Friday marks the official start of a period of mourning for Queen Elizabeth II that will last at around 12 days as part of a royal protocol that has long been planned. The Queen has died and King Charles III is the new monarch.
Thursday would traditionally have been D-Day or D+0 in the plans for the aftermath of the Queen’s death, codenamed London Bridge. But the announcement came late in the day – at around 6.30pm on Thursday September 8 – meaning plans have been shifted a day to allow the complex arrangements to be put in place, meaning D+0 will be considered Friday.
The King and Camilla – now the Queen – remained at Balmoral overnight where the Queen spent her final hours, and will return to London on Friday.
The Queen will be commemorated by pomp and ceremony as the nation begins a period of mourning to mark the death of its former monarch.
Gun salutes will ring out in the capital and bells will toll across the country, with churches, chapels and cathedrals encouraged by the Church of England to open for prayers or a special service for mourners.
The following is expected to take place on Friday – D+0. But concrete plans are yet to be confirmed by Buckingham Palace.
– The King and Queen return to London – Charles and Camilla stayed at Balmoral overnight on Thursday, but return to London on Friday.
– Audience with the PM – Despite his grief, duty calls for new sovereign Charles who will have his first audience as monarch with Prime Minister Liz Truss.
– Confirming funeral plans – Charles is likely to 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.
The London Bridge arrangements have long been planned in consultation with the Government.
They will incorporate Operation Unicorn, the contingency plans for the death of the Queen in Scotland.
During the coronavirus pandemic, the Government and the Royal Household prepared a “London minus” version of the London Bridge plans in case it was needed – which is now unlikely – with all the elements but with the involvement of fewer people.
– Court mourning – Charles will decide on the length of court or royal mourning for members of the royal family and royal households. It is expected to last a month.
– National mourning – The Government will confirm the length of national mourning, which is likely to be around 12 days, from now up to the day after the Queen’s funeral.
They will also announce that the funeral day will be a public holiday in the form of a Day of National Mourning.
– Flags – Union flags on royal buildings are flying at half-mast.
The Royal Standard never flies half-mast. It represents the Sovereign and the United Kingdom, and is a symbol of the continuation of the monarchy.
If the new King is in residence at a royal palace or castle, the Royal Standard will fly there full-mast as is the tradition.
The Union flag does not fly there at the same time.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is in charge of arrangements for lowering flags on government buildings.
Downing Street reportedly expressed concern in the past that the Government would face a wave of public anger if it did not lower its flags within 10 minutes of the announcement of the Queen’s death.
– Bells and gun salutes – Bells will toll at Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral and Windsor Castle.
Churches are being urged to toll their bells across England at noon.
Gun salutes – one round for every year of the Queen’s life – will be fired in Hyde Park and at other stations.
The public has already begun to leave flowers as tributes from around the world pour in.
– Charles’s televised address – The King will make a televised address to the nation, which he is due to pre-record, in the early evening.
He will pay tribute to the Queen and pledge his duty to his service as the new sovereign.
– Service at St Paul’s Cathedral – The Prime Minister and senior ministers will attend a public service of remembrance at St Paul’s in central London.
What will happen over the weekend?
D+1 – Saturday September 10
The Accession Council meets, traditionally at 10am, at St James’s Palace in London to formally proclaim Charles as the new sovereign.
First, the Privy Council gathers without the King to proclaim the new monarch and arrange business relating to the proclamation.
Then Charles holds his first Privy Council, accompanied by Camilla – the new Queen – and William who are also Privy Counsellors, and makes his personal declaration and oath.
The first public proclamation of the new sovereign is read in the open air from the Friary Court balcony at St James’s Palace by the Garter King of Arms.
Proclamations are made around the city and across the country.
Union flags go back up to full-mast at 1pm and remain there for 24 hours to coincide with the proclamations before returning to half-mast.
Charles will also hold audiences with the Prime Minister and the Cabinet.
D+2 – Sunday September 11
The Queen’s coffin is expected to be taken by road to the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.
Proclamations will be read in the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland devolved parliaments in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast.
