It was the least glamorous moment of a day of ceremonial events as Britain made a transition from one era to another. Crowds gathered outside Buckingham Palace as early as 6.30am. Joggers, commuters and some flag-carrying people stopped at the palace gates, poking around to photograph the official black-tipped notice secured to the railings announcing that the Queen had died peacefully at Balmoral on Thursday. When faced with camera crews and microphones, many tried to explain exactly why they had come, often concluding that they were there simply because they couldn’t remember a moment without the Queen. Throughout the morning, businesses and event organizers tried to assess what the official period of mourning should mean in practice. Courts at the Old Bailey marked the moment by falling silent at 10am and some judges arrived wearing mourning collars with black trim. The lawyers were getting used to their new titles, which had already changed from Queen’s Counsel (QC) to King’s Counsel (KC). Some of London’s biggest stores, including Liberty and Selfridges, have decided not to open as a mark of respect. By mid-morning, the government had published guidance stressing that there is “no obligation on organizations to suspend operations during the period of national mourning”, but adding that some businesses may “want to consider” the closing or postponing events, although this was entirely at their discretion. Crowds line the Mall of London as they arrive to pay their respects to the Queen. Photo: Toby Melville/Reuters In an effort to clarify things, the guidance led to a confusing response. London theaters said they would stay open, but the Proms were cancelled. The Trades Union Congress announced it was canceling its annual conference, which had been due to start on Saturday, the Hyde Park protest by Extinction Rebellion was canceled, the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee meeting was postponed, horse racing events were rescheduled and the Premier League announced that the weekend’s games would be postponed. At Balmoral, the Queen’s closest relatives, who had been summoned on Thursday as her condition worsened, began to return home. Hints of the existing tension between family members were evident from the timing of the royal departures. Prince Harry was the first to leave at around 8.15am, just 12 hours after arriving. He was seen walking alone to catch a British Airways flight, with a small backpack slung over his shoulder. Prince William traveled separately later in the day to return to his family. At noon, church bells in town centers and villages rang to mark the Queen’s death. In Westminster, a House of Commons packed with black-suited MPs was one of the day’s most striking images of mourning. The line-up of new faces at the front of government was also a stark reminder of how much has changed in Britain in just four days, with a change of prime minister and monarch. Opening a two-day sitting to allow politicians to pay tribute to the Queen, the new prime minister, Liz Truss, said: “She was the rock on which modern Britain was built.” Using the as-yet-unknown term, he declared that the nation was now entering a new “Carolian era”. She and former prime minister Boris Johnson hinted at how glamorous the Queen was on Tuesday when they held separate audiences with her at Balmoral. Truss said, “She generously shared with me her deep experience of governance, even in those final days.” Home Secretary Tom Tugendhat shouted “God save the King” as she finished her speech. Describing his meeting, Johnson said: “In that audience, she was as bright and knowledgeable and as fascinated with politics as I can ever remember.” At 1 p.m., the BBC, which had cleared its regular schedules for a second day, broke from its specials to broadcast the 96-round salute that began simultaneously from across the country. Thousands of people gathered in near silence to watch a procession of 71 horses gallop through Hyde Park, before a 16-minute display of cannons firing loudly. By early afternoon, many flower shops near Green Park had sold out of flowers, but it would be a mistake to assume that signs of mourning were particularly visible anywhere in the capital beyond the immediate vicinity of the palace. Elsewhere, people went to work, wore their usual clothes, ate in restaurants, traveled on the subway, went to school, and went shopping. Liz Truss reads at a service in St Paul’s Cathedral in memory of the monarch. Photo: Paul Childs/AFP/Getty Images Across London, there were only occasional, scattered signs that this was a momentous day – a black band featuring the Queen’s face spinning atop the BT Tower, photos of the late monarch on digital screens at bus stops and, just before 14 :00 , the buzz of television helicopters tracking the King’s journey in a motorcade along clear roads from RAF Northolt to central London. A huge crowd waited to greet him, with thousands of arms stretched upwards, rock concert style, each trying to film the moment on their phones. In the eight minutes between 2.13pm and 2.21pm, the King shook hands with more than 200 people, the majority of them women, lined up against barriers outside the palace. Occasionally using his left and right hand for greater effectiveness, he smiled warmly and accepted a red rose, two kisses on the hand and a kiss on the cheek, before uncertainly entering the building. Elsewhere, businesses were scrambling to make sure they marked the moment appropriately. Government advice on bereavement suggested that organizations could recognize the period of mourning on their websites, “for example, by using black borders or black banners”. By mid-afternoon, Sainsbury’s usually orange home page had a black strip expressing its sadness at the Queen’s death. Royal Mail has sent a message reassuring the world that stamps featuring the Queen’s head will remain in place. King Charles tells Liz Truss his mother’s death ‘was the moment I dreaded’ – video Shortly after the King’s arrival at the palace, Truss arrived for her second audience with a monarch in three days. Somehow, during the day, the King managed to find time to write and record a speech to the nation. Throughout the day the choristers rehearsed a revised version of the national anthem, God Save the King, which was later sung for the first time since 1952 at an evening prayer service in St Paul’s Cathedral. As the service began at 6 p.m. Husband. In a speech clearly designed to build bridges, he said he also wanted to “express my love for Harry and Meghan as they continue to build their lives abroad”. He paid tribute to his mother’s “good life” and her “warmth, humor and unerring ability to always see the best in people”, before pledging to follow the “unwavering devotion” she had shown to the nation. Ending his inaugural address as monarch, he said: “And to my dear mum, as you embark on your last long journey to join my late papa, I just want to say this: thank you.”
