Queen Elizabeth II dies - follow the latest news as the world mourns
Britain is waking to its first day in 70 years without Queen Elizabeth II.
For the majority of the nation she is the only monarch they have ever known, a figurehead who was ever present in the life of the nation.
The pomp and ceremony which accompanies historic moments in Britain will begin as the queen is commemorated throughout the country and around the world.
Gun salutes will ring out in London 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.
Well-wishers flocked to Buckingham Palace, as people laid flowers in tribute to the late monarch.
Messages of thanks for the Queen and condolences to her family were also left among the floral tributes from the public at the gates of Balmoral Castle.
One said: “Thank you Queen Elizabeth II for your service to our nation.” Another card said: “Thank you for your dedication, service and reign.
“You have been a source of inspiration and a calming figure through my life.” Dozens of bouquets were left by people who braved the heavy rain in north east Scotland to pay their respects.
One tribute came in the shape of a model corgi – the Queen’s beloved breed of dog. Another card was left by pupils from St Roman’s Primary School more than 100 miles away in West Dumbartonshire. Another message simply said: “Just thanks.”
The queen’s son and successor King Charles III, who shortly after her death was announced on Thursday spoke of his grief at the death of his beloved mother and “cherished sovereign” will now turn his mind to matters of state as he begins his first full day as the nation’s new monarch having spent much of his 73 years in preparation for the role.
He will return to London from Balmoral, where the queen died after spending her final days at her beloved Scottish home.
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A tribute to Britain's Queen Elizabeth II appears on a Nasdaq hoarding in Times Square, New York, after she died aged 96. Reuters -
The statue of Christ The Redeemer bears the colours of Britain's flag in honour of the late queen, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. AFP -
The American flag flies at half-mast at Capitol Hill in Washington. AP -
The Empire State Building is lit in purple and silver in celebration of the life of the late queen. AP -
Queen Elizabeth's royal cypher is projected onto the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada. Reuters -
A tribute to the queen is projected onto the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. Reuters -
A man bows at the gate of the British Embassy in Tokyo. AP -
People gather around a statue of the queen at Government House in Brisbane, Australia. EPA -
A member of the public signs the condolence book at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia. EPA -
Flags are seen at half-mast on the Sydney Harbour ridge as a mark of mourning and respect for Queen Elizabeth. Getty -
Petrin Lookout Tower in Prague, the Czech Republic, is lit in British colours in honour of Queen Elizabeth. AP -
Gregg Donovan lights a candle at a memorial at Ye Olde King's Head British restaurant in Santa Monica, California. EPA -
The Tel Aviv Municipality building is decked in the colours of the British flag as a sign of solidarity to the British royal family. AFP -
A moment of silence is observed for Queen Elizabeth before a US Open semi-final tennis match between France's Caroline Garcia and Tunisia's Ons Jabeur in New York. AP -
The Union Jack flies at half-mast at the British Embassy in Paris. AFP -
A man pays his respects in front of the British Embassy in Berlin, Germany. EPA -
The queen's image appears on a screen during a Uefa Europa League match between Lazio and Feyenoord in Rome, Italy. Getty -
Messages of condolences and floral tributes are left at the gates of Government House in Sydney, Australia. EPA -
The American flag flies at half-mast over the White House. AP -
The Union Flag at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi at half-mast. Victor Besa / The National -
A picture of the late Queen Elizabeth II illuminates a tower in Kuwait City. AFP -
Flowers are laid near a statue of the queen inside the retired ocean liner 'Queen Elizabeth Two', docked at Port Rashid in Dubai. EPA -
A worker carries mourners' flowers in the British Embassy in Cairo, Egypt. AP -
Amos Ndegwa sits in front of the condolence book in the Treetops Hotel in which Queen Elizabeth stayed the night her father George VI died in 1952, in Aberdare National Park, Kenya. Reuters -
Portraits of the queen in Tottenham Court Road tube station in London. AFP
King Charles III, as he is now titled, is expected to make a TV address on Friday evening.
Behind the scenes, the long-held London Bridge plans for the queen’s death are being rapidly put into action, setting out the proceeding days according to a strict timetable that will feature a lying in state and then the solemnity and grandeur of a state funeral.
The arrangements have a more complex factor because the queen died in Scotland ― which triggered Operation Unicorn ― the contingency plans in case of such an event.
Members of the royal family will be expected in the coming days to hold a vigil around the queen’s coffin in St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh, before it is transported by RAF plane back to London.
There she is expected to lie in state in a few days’ time, with her funeral in Westminster Abbey in central London, most likely on Monday September 19.
Gun salutes ― one round for every year of the queen’s life ― will be fired in central London on Friday and the new monarch will hold his first audience with Prime Minister Liz Truss, who was appointed by the queen on Tuesday in her final official act.
Ms Truss paid tribute on the steps of Downing Street on Thursday evening, describing the queen as “the rock on which modern Britain was built”.
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The Union flag is lowered at the Houses of Parliament following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on September 08, 2022 in London, England. Getty -
The Union Flag lowered at half mast at Buckingham Palace following the official announcement of the death of Queen Elizabeth II, London, Britain, 08 September 2022. EPA -
The Union Flag above Downing Street, in central London is flown at half mast following the announcement of the death of Queen Elizabeth II. PA -
Defence Forces military police lower the Irish flag to half mast outside government buildings in Dublin following the announcement of the death of Queen Elizabeth II. PA -
The Union flag flies at half mast at Hillsborough Castle, Northern Ireland. PA -
Flags being lowered to half mast outside The Scottish Parliament building at Holyrood in Edinburgh following the announcement of the death of Queen Elizabeth II. PA -
The United States national flag flies at half-staff over the White House by proclamation of US President Joe Biden, to honor the late Queen Elizabeth II of Britain following her death, in Washington, DC, USA, 08 September 2022. EPA -
The US flag flies at half-staff at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on September 8, 2022 following the death of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II. AFP -
Frame grab from a video showing a member of the British Embassy staff lowering the flag outside the embassy to half staff upon news of the death of Queen Elizabeth II in Washington, DC, USA, 08 September 2022. EPA -
The Australian flag files at half-staff at the Australian Embassy, Thursday, September 8, 2022, in Washington, after Queen Elizabeth II, Britain's longest-reigning monarch and a rock of stability across much of a turbulent century, died Thursday after 70 years on the throne. AP -
The Canadian flag flies at half-staff over the Canadian Embassy in Washington, Thursday, September 8, 2022, after Queen Elizabeth II, Britain's longest-reigning monarch and a rock of stability across much of a turbulent century, died Thursday after 70 years on the throne. AP -
The Union flag flies at half-staff at the British Embassy in Washington, DC, on September 8, 2022, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. AFP -
A Canadian flag flies at half-staff at the top of the Peace Tower after the death of Britian's Queen Elizabeth II on September 8, 2022 in Ottawa. AFP -
The New Zealand flag at half-mast outside Parliament, in Wellington, New Zealand following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Friday, September 9, 2022. AP -
A Union flag flies at half-mast at the British embassy in Berlin, Germany 08 September 2022, following the death of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II. EPA -
The Brazilian and the MERCOSUR flags fly at half-mast at the Planalto Palace after the death of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, in Brasilia, on September 8, 2022. AFP -
The Union flag at half-staff due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II, at the British Consulate General, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 08 September 2022. EPA -
Union flags flies at half-mast at the British embassy in Madrid, Spain, 08 September 2022, following the death of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II. EPA
“Through thick and thin, Queen Elizabeth II provided us with the stability and the strength that we needed,” she said. She was informed of the Queen’s death at 4.30pm as she worked in Downing Street, with the news broken by Cabinet Secretary Simon Case.
Ms Truss said: “In the difficult days ahead, we will come together with our friends, across the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth and the world, to celebrate her extraordinary lifetime of service.
“It is a day of great loss, but Queen Elizabeth II leaves a great legacy.
“Today the crown passes ― as it is has done for more than a thousand years ― to our new monarch, our new head of state: His Majesty King Charles III.
“With the king’s family, we mourn the loss of his mother. And as we mourn, we must come together as a people to support him.
“To help him bear the awesome responsibility that he now carries for us all.
“We offer him our loyalty and devotion just as his mother devoted so much to so many for so long.
“And with the passing of the second Elizabethan age, we usher in a new era in the magnificent history of our great country, exactly as her majesty would have wished, by saying the words 'God save the King'.”
The prime minister and senior ministers will attend a public service of remembrance at St Paul’s in central London.
On Saturday morning, an accession council ― the formal proclamation of Charles as king ― will take place at St James’s Palace in London.
The first public proclamation of the new sovereign will then be read in the open air from the Friary Court balcony at St James’s Palace by the garter king of arms. King Charles will hold audiences, and the media will be briefed by the earl marshal, who is in charge of the accession and the queen’s funeral, on the coming days.
Tributes
World leaders paid tribute to the late monarch.
President Sheikh Mohamed led UAE tributes. "I extend my sincere condolences to the family of Queen Elizabeth II and the people of the UK," he wrote on Twitter.
"Her Majesty was a close friend of the UAE and a beloved and respected leader whose long reign was characterised by dignity, compassion and a tireless commitment to serving her country."
President Joe Biden said she was “more than a monarch.” She was a leader who “defined an era”.
“In a world of constant change, she was a steadying presence and a source of comfort and pride for generations of Britons, including many who have never known their country without her,” he said in a statement released by the White House.
Former US President Barack Obama said: "Michelle and I were lucky enough to come to know her majesty, and she meant a great deal to us. Time and again, we were struck by her warmth, the way she put people at ease, and how she brought her considerable humour and charm to moments of great pomp and circumstance."
Pope Francis said he willingly joined all who mourn her loss "in praying for the late queen's eternal rest, and in paying tribute to her life of unstinting service to the good of the nation and the Commonwealth."
