sent to Russia, Belarus and Myanmar, according to Whitehall sources.
Around 500 dignitaries from around the world will attend the Queen’s funeral. For most countries, the invitation extends to the head of state plus a guest.
Iran will only be represented at an ambassadorial level, PA news agency reports.
A Whitehall source compared the logistical task of hosting the funeral to organising “hundreds of state visits” within a matter of days. Normally, there might only be two or three a year.
World leaders are coming to pay their respects to the Queen but “of course” there will be diplomacy at the funeral, former Conservative leader William Hague said.
Asked if there will be politics at the funeral, he told Times Radio:
You can’t have that number of people together from around the world without them starting to say, ‘well, what do you think is happening in Ukraine?’ - of course there is going to be some of that.
Nevertheless, they’re coming because they want to pay their respects to this extraordinary head of state. And that is what 90% of it will be about.
The King and Queen Consort have boarded a flight to Belfast at Edinburgh airport.
The royal couple have been in Edinburgh since yesterday around 12.30pm, after flying in from RAF Northolt in Hillingdon, west London.
Updated
Republican campaign group planning new protests after arrests of anti-monarchists
The campaign group, Republic, has condemned arrests of anti-monarchy protestors in the last few days and is to write to police forces to express concern.
It said it was planning more protests in the lead up to the coronation, which is anticipated to take place next year, and expected them to be allowed to go ahead peacefully.
After criticism - and the release of a viral video which showed a man near Westminster being threatened with arrest if he held up a sign saying ‘not my king’ - the Metropolitan Police last night issued a statement in which it said that it was making it clear to officers that the public had a right to peaceful protest.
At least four people were arrested in Edinburgh over recent days, including a woman who was subsequently charged, while a man who was arrested in Oxford during a proclamation event for the new King was then de-arrested by Thames Valley Police.
“We condemn these arrests in the strongest possible terms,” said Graham Smith, a spokesperson for Republic.
Free speech is fundamental to any democracy. At a time when the media is saturated with fawning over a king appointed without discussion or consent, it is even more important. We will be writing to police forces around the country, raising these concerns. We intent to organise protests at the coronation and will expect those protests to be allowed to proceed peacefully.
The group said that support for the monarchy has been falling and that support for abolition was now at more than 25%.
Civil liberties campaigners and others have expressed alarm about the response of police to anti-monarchy protesters after a number of incidents, the latest of which included the arrest of a man in Edinburgh for apparently heckling Prince Andrew.
Updated
When King Charles lands in Belfast later this morning he will try to repeat a remarkable feat accomplished by his mother: turning the monarchy into a force for unity in Northern Ireland, not division.
For most of the state’s existence, the royal family was a faultline between unionists, who pledged fealty, and nationalists, who chafed at being trapped, as they saw it, in a British state, under an unwanted sovereign.
The 1998 Good Friday agreement paved the way for Queen Elizabeth’s landmark visit to the Republic of Ireland in 2011, when she spoke Irish and made gestures of reconciliation. Her handshake with Martin McGuinness in 2012, followed by Prince Charles shaking the hand of Gerry Adams in 2015, consolidated the royal family’s role as bridge-builders.
Then Brexit soured relations between unionists and nationalists and between Dublin and London, creating a bitter political deadlock.
The King will doubtless hope to revive some of the lost feelgood vibes at Hillsborough when he meets unionist and nationalist politicians, including Sinn Féin’s deputy leader, Michelle O’Neill, and the IRA internee-turned Stormont Speaker Alex Maskey.
Then at Belfast’s St Anne’s Cathedral a remembrance service for his mother will put Liz Truss, the Irish president, Michael D Higgins, and the taoiseach, Micheál Martin, under the same roof, for the same purpose. It would be a fitting tribute to the late Queen if her son’s visit to Northern Ireland helped engender a mood of rapprochement.
Updated
The King and the Queen Consort have left the Palace of Holyroodhouse and are on their way to Edinburgh airport.
The royal couple are due to fly to Belfast to visit Hillsborough Castle, where they will view an exhibition about the late Queen’s long association with Northern Ireland.
Reverend Callum MacLeod who conducted the service at St Giles’ cathedral in Edinburgh yesterday has described his role yesterday as “nerve-racking, poignant and meaningful.”
He told BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme that yesterday’s procession, service and hosting of the vigil as tens of thousands continue to file past the Queen’s coffin was the fruition of “thousands of woman and man hours in planning”.
MacLeod said he worked closely with the Queen’s chief chaplain in Scotland, the Dean of the Chapel Royal. He revealed that they had tweaked the service, added some elements and came up with some ideas like the Gaelic psalm, sung by celebrated Scottish folk singer Karen Matheson (and incidentally a supporter of independence) “as a way of really marking the Scottish nature of the service”.
He wanted to reflect the traditions of the Church of Scotland, he added – “as we know the Queen loved Scotland and was a member of the Church of Scotland” – which only recognises Jesus as head, and so the monarch is simply another ordinary member.
Preparation for the service included walk throughs and planning meetings, then a major rehearsal on Sunday evening, he said.
I think its been extraordinary, just the number of people has taken people’s breath away. It’s been great for Scotland: the Scottish people have come out and paid their respects that that’s been a lovely thing to be part of.
Updated
Hundreds of people are gathering in the village of Royal Hillsborough in Co Down ahead of the arrival of King Charles and the Queen Consort this afternoon.
Large numbers are already lining near Hillsborough Castle with the crowd standing five-deep behind metal barriers.
The area at the front of the gates to Hillsborough Castle, the official royal residence in Northern Ireland, has been carpeted with hundreds of floral tributes.
The Queen was “the most remarkable person” and an “example of devotion to duty”, Theresa May has said.
Speaking to ITV’s Lorraine, the former prime minister said the sense of duty embodied by the Queen may be slipping away in public life.
May spoke fondly about visiting the late monarch at Balmoral, where the Queen wanted to be “a good hostess” and wanted her guests to feel at home.
She said:
There would be occasions when, perhaps, everybody - guests - were milling around, perhaps chatting to each other, and the Queen was quite happy to sit in the room playing patience.
Guardian columnist Nalini Mohabir, who lives in the French-speaking Canadian province of Quebec, has written today about how the monarchy has been harmful for former colonies and those who live in its gilded cage. It’s time to imagine a future without it, she writes.
For the people of formerly colonised countries, the monarchy is not a neutral institution, she says. It is “the embodiment of imperial legacies that benefited Britain at the expense of its colonies” and “politically and economically devastating” for former colonies.
In his first address to the British nation and Commonwealth “realms”, Charles said “relationships change, friendship endures”. Yet friendship requires accountability, especially when there’s a power imbalance – such as when one side speaks of service and duty but such aspirations remain unfulfilled.
Surely in 2022, 70 years after his mother ascended the throne in 1952, we have a more nuanced and accurate understanding of these issues. What might duty look like if we understood that debts need to be paid and apologists held accountable? What might public service mean if we understood that imperial attitudes and monarchic institutions must be abolished for an alternative future to be born?
You can read the whole piece here:
Queues are already starting to form to view the Queen’s coffin in London, even though doors will not open until 5pm on Wednesday.
The Queen will lie in state at Westminster Hall in London for four days until the day of the funeral on Monday.
Security staff are preparing for millions of people to people to wait to pay their respects to the late monarch, with the line expected to stretch from Parliament along the bank of the Thames.
On Monday night people were warned not to wait or camp along the route where the Queen’s coffin will be taken from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall for the lying in state. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said: “Please do not wait or camp in advance of the processional day. If you camp before this time, you may be asked to move on.”
The streets surrounding Westminster Hall were dotted with police and security staff in neon vests throughout Monday. The nearby Victoria Tower Gardens was full with stacked safety barriers and portable toilets in preparation for the queues expected to stretch for miles.
Here’s an explainer of what you need to know about the Queen’s lying-in-state.
Saudi authorities have arrested a man who claimed to have travelled to the Muslim holy city of Mecca to perform an umrah pilgrimage on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II.
The man, a Yemeni national, published a video clip of himself on social media on Monday at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Islam’s holiest site, where non-Muslims are forbidden.
In the clip, he held up a banner saying: “Umrah for the soul of Queen Elizabeth II, we ask God to accept her in heaven and among the righteous.”
The footage was circulated widely on Saudi social media, with Twitter users calling for the man’s arrest.
Saudi Arabia forbids pilgrims to Mecca from carrying banners or chanting slogans. While it is acceptable to perform umrah on behalf on deceased Muslims, this does not apply to non-Muslims like the Queen, who was supreme governor of the Church of England, the mother church of the worldwide Anglican communion.
Japanese broadcasters have flown film crews and reporters from New York, Paris and Bangkok to cover the royal funeral and accession of King Charles, with three Japanese networks broadcasting live from Edinburgh’s St Giles’ cathedral on Tuesday morning.
Outside St Giles’ Japanese, Australian and Spanish TV reporters are broadcasting live to lunchtime and evening audiences at home (before being on by the cops, for using an area not allocated to the media) #Queen #Edinburgh pic.twitter.com/Q9Bm99egbZ
— Severin Carrell (@severincarrell) September 13, 2022
While the Japanese networks Nippon TV, TV Asahi and TBS were live on lunchtime bulletins at home, filming as mourners filed slowly into St Giles’ for the Queen’s coffin lying at rest, alongside them three crews from Australia’s Channel 9 were broadcasting or filming for separate evening bulletins.
Nearby were crews from CNN and Spain’s Antena 3, a commercial channel, and RTVE, Spain’s public broadcaster; the Spanish crews had come from Madrid.
Soon after 9am, they were being urged by police to wrap up and pack away their kit: they were standing beside the railings in public viewing areas opposite St Giles’ not allocated for broadcasters. Police Scotland expects crowds to build up again today, before the Queen’s coffin leaves Edinburgh at around 5pm, by RAF jet for London.
One of the Japanese journalists who had flown from New York said their viewers were fascinated by this story. “A lot of Japanese people are paying a lot of attention to this tragedy because we also have a royal family, and the Japanese and UK royal families have a strong tie historically, so they totally respect the royal family in the UK,” he said.
Planes have been banned from flying below a certain altitude over parts of London and Edinburgh during the Queen’s coffin procession.
The ban applies to “aircraft” including personal jets, small balloons, kites and parachutes, according to the Civil Aviation Authority. Commercial flights are not affected because they operate above the altitude limits.
A CAA spokesperson said this will create a “protective blanket” over the restricted areas and has been enforced as part of wider security arrangements.
Aircraft are not permitted to fly below 2,500 feet above mean sea level within central London until 7am on 19 September. They have also been banned from flying below 6,000 feet above mean sea between Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire and the Palace of Holyrood in Edinburgh until 11.59pm on Wednesday.
Thousands of people queued through the night to see the Queen’s coffin at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh, where it will remain until 5pm today.
Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian
Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian
Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian
Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian
The poet laureate pays tribute to Queen Elizabeth II:
The arrests of anti-monarchy protesters after the death of Queen Elizabeth II are “deeply concerning” and may be unlawful, campaign groups have said.
Civil liberties campaigners and others have expressed alarm about the response of police to anti-monarchy protesters after a number of incidents, the latest of which included the arrest of a man in Edinburgh for apparently heckling Prince Andrew on Monday.
Earlier that day, a woman was charged after being arrested by police in Edinburgh on Sunday as she staged a protest during the accession proclamation for the King. The woman, called Mariángela and who had been seen holding a sign that said “Fuck imperialism, abolish monarchy”, was arrested moments before the reading of the proclamation.
Ruth Smeeth, chief executive of Index on Censorship, said the arrests were “deeply concerning”, adding:
The fundamental right to freedom of expression, including the right to protest, is something to be protected regardless of circumstance.
Jodie Beck, policy and campaigns officer at Liberty, said:
Protest is not a gift from the State, it is a fundamental right. Being able to choose what, how, and when we protest is a vital part of a healthy and functioning democracy.
The Labour MP Zarah Sultana said in response to incidents in Edinburgh, London and Oxford:
No one should be arrested for just expressing republican views. Extraordinary – and shocking – that this needs saying.
On Monday night Global Majority Vs Campaign, the group Mariángela represents, released a statement following the arrest, saying it “condemned the centuries of colonial injustice, genocide, and unlawful extraction that have been – and continue to be – carried out in the name of the British Crown”.
It added:
Calling for the abolition of the monarchy is as old as the monarchy itself and is a cornerstone of freedom of speech in the UK.
The Guardian’s legal affairs correspondent, Haroon Siddique, explains the law on the right to protest here.
The aircraft which will carry the Queen’s coffin from Edinburgh to London today has been used for aid missions in Ukraine, the head of the Royal Air Force said.
The C-17 Globemaster was also used last year to help evacuate people from Afghanistan, Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston told Sky News.
He said:
It’s a heavily used aircraft - it carried the majority of the 15,000 people that we evacuated from Kabul last summer.
And since then, it’s been involved in airlifting humanitarian aid and lethal aid nodes to support Ukraine.
The Queen was the “embodiment of a life of service” that the armed forces “all try in some way to emulate”, he added.
They understand what it means to be a service family, and that’s why Her Majesty was able to engage with and sought out families to talk to them, to share and hear their experiences, and to share some of her own.
Updated
Ten “everyday” Australian citizens from across all states and territories will travel with the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and governor general, David Hurley, to attend the London funeral of Queen Elizabeth II next week.
Albanese announced on Tuesday that, in addition to the invitations extended to Australia’s heads of state, Buckingham Palace had wanted to invite 10 Australians who had made “extraordinary contributions to their communities, and who represent Australian culture and values”.
Albanese said the invited Australians “embody an extraordinary contribution to our nation”, and dismissed questions on whether any of those attending the funeral supported Australia becoming a republic, saying they had not been asked.
“The Australians who have been invited, I think, embody an extraordinary contribution to our nation,” he said.
“We are paying respect here, and I think frankly what we did objectively at very short notice, was appoint people who objectively you can see, it wasn’t a political decision, it was people who had served their country and had been given significant recognition.”
Mourners hoping to travel to London to pay their respects to the Queen are being told to prepare for “unprecedented” demand on transport and in stations, with hundreds of thousands of people expected to make the trip.
As many as 750,000 people are expected to travel to the capital from Wednesday to pay respects to the late monarch as she lies in state for four days before her funeral on Monday. The public have been warned they may face 12-hour queues to see her coffin in Westminster Hall.
Network Rail, the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) and Transport for London (TfL) urged travellers to plan ahead and to expect crowded services and congested stations, adding that passengers should consider walking to their final destinations in the capital if possible.
TfL said not to drive in London if possible – and to avoid Green Park tube station altogether if travelling on public transport – with other stations including Westminster, Victoria, Waterloo, Hyde Park Corner and Marble Arch also expected to be extremely busy.
Updated
Northern Ireland is sure to give King Charles III a warm welcome on Tuesday, but his hosts, both nationalist and unionist, will each have reason for a twinge of unease.
Sinn Féin will need to balance expressions of condolence with republican principles that repudiate monarchy. Unionists will need to mask any concern that Queen Elizabeth II’s death has further eroded the frayed bonds of the United Kingdom.
Such nuances are expected to remain unspoken during a reception at Hillsborough Castle in County Down and a service of reflection for the Queen at St Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast, after which the King and Camilla, the Queen Consort, are scheduled to make a brief walkabout before flying to England.
The King is no stranger to Northern Ireland’s political dynamics. As prince he made by one count 39 official visits to the region, reassuring unionists that they were a cherished part of the UK while reaching out to republicans, most notably in a handshake with Gerry Adams in 2015.
Sinn Féin was the IRA’s mouthpiece during the Troubles and exulted in the assassination of Lord Mountbatten, who was blown up with his family in 1979. Now, as Northern Ireland’s largest party and increasingly seen as a government-in-waiting in the Republic of Ireland, it seeks to mirror the sombre public mood.
Updated
What happens today
Hello, I’m Léonie Chao-Fong and I’ll be bringing you the latest developments in the wake of the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Here is what to expect today:
The King and Queen Consort will fly to Belfast to visit Hillsborough Castle, where they will view an exhibition about the late Queen’s long association with Northern Ireland.
The King will then meet Northern Ireland secretary Chris Heaton-Harris and party leaders. At 1.20pm, he will receive a message of condolence led by the Speaker of the Northern Ireland assembly.
After a short reception at Hillsborough, the King and Queen Consort will travel to St Anne’s cathedral for a service of prayer and reflection, where they will be joined by the prime minister.
Before the service, the King will meet leaders from all the major faiths in Northern Ireland. The royal couple will then return to London.
Meanwhile, at 5pm, the Queen’s coffin will travel by road from St Giles’ cathedral in Scotland to Edinburgh airport, where it will be flown to London, departing at 6pm. The Princess Royal will accompany the coffin.
After arriving at RAF Northolt, the coffin will be driven to Buckingham Palace. Its arrival at 8pm will be met by the King and the Queen Consort, with other members of the royal family.
Updated
If you’re wondering why there’s such a fuss about the Queen’s death, our weekly science podcast published today might have some answers.
Our science editor, Ian Sample, has been talking to Prof Michael Cholbi, chair in philosophy at Edinburgh University, about what grief is, how losing a public figure can have such a profound impact on our lives, and why there’s value in grieving.
And in case you missed it, our columnist Polly Toynbee has talked brilliantly in an article and podcast about why the death of the Queen can feel so personal for so many people in Britain. She suggests here that the Queen’s constant presence in so many major events in Britain’s modern history has embedded her in our own lives, leaving many with a deep sense of loss. “People will have lost their connection with the history of their lifetime,” she says in the podcast.
Updated
Guardian columnist Afua Hirsch has written today about how the great respect shown to the Queen allowed Britain to gloss over the violence and cruelty of its colonial past, some of which was still going on (suppression of rebellion in Kenya, for example) when the Queen was monarch.
But she writes that the nation has now “lost the luxury of long-lasting denial”.
Change has come, but the systems of race and class that delineate our destinies have not. The genius of our monarchy is that it transforms people who have the most to gain from dismantling those systems into passionate subjects of the crown instead.
If it were possible to set all of this to one side, maybe I would like to mourn the Queen, the hard-working old lady who has been the symbol of my country for my, even my parents’, entire lives. But I can’t separate her from a reign that refused to acknowledge this reality, let alone attempt to change it.
Nor do I get to opt out of the emotional labour of processing the memories that other British people refuse to acknowledge. Until now. Last week, Britain lost the luxury of long-lasting denial, at the same time as it lost its Queen.
You can read the whole piece here:
Updated
The number of people in Britain watching The Crown, the Netflix series chronicling the life of the late monarch, has risen 800% since her death.
The series, which dramatises her life from the death of her father, George VI, in 1952, has won many major awards and widespread critical acclaim.
But her death has boosted audiences again, according to Whip Media, which says viewership increased 800% between 9 and 11 September compared with the same days the week before.
Our reporter Emily Wind says that “in France The Crown had more than three times the viewers it did the previous weekend. Globally, viewership was nearly four times higher this past weekend than it was the previous weekend … The Crown was among the top 10 trending TV shows on Netflix Australia”.
Netflix said after the Queen’s death that it would pause production on its fifth season of The Crown, which was due to portray the royal family through to the early 2000s.
Here’s Emily’s full story:
Updated
The Queen’s death has stirred debate in Australia about whether this should be the moment when the monarch is removed from the country’s coins and banknotes.
During a visit to the mint in Canberra on Tuesday, the assistant treasury minister Andrew Leigh refused to rule out featuring an Australian instead of King Charles on the new $5 note.
Although the monarch would continue to appear on coins, the $5 note – the only note on which the Queen appears – was a different matter. “The decision to include the Queen’s face on the $5 note was about her personally rather than about her status as the monarch so that transition [to Charles on the note] isn’t automatic,” he said.
Full story from my colleague Paul Karp in Canberra here:
Anthony Albanese, Australia’s prime minister, said now was not the right time to discuss the $5 note issue and was instead time for “respect”.
Updated
Here are some more of those striking pictures (see last post) of rehearsals held early on Tuesday morning in London for the funeral procession of the Queen’s coffin to Westminster Hall scheduled to take place on Wednesday.
What's happening to the Queen's coffin today
Back in Edinburgh, the Queen’s coffin will remain in St Giles’ until 5pm when it will transferred by hearse to Edinburgh airport and flown to RAF Northolt in west London, accompanied by the Queen’s daughter, the Princess Royal.
The RAF Globemaster C-17 flight will leave at 6pm will land at RAF Northolt at 6.55pm from where the coffin will be driven to Buckingham Palace via the A40, Eastbourne Terrace, Lancaster Gate, Bayswater Road, Marble Arch, Park Lane, Hyde Park Corner and Constitution Hill.
Waiting to receive the coffin at the Palace will be the King and the Queen Consort, who will have returned from Northern Ireland having attended a thanksgiving service for the Queen in Belfast and undertaken a walkabout at Writers’ Square.
Also at Buckingham Palace will be the Prince and Princess of Wales. A guard of honour formed of three officers and 96 soldiers from the King’s Guard will be mounted in the Palace Quadrangle.
The Queen’s coffin will rest in the Bow Room overnight. It will be taken to Westminster Hall to lie in state on Wednesday.
Updated
One of the main events of Tuesday will be a visit by King Charles and the Queen Consort to Northern Ireland.
The royal couple will leave Edinburgh this morning and fly to Belfast where they will travel to Hillsborough Castle for an exhibition about the late Queen’s affinity with Northern Ireland.
They will then attend a reception with Northern Ireland secretary Chris Heaton-Harris and civiv leaders, including republicans such as Michelle O’Neill, the Sinn Fein leader who is the party’s first minister-designate, and Belfast’s first Sinn Fein mayor, Alex Maskey.
Our Ireland correspondent Rory Carroll has filed a piece this morning about the strange incongruity of these official events where the King will be greeted by members of what was once the political wing of the terrorist group who blew up his favourite uncle, Lord Mountbatten, in 1979.
"Maskey, a former IRA internee who is now Speaker of the Stormont assembly, will embody the incongruity. As Sinn Féin’s first mayor of Belfast, he is an old-school republican and was for many years a hate figure for unionists, yet it falls to him to deliver Northern Ireland’s official message of condolence to the King in the throne room at Hillsborough Castle.
'An extraordinary outpouring of respect' – deputy Lords speaker
Lord Ian Duncan, the deputy speaker in the House of Lords, said the sight of so many people queueing in Edinburgh was “an extraordinary outpouring of respect, grief, celebration of an extraordinary woman”.
He said crowds along the Royal Mile in the Scottish capital were “ten-deep”.
“The sheer quantity of individuals moving into Edinburgh today [indicates] that there will be many tens – possibly even hundreds – of thousands of people who will wish to pay their respects to the late Queen,” Lord Duncan told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Tuesday morning.
“By goodness, they were ten-deep. They had to stop people trying to get there because it would have become dangerous.
The crowds are expected to build this morning and people can expect to wait up to 12 hours compared with those who queued overnight who said their wait-time was five or six hours.
Updated
Thousands queue overnight in Edinburgh to see Queen's coffin
Thousands of people have queued in the streets of Edinburgh overnight to view the Queen’s coffin at rest in St Giles’ Cathedral.
A long line of people snaked around the city’s Old Town as they waited between five to seven hours for their turn to walk past the oak casket of the late monarch.
The queue stretches around Parliament Square, along George IV Bridge, along Chambers Street; Potter Row; around George Square and onto the Meadows where it has doubled back along the paths.
Hello I’m Martin Farrer and I’ll be here for the next couple of hours, keeping on top of developments in the wake of the death of Queen Elizabeth.
The main events today include King Charles flying to Belfast later this morning with Camilla, the Queen Consort, for various official events, the Queen’s coffin remaining at rest in Edinburgh before being flown to London at around 6pm, and the buildup to her lying in state in for four days.
The main points:
Thousands of people have been paying their respects to the Queen through the night as her coffin continues to lay at rest in St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh. Members of the public queued for hours to move silently past the oak coffin as the Queen’s children stood vigil.
Civil liberties campaigners and MPs have criticised police for “shocking” treatment of anti-monarchy protesters after a number of incidents at events surrounding the Queen’s death. A 22-year-old man was arrested in Edinburgh on Monday for apparently heckling Prince Andrew.
The King will leave Edinburgh on Tuesday morning and fly to Belfast with the Queen Consort. He will attend an exhibition on the late Queen’s association with Northern Ireland at Hillsborough Castle before a reception with the secretary of state for Northern Ireland, Chris Heaton-Harris, and civic leaders. He will also receive the official condolences of the people of Northern Ireland from Sinn Fein city mayor Alex Maskey.
The coffin will be flown from Edinburgh Airport to London at 6pm on Tuesday, accompanied by the Queen’s daughter, the Princess Royal. The RAF Globemaster C-17 flight will land at RAF Northolt from where the coffin will be driven to Buckingham Palace.
People have already started queueing to pay their respects to the Queen when her coffin is moved to Westminster Hall on Wednesday where it lie in state until 6.30am on Monday morning. A huge logistical and security operation is under way to deal with the hundreds of thousands of people expected to join the queues.
The preparations are playing havoc with this week’s football fixtures as police are pulled away from normal duties to supervise the buildup to the funeral in London. Manchester United’s weekend home game against Leeds and Liverpool’s visit to Chelsea will be played at a later date. Arsenal’s Europa League tie at home to PSV on Thursday is also off.
Simon Armitage, the poet laureate, has composed a poem to mark the passing of the Queen Elizabeth. Floral Tribute is a double-acrostic poem which spells out the Queen’s name in two verses of nine lines, and which Armitage says seeks to “encode” her name.
Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand’s prime minister, has said that she expects the country will one day become a republic but that it was “not on the agenda any time soon”. She said: “I do believe that is where New Zealand will head in time ...”.
Updated
