Kings Charles III thanks Queen for her 'love and devotion' and pledges to 'serve with loyalty, respect and love' in address to nation

Mourners gather laying flowers outside Balmoral following the announcement of the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Picture: PA.

Organisers of the Great North Run have said a decision on the main race will be made on Friday, September 9.

The Great North 5K was originally slated to be held on Friday evening, but it has now been confirmed the event will be cancelled, following the death of the Queen.

For the latest information from the Great Run Company, click here.

One of the first acts of the new monarch – whose title has been confirmed by the Prime Minister as King Charles III – was to speak of his grief and highlight the “respect and deep affection” in which the Queen was “so widely held”.

Charles said in a written statement: “The death of my beloved Mother, Her Majesty The Queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family.

“We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished Sovereign and a much-loved Mother.

“I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world.

“During this period of mourning and change, my family and I will be comforted and sustained by our knowledge of the respect and deep affection in which The Queen was so widely held.”

The House of Commons will sit at noon on Friday for MPs to pay tribute to the Queen in a session due to last until 10pm.

There will also be a rare Saturday sitting, where senior MPs will take the oath to King Charles III from 2pm, with tributes continuing again until 10pm.

Queen Elizabeth II had such a sense of duty to her country and her people. She reigned for more than seven decades - and worked with the interests of her people at heart for even longer than that.

Thursday, September 8, 2022 will remain a stand-out date in British history as the nation came together to look back on a remarkable life and service from our Queen.

A guiding light, a leader, a monarch, a mother and a grandmother.

More information on what happens next will become available throughout Thursday night and into Friday morning. We’ll share details here in due course.

Here is the day-by-day account of what is expected to happen next, leading up to the Queen’s funeral in around 11 days’ time.

Day of Death

Thursday would traditionally have been D-Day or D+0 in the plans for the aftermath of the Queen’s death, codenamed London Bridge.

But the announcement came late in the day – at around 6.30pm on Thursday, September 8 – meaning plans have been shifted a day to allow the complex arrangements to be put in place, meaning D+0 will be considered Friday.

The new King had dashed to the Queen’s bedside.

Charles was joined by the monarch’s other children the Princess Royal, the Duke of York and the Earl of Wessex, with the Duke of Cambridge, now heir to the throne, and the Duke of Sussex also travelling there.

Also at Balmoral are Camilla – the new Queen Consort – and the Countess of Wessex.

The King and Camilla – now the Queen Consort – remained at Balmoral overnight and will return to London on Friday.

The following is expected to take place on Friday – D+0. But concrete plans are yet to be confirmed by Buckingham Palace.

D+0 – Friday, September 9

– The King and Queen return to London – Charles and Camilla stayed at Balmoral overnight on Thursday, but return to London on Friday.

– Audience with the PM – Despite his grief, duty calls for new sovereign Charles who will have his first audience as monarch with Prime Minister Liz Truss.

– Confirming funeral plans – Charles is likely to meet the Earl Marshal – the Duke of Norfolk – who is in charge of the accession and the Queen’s funeral, to approve the carefully choreographed schedule for the coming days.

The London Bridge arrangements have long been planned in consultation with the Government.

They will incorporate Operation Unicorn, the contingency plans for the death of the Queen in Scotland.

During the coronavirus pandemic, the Government and the Royal Household prepared a “London minus” version of the London Bridge plans in case it was needed – which is now unlikely – with all the elements but with the involvement of fewer people.

– Court mourning – Charles will decide on the length of court or royal mourning for members of the royal family and royal households. It is expected to last a month.

– National mourning – The Government will confirm the length of national mourning, which is likely to be around 12 days, from now up to the day after the Queen’s funeral.

They will also announce that the funeral day will be a public holiday in the form of a Day of National Mourning.

– Flags – Union flags on royal buildings are flying at half-mast.

The Royal Standard never flies half-mast. It represents the Sovereign and the United Kingdom, and is a symbol of the continuation of the monarchy.

If the new King is in residence at a royal palace or castle, the Royal Standard will fly there full-mast as is the tradition.

The Union flag does not fly there at the same time.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is in charge of arrangements for lowering flags on government buildings.

Downing Street reportedly expressed concern in the past that the Government would face a wave of public anger if it did not lower its flags within 10 minutes of the announcement of the Queen’s death.

– Bells and gun salutes – Bells will toll at Westminster Abbey, St Paul’s Cathedral and Windsor Castle.

Churches are being urged to toll their bells across England at noon.

Gun salutes – one round for every year of the Queen’s life – will be fired in Hyde Park and at other stations.

The public has already begun to leave flowers as tributes from around the world pour in.

– Charles’s televised address – The King will make a televised address to the nation, which he is due to pre-record, in the early evening.

He will pay tribute to the Queen and pledge his duty to his service as the new sovereign.

– Service at St Paul’s Cathedral – The Prime Minister and senior ministers will attend a public service of remembrance at St Paul’s in central London.

D+1 – Saturday, September 10

The Accession Council meets, traditionally at 10am, at St James’s Palace in London to formally proclaim Charles as the new sovereign.

First, the Privy Council gathers without the King to proclaim the new monarch and arrange business relating to the proclamation.

Then Charles holds his first Privy Council, accompanied by Camilla – the new Queen – and William who are also Privy Counsellors, and makes his personal declaration and oath.

The first public proclamation of the new sovereign is read in the open air from the Friary Court balcony at St James’s Palace by the Garter King of Arms.

Proclamations are made around the city and across the country.

Union flags go back up to full-mast at 1pm and remain there for 24 hours to coincide with the proclamations before returning to half-mast.

Charles will also hold audiences with the Prime Minister and the Cabinet.

D+2 – Sunday, September 11

The Queen’s coffin is expected to be taken by road to the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.

Proclamations will be read in the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland devolved parliaments in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast.

D+3 – Monday, September 12

Procession is expected along Royal Mile to St Giles’ Cathedral. Service and the Vigil of the Princes by members of the royal family.

The public may get the chance to file past the Queen’s coffin at a mini lying in state in St Giles’.

The House of Commons and the House of Lords are expected to come together in Westminster for a Motion of Condolence, which the King could attend.

After leaving England and visiting Scotland, Charles will at some stage travel to the other countries of the UK – Wales and Northern Ireland – known as Operation Spring Tide.

D+4 – Tuesday, September 13

Coffin expected to be flown to London. Expected to be at rest at Buckingham Palace.

A rehearsal for the procession of the coffin from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster takes place.

D+5 – Wednesday, September 14

The Queen’s lying in state is expected to begin in Westminster Hall – Operation Marquee – following a ceremonial procession through London. It will last four full days.

The Archbishop of Canterbury will conduct a short service following the coffin’s arrival.

Hundreds of thousands of people will file past the coffin on its catafalque and pay their respects, just as they did for the Queen Mother’s lying in state inWhat happens next? Day by day after the Queen’s death 2002.

The management of the queues outside is Operation Feather.

During the Covid-19 crisis, plans included the possibility of the introduction of timed ticketing for those wanting to attend.

Senior royals are also expected to pay their own moving tribute, standing guard at some stage around the coffin – the tradition known as the Vigil of the Princes.

D+6 – Thursday, September 15

Lying in state continues and a rehearsal is likely to take place for the state funeral procession.

D+7 – Friday, September 16 – Sunday September 18

Lying in state continues, ending on D+9. Heads of state begin to arrive for the funeral.

D+10 – Monday, September 19

The Queen’s state funeral is expected take place at Westminster Abbey in central London.

The original plans are for the Queen’s coffin to process on a gun carriage to the abbey, pulled by naval ratings – sailors – using ropes rather than horses.

Senior members of the family are expected to poignantly follow behind – just like they did for the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales and the Duke of Edinburgh.

The military will line the streets and also join the procession.

Heads of state, prime ministers and presidents, European royals and key figures from public life will be invited to gather in the abbey, which can hold a congregation of 2,000.

The service will be televised, and a national two minutes’ silence is expected to be held.

The same day as the funeral, the Queen’s coffin will be taken to St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle for a televised committal service.

Later in the evening, there will be a private interment service with senior members of the royal family.

The Queen’s final resting place will be the King George VI memorial chapel, an annex to the main chapel – where her mother and father were buried, along with the ashes of her sister, Princess Margaret.

Philip’s coffin will move from the Royal Vault to the memorial chapel to join the Queen’s.

US President Joe Biden signed the condolence book at the British Embassy in Washington, and his wife, Jill Biden, brought a bouquet of flowers. The president was overheard telling embassy staff: “We mourn for all of you. She was a great lady.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping has expressed his condolences to the royal family.

He noted that she was the first UK monarch to visit China, in 1986, saying: “Her death is a great loss to the British people.”

The statement added that China was willing to work with the King as an opportunity to promote bilateral relations and benefit the two countries and their people.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang also sent a message of condolence to Prime Minister Liz Truss.

The Queen’s death comes amid tensions between Britain and China over human rights, trade and China’s relentless crackdown on free speech and political opposition in the former British colony of Hong Kong.

The Queen’s death was a top trending topic on Chinese social media, with many people saying her death marks the end of an era.

In Australia, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese mourned the Queen as the only only reigning monarch most Australians have known, and the only one to ever to visit their country.

“And over the course of a remarkable seven decades, Her Majesty was a rare and reassuring constant amidst rapid change,” he said.

“Through the noise and turbulence of the years, she embodied and exhibited a timeless decency and an enduring calm.”

The British monarch is Australia’s official head of state, although these days the role is considered primarily ceremonial.

Malcolm Turnbull, the leader of a failed campaign to have an Australian president replace the British monarch as Australia’s head of state and who later became prime minister, said: “It’s the end of an era and let’s hope that the future, after the Queen’s passing, is one where we will have leadership as dedicated and selfless as she has shown.”

New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told reporters she was awoken in the early hours of the morning by a police officer shining a torch into her bedroom to tell her the news of the Queen’s death.

Ms Ardern said: “The last days of the Queen’s life captures who she was in so many ways – working until the very end on behalf of the people she loved.”

She said the Queen was an extraordinary woman who she would remember for her laughter.

Ms Ardern said that like many other people, she was feeling not only deep sadness but also deep gratitude.

“Here is a woman who gave her life, utterly, to the service of others,” she said.

“And regardless of what anyone thinks of the role of monarchies around the world, there is undeniably, I think here, a display of someone who gave everything on behalf of her people, and her people included the people of Aotearoa New Zealand.”

Ms Ardern said New Zealand had moved into a period of official mourning, and would hold a state memorial service after the official funeral in Britain.

French President Emmanuel Macron hailed the queen’s “immutable moral authority”, her intimate knowledge of and the stability she brought “across the fluctuations and upheavals of politics, a permanence with the scent of eternity”.

Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who announced this year the British commonwealth intended to become fully independent, said: “We are saddened that we will not see her light again, but we will remember her historic reign.”

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the Queen was “the very heart and soul of the United Kingdom” and that her passing was greatly mourned by everyone in the city-state.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro decreed three days of mourning and tweeted that she “wasn’t the queen for the British only; she was a queen for all of us”.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol tweeted their condolences, and Malaysia’s foreign affairs minister Saifuddin Abdullah mourned the Queen on Facebook as “a towering figure” dedicated to serving the people of the UK and the Commonwealth.

The foreign affairs minister for Myanmar’s National Unity Government, an underground parallel government spearheading the fight for democracy in Myanmar against its military-led government, posted her condolences on Twitter.

Zin Mar Aung wrote: “I’m deeply saddened by the news of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. On behalf of @NUGMyanmar and the people of Myanmar, I extend our deepest sympathies to the Royal Family and the people of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.”

Myanmar, then called Burma, gained independence from British colonial rule in 1948.

The king and crown prince of Saudi Arabia have offered their condolences over the Queen’s death.

Saudi state media quoted King Salman as saying that the Queen was “a model of leadership that will be immortalised in history”.

He added: “We recall with appreciation the efforts of the deceased in consolidating the friendship and cooperation relations between our two friendly countries, as well as the high international status that Her Majesty enjoyed throughout the decades during which she acceded to the throne of your friendly country.”

His son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, said the Queen was “an example of wisdom, love and peace.”

He added: “The world remembers today the great impact and deeds that she had throughout her reign.”

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a telegram to the King: “For many decades, Elizabeth II rightfully enjoyed the love and respect of her subjects, as well as authority on the world stage. I wish you courage and perseverance in the face of this heavy, irreparable loss.”

In Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was having trouble believing he had had his last sit-down chat with the Queen: “I will so miss those chats,” he said.

The Pope said he is praying for “eternal rest” for the Queen.

Francis, who met the Queen in 2014, said: “I willingly join all who mourn her loss in praying for the late Queen’s eternal rest, and in paying tribute to her unstinting service to the good of the Nation and the Commonwealth, her example of devotion to duty, her steadfast witness of faith in Jesus Christ and her firm hope in his promises.”

The Times carries a striking image of the Queen at her coronation on June 2, 1953 – a picture which several papers deemed the perfect background to their tributes.

In its obituary, The Times described the the Queen as “the woman who saved the monarchy in this country”.

It continues: “That is not to say that without her we would have had a republic by now, or that the monarchy did not endure some troubled times during her reign when the unpopularity of some of its members led critics to question its very future, but it is thanks to her dedication and seriousness of purpose that an institution that has at times seemed outdated and out of keeping with the values of contemporary society still has a relevance and popularity today.”

The Guardian opts to let the Queen’s coronation image stand alone, bar some simple text on the left-hand side which reads: “Queen Elizabeth II 1926 – 2022”.

Inside the paper, columnist Jonathan Freedland writes her death heralds not just the end of the Elizabethan age, but the start of “a new future”.

“There will be a different head on the coin, different words for the national anthem,” he said.

“The one element in our collective life that was consistently, reliably the same… has gone.”

The Independent also lets the Queen’s coronation image speak for itself, though an editorial carries the Queen’s own words from her tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales: “(We now have) a chance to show to the whole world the British nation united in grief and respect.

“Thank God for someone who made many, many people happy.”

Metro takes a similar vein, but dedicates its front page to a portrait from her younger years.

The tribute continues inside, with the leading article on her death running under the headline: “The Rock of our Nation.”

The Sun‘s tribute to the Queen runs across both front and back pages, with a statement from Charles – who automatically became King upon her death – running on the back.

On the front, the paper says: “We loved you Ma’am.

“Rest in peace… The Sun and our readers loved you. We are proud you were our Queen.”

The Daily Telegraph strips the colour from its front, juxtaposing a picture of the Queen in her later years with the poignant message she gave to New York after the September 11 attacks: “Grief is the price we pay for love.”

In an editorial, the paper paid tribute to the monarch’s “lifetime of service”, adding: “She was more than just a distant, matriarchal symbol of nationhood; she was our constant companion and guide, reassuringly composed even in the most turbulent of times.”

Also in black and white, the Daily Express says simply: “Our beloved Queen is dead.”

Express columnist Leo McKinstry called the Queen “a shining light for humanity”.

He continued: “At the news of her loss, a wave of sorrow has swept across not just her beloved kingdom but also the whole world.

“In the hours since her death, the poignant respect in which she was held has been graphically revealed in the flood of tributes from political and religious leaders all over the world, but just as important has been the deluge of cards and flowers from ordinary people who loved her and struggle to imagine Britain without her.”

The Daily Mail mourns the Queen’s death with the headline: “Our hearts are broken.”

Sarah Vine, a columnist for the paper, writes: “How to find the words?

“Our grief is a hundred different emotions, all of them hard to grasp.”

“Thank you”, is the message on the front of the Daily Mirror, which in an editorial calls the Queen “one of the most remarkable ever to grace the pages of our history”.

It continues: “For all the trials and tribulations we have lived through since she ascended the throne – the hardships, the wars, the downturns and the disappointments – we should always be thankful that we were witnesses to not just the country’s longest-serving monarch, but also one of its greatest.”

The Financial Times carries tributes to the Queen from at home and abroad, including Prime Minister Liz Truss and US President Joe Biden.

Below an image of the monarch attending the state opening of Parliament in 1971, the paper calls her death a “watershed moment in the life of the nation”.

The i reports on what comes next, with the Queen’s son and successor King Charles III set to address the nation as the country enters 10 days of mourning.

Inside, the paper says “more than half a million” Britons are expected to visit the Queen’s coffin as it lies in state at Westminster Hall before a state funeral is held at Westminster Abbey.

And the Daily Star pays tribute with a direct message to the departed monarch, saying “You did your duty Ma’am”.

An editorial from the paper adds: “The Queen’s death leaves a huge hole in the nation’s heart.

“She brought unparalleled grace and dignity to the role.

“There were times when she had to deal with scandal and tragedy. But she always bounced back and was clearly made of the strongest stuff.

“Put simply: Her Maj made us all proud to be British.”

Organisers issued a statement last night saying that the runs, along with a Great North Run press conference schuled for this morning, would not be going ahead.

They will continue to assess plans for the rest of the weekend and provide a further update later today.