King Charles and Camilla, now the queen consort, stayed at Balmoral on Thursday night but will travel to London on Friday, where the new king will hold an audience with the new prime minister, Liz Truss. Confirmation of funeral plans – The King is likely to meet the Earl Marshal (the Duke of Norfolk) who is responsible for the Queen’s accession and funeral, to approve the carefully choreographed program for the coming days. National mourning – The government will confirm the length of national mourning, which is likely to be around 12 days, PA Media reports, from now until the day after the Queen’s funeral. The public has already started gathering in large crowds and leaving flowers outside Buckingham Palace and other royal buildings. Ministers will also announce that the day of the funeral will be a public holiday.
Floral tributes have been placed outside the gates of Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh following the Queen’s death. Photo: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
Court Mourning – The King will decide the length of court or royal mourning for members of the Royal Family and Royal Houses. It is expected to last a month. Union Jacks in royal buildings fly half-hearted. The bells will ring at Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral and Windsor Castle. Churches are invited to ring their bells across England at noon. A 96-shot gun salute – one round for each year of the Queen’s life – will be fired at Hyde Park and other stations. The King’s televised address – The King will make a televised address to the nation, which he is going to record in advance, early in the evening. He will pay homage to the queen and commit to his duty in his service as the new sovereign. Service at St Paul’s Cathedral – The Prime Minister and senior ministers are expected to attend a public memorial service at St Paul’s in central London.
Updated at 06.50 BST Important events Show only key events Please enable JavaScript to use this feature In case you missed it, this video of the Queen’s sense of humor – with Paddington Bear – is really great. Queen’s sense of humor recalled: from no-mic jokes to tea with Paddington – video Paddington’s simple ‘Thank you ma’am for everything’ message to Her Majesty has garnered more than 700,000 likes on Twitter. Sir Elton John paid tribute to the Queen at his concert in Toronto on Thursday night, praising the monarch and her “inspiring presence”. The singer told his audience that the Queen had led Britain through “some of our greatest and darkest moments” saying she “deserved” her final rest. John, who was knighted by the Queen in 1998, performed a cover of his 1974 track Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me, while screens flashed images of the smiling monarch, wearing a bright purple coat and hat. He said: It was an inspiring presence… it was fantastic. He led the country through some of our greatest and darkest moments with grace and dignity and a genuine loving warmth. I’m 75 and she’s been with me all my life and I feel so sad that she won’t be with me anymore but I’m glad she’s at peace and I’m glad she’s at peace and she deserves it. He worked hard. I send my love to her family. She will be missed. Updated 08.11 BST Isobel Koshiw Ukraine’s foreign ministry changed its Twitter profile to a black and white union jack flag with a Ukrainian flag around the edge in honor of the queen and as a sign of respect. Updated at 08.05 BST Many who loved the Queen will today pick up a copy of a British newspaper, all paying tribute to her dedicated life of service. The Guardian features a full-page photo of the Queen at her coronation. The Daily Mirror has a lovely profile picture of the Queen, against a black background, featuring two simple words: Thank you. The Times decides not to feature a full-page photo of the Queen, instead featuring a more traditional front page. A shocking front from the Scottish Herald, featuring the Queen against the backdrop of the countryside she loved so much. My colleague Alison Rourke has collected all the headlines here: Updated at 07.40 BST The Queen’s image – from young bride to elderly grandmother – will continue to feature in newspapers and on television today as the UK wakes up to the first official day of mourning for Queen Elizabeth II. Ceremonial gun salutes and a minute’s silence are expected in Hyde Park and Tower Hill. King Charles is expected to hold his first audience with the prime minister. He will also meet the Earl Marshal to officially sign off on full funeral plans, with the state funeral expected to take place in 10 days. The King will broadcast to the country and the Commonwealth later this week. Here’s an explanation from Caroline Davies about what we can expect in the coming days and months. The Guardian’s lengthy read on the intensive planning for the Queen’s death and her son’s succession, first published in 2017, explores the minute details of plans that have been in place for many years. Good morning from London, my name is Alexandra Topping and I’ll be taking care of the liveblog this morning and updating you on what’s going on. Updated at 07.27 BST From Germany to Canada and from the US to Australia, leaders are remembering the Queen. In a touching tribute, an emotional Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, calls the Queen “thoughtful, wise, curious, funny” and “so much more”. And Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said her life would be “remembered for the ages”. You can watch these and other tributes from Joe Biden, Jacinda Arden and Volodymyr Zelenskiy here: World leaders respond to death of Queen Elizabeth II – video Updated 07.06 BST Hillary and Chelsea Clinton spoke at the premiere of their new show Gutsy in New York about their memories of meeting the Queen. Hillary, a former first lady and also a former US secretary of state, said she was “lucky” to have met the Queen several times. She described the late monarch as a “quirky, highly intelligent person who just wanted to learn”, adding that one of the highlights of her career was spending the night at “Buckingham Palace”. Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her daughter Chelsea spoke about their memories of Queen Elizabeth at the New York premiere of their new show ‘Gutsy’ pic.twitter.com/qE7d4tTryj — Reuters (@Reuters) September 9, 2022 Losing the queen will test a divided Britain, according to Guardian columnist Martin Kettle, with constitutional consequences that could reverberate for years. Of this unknown moment in British life – the first time a reigning monarch has died since 1952 – he writes: Don’t underestimate the upheaval in British life that this dynastic moment will cause. Elizabeth II spent 70 years as a low-key but highly effective unifying force in a nation visibly disintegrating. Her death will take away this power, which her heirs cannot presume to be able to reproduce. In its own way, this succession will be one of the greatest tests for modern Britain to face. Politics must be involved. Here is Martin’s full piece: Our team of correspondents across the Pacific have written about how the Queen will be remembered in the region. In the Solomon Islands, one of the few Commonwealth countries where the British monarch is still head of state, flags flew at half-mast and “many people posted condolences on Facebook and changed their profile pictures to images of the Queen”. group reports. The Queen on a visit to the Solomon Islands in October 1982. with Solomonas Mamalonis as Prime Minister at the time. Photo: Anwar Hussein/Getty Images In Fiji, museum worker Jon Namacablawa said he was saddened by the news. “Fiji loves and looks up to the monarchy… He has led the empire very well. He has driven with passion.” Read the full report here: Updated at 06.44 BST
Chinese President Xi Jinping expresses ‘sincere sympathy’
China’s President Xi Jinping expressed his “sincere sympathies to the British government and the British people” in a statement released through state media. “Xi Jinping, on behalf of the Chinese government and people, as well as in his own name, expresses his deepest condolences,” it said in a statement. “Her death is a great loss to the British people.” President Xi on Friday sent a condolence message to the new King of the United Kingdom Charles III on the death of Queen Elizabeth II, and expressed his sincere condolences to the British royal family, the British government and the people. pic.twitter.com/DcC4nHsQLJ — Global Times (@globaltimesnews) September 9, 2022 The statement, published in Chinese state media, noted that the queen was the first British monarch to visit China and praised the longevity of her reign as the longest-serving monarch in British history. President Xi Jinping and the Queen raise their glasses on his official visit to Britain in 2015. Photo: WPA/Getty Images “Xi Jinping emphasized that he attaches great importance to the development of China-UK relations,” the statement said, adding that he is “willing to work with King Charles III… to promote the healthy and stable development of bilateral relations for the benefit of two countries and their peoples”. Updated at 06.45 BST The Queen’s death was widely covered by morning news shows and newspapers in Japan, where the announcement from Buckingham Palace came early on Friday, writes our correspondent Justin McCurry. Television networks reported on her 70-year reign, while the online edition of the country’s best-selling newspaper, the Yomiuri Shimbun, led with…
