A meticulous plan for life after the Queen was put into motion after she died aged 96.
Queen Elizabeth II died peacefully at her Scottish home in Balmoral on Thursday, September 8, ending a remarkable reign of more than 70 years.
King Charles III’s reign began on the death of his mum and Prime Minister Liz Truss led on tributes to Her Majesty.
The Royal Family and the public are currently in a period of mourning, with the Queen’s funeral taking place today (September 19).
Here is what has happened, and what is expected to happen in the final hours leading up to the funeral and committal service.
King Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles, Queen Consort returned to London for an audience with the prime minister.
The Queen’s coffin remained at her private home in Balmoral, draped in the Royal Standard with a wreath of her favourite flowers.
An online book of condolence has been opened by the public.
Royal salutes were fired by the Honourable Artillery Company at the Tower of London and in Hyde Park from 1pm. 96 shots were fired for each year of The Queen’s life.
During the period of royal mourning flags at royal residences will be flown at half mast, except for the Royal Standard when the King is in residence.
King Charles made his first address to the country, where he paid tribute to his mother and named Prince William as the new Prince of Wales.
Head to Metro.co.uk’s Queen Elizabeth II tag page for the latest updates, and sign Metro.co.uk’s book of condolence to Her Majesty here.
‘Queen Elizabeth was a life well lived; a promise with destiny kept and she is mourned most deeply in her passing. That promise of lifelong service I renew to you all today’ he said.
The Accession Council convened and Charles held his first Privy Council meeting. He made his formal declaration about the death of the Queen and was formally proclaimed the new King.
Three trumpeters fanfared the proclamation at 11am, which was read from the Friary Court balcony at St James’s Palace.
After flying at half-mast the day before, Union flags went back up to full-mast at 1pm and will remain there for 24 hours to coincide with the proclamations before returning to half-mast.
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Operation Unicorn – the Scottish version of Operation London Bridge – was launched due to the fact that the Queen died in Scotland.
The Queen’s coffin was driven to her smallest palace, Holyroodhouse, in Edinburgh which was her official residence in Scotland.
Mourners lined up to pay their respects in Aberdeen, Dundee and the village of Ballater, near Balmoral, bowing their heads in silence as the coffin passed by.
The coffin rested overnight in the Throne Room.
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The Queen’s coffin was moved to St Giles’s Cathedral by processing along the Royal Mile.
As the sun shone on the Royal Mile – decorated with flags, Union Jacks, and Scottish saltires – huge crowds gathered to witness the procession take place.
There was a slight scuffle when Prince Andrew was heckled as the procession passed up the Royal Mile.
‘Andrew, you’re a sick old man,’ someone in the crowd had yelled.
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Footage appeared to show police officers tackling a protester to the ground as the procession heads to St Giles’ Cathedral.
The Queen’s coffin arrived at St Giles’ Cathedral shortly after 3pm.
Her coffin was lifted out of the hearse and brought into the place of worship, with the King, the Queen Consort, the Princess Royal, her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, the Duke of York, and the Earl and the Countess of Wessex walking behind.
The King also had an audience with the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, followed by an audience with the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament.
The Crown of Scotland was placed on the coffin and the Queen’s body laid in state at the cathedral until Tuesday afternoon, giving mourners a chance to come and visit.
The Queen’s body headed out on her final journey to London, where it was flown by plane from Edinburgh at 6pm.
The coffin then travelled by hearse to Buckingham Palace, where people will line the streets to watch it pass.
Upon arrival, it was greeted by a Guard of Honour from the King’s Guard at the Grand Entrance and was moved to the Bow Room of the palace so the King and her family can pay their respects and say prayers.
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King Charles also continued his tour of the four home nations by travelling to Belfast, and then on to Hillsborough Castle.
After a short reception at Hillsborough, The King and The Queen Consort traveled to St Anne’s Cathedral for a service of Prayer and reflection.
Before the service, His Majesty met leaders from all the major faiths in Northern Ireland. The King and The Queen Consort will then leave Belfast for London.
An official procession of the coffin took place from Buckingham Palace to Westminster, with people lining the streets.
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The lying-in-state commended at Westminster Hall at the Houses of Parliament, which will be opened with a service by the Archbishop of Canterbury and another ‘Vigil of the Princes’ by the Royal Family.
The event should last four days, and demands posed by this unprecedented moment in British national life.
Hundreds of thousands of members of the public have already walked past the coffin, as they did before the Queen Mother’s funeral in 2002.
A massive security operation to deal with the huge crowds has been planned, called Operation Feather.
The lying-in-state continued as preparations and rehearsals for the funeral began.
Heads of state have begun to arrive from other countries to attend the funeral.
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King Charles took a day of rest and reflection on Thursday – day six – ahead of further preparations for the Queen’s funeral.
The late Queen’s four children – the King, the Princess Royal, the Duke of York and the Earl of Wessex – mounted a family vigil over her coffin on Friday evening in Westminster Hall.
All of the Queen’s grandchildren – including Prince’s William and Harry – also took part in a vigil for 15 minutes on Saturday evening.
The King and Queen Consort hosted an official state reception at Buckingham Palace for world leaders and monarchs ahead of the funeral.
Among those guests who attended include over 30 members of oversea royalty, such as King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium and Prince Albert and Princess Charlene of Monaco.
US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron are among the political leaders who also made an appearance.
At 8pm, the public, led by Downing Street, mourned and reflected on the life and legacy of Britain’s longest serving monarch with a minute’s silence.
Today (Monday, September 19) is the date of Her Majesty’s funeral. It will be a televised state funeral at Westminster Abbey in central London.
Former Tory leadership contender Penny Mordaunt MP previously announced that today will be a bank holiday, to be a day of national mourning.
Many shops and businesses have closed for the occasion.
The Queen will be buried in the King George VI Memorial Chapel at Windsor Castle, alongside her late husband Prince Philip, who will be reburied.
6.30am: Lying-in-state at Westminster Hall will end.
8am: The doors to Westminster Abbey, where the funeral will be held, open three hours early to the 2,000 invitees.
10.35am: Her Majesty The Queen’s coffin will leave its current location of Westminster Hall, where HM is lying-in-state, and travel in the State Gun Carriage to Westminster Abbey.
A procession, led by the Royal Navy, will lead through New Palace Yard, Parliament Square and Broad Sanctuary and the Sanctuary, before reaching the Abbey.
The procession – which will be to the sound of bagpipes and muffled drums – will be joined by King Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward along with Prince William and Prince Harry.
10.52am: The Queen’s coffin will arrive at the Great West Door of Westminster Abbey.
11am: The Queen’s funeral will begin.
11.55am: The funeral will draw to a close with the sounds of the Last Post.
12pm: The UK will observe a two-minute silence at the end of The Queen’s funeral.
12.15pm: After the funeral, The Queen’s coffin will travel by gun carriage from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch near Hyde Park Corner, before continuing on to Windsor.
King Charles and members of the Royal Family will walk behind the coffin to Wellington Arch, via Parliament Square, Parliament Street, Whitehall, Horse Guards (including Horse Guards Arch and Horse Guards Road), The Mall, Queen’s Gardens, finally Constitution Hill and Apsley Way.
1pm: Just after this time, Her Majesty’s coffin will be moved from the State Gun Carriage to the State Hearse, and travel from London to Windsor on an as-yet unknown road.
3.15pm: Now in Windsor, the final procession to St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, via the Long Walk, begins at Shaw Farm Gate on Albert Road.
Once again, there will be a process of Royal Family members and The King behind the State Hearse.
4pm: The Queen’s coffin will be carried into St George’s Chapel, where a televised Committal Service will take place, held by the Dean of Windsor.
7.30pm: The Queen will be interred alongside Prince Philip at King George VI Memorial Chapel in Windsor Castle privately.
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The 10 days national period of mourning will come to an end the day after the funeral, September 20.
After the period ends, comedy shows will return to TV, upbeat songs will be played on the radio, and Union flags will no longer be flown at half-mast throughout the UK.
The Royal Family will remain in mourning until seven days after the funeral, meaning that their mourning period will end on September 26.
MORE : What can 4,000,000,000 viewers expect from Queen’s ‘spectacular’ funeral?
MORE : Royal funerals through the ages: How the country mourned from Victoria to Philip
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