A minute of silence will be observed at 8pm on Sunday evening in remembrance of the Queen, ahead of the state funeral on Monday.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “At 8pm on Sunday 18 September - the night before the state funeral - there will be a one minute’s silence.
“The public are invited to come together and observe a national moment of reflection, to mourn and reflect on the life and legacy of Queen Elizabeth II.
Number 10 said the silence could be marked “privately at home on your own or with friends and neighbours” as well as “out on your doorstep or street” or at local event spaces.
The event will come close to the end of four days of the Queen’s coffin lying in state in Westminster Hall in the Palace of Westminster.
Millions of people are expected to file into the hall to pay their respects night and day over the four days with queues expected to be hours long. On Monday, the coffin will be taken in a grand military procession from the Palace of Westminster to Westminster Abbey for the state funeral.
Senior members of the family are expected to follow behind. Heads of state, prime ministers and presidents, European royals and key figures from public life will be invited to gather in the abbey, which can hold a congregation of 2,000.
The service will be televised, and a national two minutes’ silence is expected to be held. The day of the Queen’s funeral is already designated as a Bank Holiday across the United Kingdom.
Economic experts have signalled that the Bank Holiday for the funeral could help tip the UK into recession. The warning came after it emerged Britain’s economy grew by just 0.2 per cent in July, less than analysts had expected.
A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth. The economy contracted in June, which economists put down to the Bank Holiday weekend for the Queen’s platinum jubilee.
Analysts said the move, coupled with the 10 days of national mourning following the Queen’s death, could be enough to send the UK into recession more quickly than expected.
The Bank of England has said it expects a recession by the end of the year.
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