Following my tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, I wanted to write an update regarding the arrangements for the period of national mourning.
Day 1: The Prime Minister will have been told of the Queen's death, flags will be lowered to half mast, and Parliament and the devolved legislatures have adjorned. The Royal Family will announce plans for the Queen's funeral, which is expected to be held 10 days following her death. The Prime Minister will hold an audience with the new King as soon as is practically possible and the House of Commons will sit from 12:00 to pay tribute to Her Majesty. Tonight, King Charles III will address the nation in a televised broadcast and their will be a minute of silence held across the country.
Day 2: Tomorrow, members of the Accession Council will formally proclaim Charles the new King, with the proclamation read out at St James' Palace. MPs will sit for the second day to pay tribute to the Queen, culminating in a formal humble address to His Majesty The King expressing the deep sympathy of the House on the death of Her late Majesty The Queen.
Her Majesty will be conveyed from Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire to Edinburgh on a special train, where it is understood the Queen would initially rest in state at the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Her coffin would then be carried to St Giles’ Cathedral on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, where people would be able to pay their respects.
Days 3-4: The King will embark of a tour of the United Kingdom, visiting the Scottish Parliament and St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, then Northern Ireland’s Hillsborough Castle and a service at St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast. In London, preparations for the funeral will be taking place.
Day 5: A procession from Buckingham Palace to the Houses of Parliament will culminate in a service will be held at Westminster Hall. The Queen will lie there in state for three days, and members of the public will be able to visit.
Days 6-9: The King will visit the Welsh Parliament and attend a service at Llandaff Cathedral. The Government at this point will be finalising the plans for for the day of her funeral.
Day 10: This will be a Day of National Mourning, with a two minute silence held. The funeral will take place at Westminster Abbey, followed by a committal service at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, where Queen Elizabeth II will be buried in the King George IV Memorial Chapel.
The online Book of Condolence can be found here if you would like to pay tribute to HM Queen Elizabeth II
Further details on the mourning and condolence arrangements at the Royal residences can be found here
