A period of royal mourning will be observed from now until seven days after the Queen’s funeral, the date of which will be confirmed in due course, Buckingham Palace has said.
Her Majesty passed away “peacefully” in her home in Balmoral, Scotland on Thursday.
Royal mourning will be observed by members of the Royal Family, those who work in the Royal Household, representatives on official duties and troops who carry out ceremonial duties.
Throughout this period, royal residences will close until after the Queen’s funeral. These include the Queen’s Gallery, the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace and the Queen’s Gallery in Edinburgh. Balmoral Castle and Sandringham House will also be closed, along with Hillsborough Castle - the Queen’s official residence in Northern Ireland.
Flags at royal residences will remain at half-mast until 8am on the morning after the last day of royal mourning.
The Queen’s body will lie in state at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh for 24 hours to allow close family to pay their respects. Members of the senior Royal family are expected to remain at Balmoral, although Prince Harry was seen leaving at around 8.15am this morning.
Meanwhile, King Charles III and his wife Camilla, the Queen Consort, are expected to travel to London today to meet the prime minister and formalise the funeral plans.
The King will then meet the Earl Marshal – the Duke of Norfolk – who is in charge of the accession and the Queen’s funeral, to approve the carefully choreographed schedule for the coming days.
His Majesty will make a televised address to the nation, which he is due to pre-record. He will pay tribute to the Queen and pledge his duty to his service as the new sovereign.
The King will also make decisions regarding how long the period of national mourning will be, although it is expected to last for 12 to 13 days.
To mark the death of the Queen, usual parliamentary activity will be suspended, from Westminster to Holyrood.
MPs will get the chance to pay their own tributes to the Queen in the Commons from noon on Friday, before a further unusual session from 2pm on Saturday.
A special Service of Prayer and Reflection on the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will be held in St Paul’s Cathedral today at 6pm.
Members of the public are welcome to attend the service and 2,000 available seats will be allocated to the public on a first come first served basis.
