Union flags will be flown at half-mast at royal residences, government buildings and military establishments, and books of condolence will be opened at British embassies around the world. King Charles III and his wife Camilla, the Queen Consort, will return to London after spending Thursday night with their family at Balmoral, where the Queen died. On Friday he is expected to meet Liz Truss and help formalize the funeral arrangements. MPs will have the chance to pay their own tribute to the Queen in the Commons from 12 noon on Friday, before another extraordinary sitting from 2pm on Saturday. It is at that meeting on Saturday that senior political figures are expected to pledge allegiance to the new king, according to Commons authorities. He will be formally named king by the Accession Council, after which he will read a proclamation at St James’s Palace and meet with Ms Truss’s cabinet. The Queen passed away at the age of 96 (PA) After receiving an offer of condolence in Westminster Hall, King Charles will begin a tour of the UK’s home countries, including Northern Ireland and Wales, with a short ceremony in each. As the Queen died in Scotland, her body will lie in state at St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh for 24 hours to allow close family to pay their respects. The King and the Queen Consort are expected to return to Scotland. As the period of mourning continues, the Queen will be flown to London, where her coffin is expected to lie in state for three days at Westminster Hall before her funeral at Westminster Abbey in central London, a ceremony presided over by the Archbishop of Canterbury. She will eventually be buried in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, where her late husband Prince Philip and both her parents, the Queen Mother and George VI, are also buried. The day of her funeral and the day of the coronation of King Charles III will both be national holidays. The Queen’s stateside is expected to attract hundreds of thousands of mourners. The last major period of national mourning was in honor of the Duke of Edinburgh following his death on 9 April 2021. He did not lie to the state, according to his wishes, but in any case mass gatherings were illegal at the time due to the Covid-19 crisis. His wife of 73 years was forced to sit alone at his funeral due to social distancing measures, a hardship she suffered as stoically as ever. The last person to remain in state in the UK was the Queen Mother in 2002. King Charles III will be formally proclaimed king by the Council of Accession, after which a proclamation will be read at St James’s Palace and he will meet with Ms Truss’s cabinet. After receiving an offer of condolence in Westminster Hall, King Charles will begin a tour of the UK’s home countries, including Northern Ireland and Wales, with a short ceremony in each. Contrastingly, no period of mourning was declared in Britain after the death of Princess Diana in 1997, despite the extent of public sentiment, but one was held in 2005 as a gesture of respect for the 52 people killed in the Islamist terror attacks in London on July 7 that same year. year. One of the most important to have happened in living memory in Britain came in 1965, after the death of Sir Winston Churchill. The monarch died after months of worrying about her health (PA) His body lay in state at St Paul’s Cathedral in London for three days so mourners could pay their last respects to the prime minister, who was known to have the nerve to lead the Allied Forces to victory over Nazi Germany . Queen Victoria asked not to lie in state. When she died at Osborne House on the Isle of Wight in 1901, a semi-private lying in state was arranged for three days to allow Victoria’s servants and friends to pay their respects.
