The official announcement from
Buckingham Palace will have been preceded by a “call cascade”, with the prime
minister informed personally by the Queen’s private secretary, and the news
passed through to the cabinet secretary and privy council office, which
coordinates government work on behalf of the monarch. Only then will the
“official notification” have been made to the public.
Flags across the royal
residences, Whitehall and other government buildings were lowered to half-mast,
with the royal family’s website changed to a black holding page with a short
statement announcing the Queen’s death. Government websites also changed to
show a black banner.
The Accession Council, which
includes senior government figures and privy counselors, is then expected to
meet at St James’s Palace on Saturday for the principal proclamation of the new
king, which is read out in public from a balcony at St James’s Palace.
A further proclamation will be
read at the Royal Exchange in the City of London. The new king will have audiences
with the prime minister and cabinet, the leader of the opposition, the
archbishop of Canterbury and the dean of Westminster.
Tributes will be paid in
parliament. Flags will be at full mast for the Accession Council and remain at
full mast for 24 hours, before returning to half-mast until the day after the
funeral.
The coffin is then expected to
leave from Balmoral to be taken by road to the Palace of Holyroodhouse. There
will be proclamations in the devolved nations at Edinburgh, Cardiff, and Belfast, and tributes in parliament are likely to continue.
There will be a ceremonial
procession from Holyrood along the Royal Mile to St Giles’ Cathedral for a
service attended by members of the royal family. After that service, St Giles’
Cathedral will open to the public for 24 hours for a period of lying at rest,
not lying in the state because that will take place in London.
The coffin is then expected to
be flown to London.
King Charles will visit
Northern Ireland, where he is due to receive a message of condolence at
Hillsborough Castle and will attend St Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast for a
service of prayer and reflection on the life of Queen Elizabeth II.
There will be rehearsals for
the procession of the late Queen’s coffin from Buckingham Palace to Westminster
Hall.
The coffin is expected to
arrive at Buckingham Palace a few hours before the big ceremonial planned
in London.
In the first big ceremonial
event preceding the funeral, the Queen’s coffin will be borne from Buckingham
Palace to Westminster Hall for the beginning of five days lying in state. It is
expected the coffin will be borne on a gun carriage. On arrival, there will be
a short service.
Lying in state is an
opportunity for the public to pay their respects. The coffin will be mounted on
a catafalque in the middle of Westminster Hall, which will be open to the
public for 23 hours a day.
King Charles will travel to
Wales to attend a service at Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff, then will visit the
Welsh Senedd and receive a motion of condolence. He will have an audience with
the Welsh first minister. Commonwealth detachments are then expected to begin
arriving in London.
On the eve of the funeral,
Charles will welcome foreign royal families attending.
The state funeral will be held
at Westminster Abbey. The coffin will be borne from Westminster Hall in a
procession to the abbey. There will be two minutes of silence across the nation.
After the one-hour service, a large ceremonial procession will accompany the
coffin to Hyde Park, where it will be transferred from the gun carriage to the state
hearse and travel to Windsor. After a procession through Windsor, a committal
service will be held at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, during which the
coffin will be lowered into the royal vault.
The prime minister was the
first member of the government to make a statement.
At Buckingham Palace, the
tradition is to fix the framed formal announcement of the death to the
railings. Westminster Abbey and St Paul’s Cathedral will toll their bells at a
set time after the monarch’s death.
On the first day of mourning,
ceremonial gun salutes are expected at Hyde Park and at Tower Hill, and a
national minute’s silence is expected to be held.
King Charles would be expected
to conduct his first audience with the prime minister. He will also meet the
Earl Marshal to officially sign off on the full funeral plans, with the state
funeral expected to be held in 10 days’ time. Charles will give a broadcast to
the country and the Commonwealth later this week.
