Top Updates on Queen Elizabeth II Funeral: Charles to be formally proclaimed as King today

Sitting next to a photograph of his mother and wearing a black suit and tie, King Charles III said the “affection, admiration and respect” the Queen inspired “became the hallmark of her reign”. “I pay tribute to my mother's memory, and I honour her life of service. I know that her death brings sadness to so many, and I share that sense of loss beyond measure with you all,” he said. – PTI

King Charles III is addressing the nation for the first time. He began his address by paying tributes to his late mother Queen Elizabeth II and said that it was a 'life well lived.'

The Queen could make anyone she met feel like they were the only person in the room, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said, as he praised the late monarch's unflinching devotion to public service, according to a media report on Friday. “There were hundreds of events every year which she attended. She was the one – and again it runs in the family, I've seen His Majesty do the same thing – who could go into a room full of people or walk down a crowded street, and everyone she spoke to felt that they were the only person there,” the Church of England leader told the BBC. – PTI

King Charles is back in London and the Royal Standard flying over Buckingham Palace confirms his residence. The Royal Standard is flown when the sovereign is in residence in one of the palaces. It is never flown half-mast. Even after the Queen's demise, the Royal Standard was not flown half-mast. Instead, the Union Jack was flown half-mast. Now that the King has entered the Palace, the Royal Stanard is flying once again.

Buckingham Palace said there would be a period of mourning to be observed by members of the family and the royal household until a week after the funeral, the date of which has not yet been confirmed but is expected in about 10 days time. – Reuters

Britain's King Charles shook hands with dozens of members of the public outside Buckingham Palace on Friday, as emotional well-wishers snapped pictures and greeted the new monarch following the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth on Thursday. Reuters

Kerala Chief Secretary V P Joy was Ernakulam district collector when Queen Elizabeth II visited Kochi 25 years ago and the top bureaucrat recalled that she was very enthusiastic to know about two things — the culture and history of the port city and the life of its people. – PTI

The accession of King Charles to the British throne has stirred renewed calls from politicians and activists for former colonies in the Caribbean to remove the monarch as their head of state and for Britain to pay slavery reparations. Charles succeeds his mother, Queen Elizabeth, who ruled for 70 years and died on Thursday afternoon.

The prime minister of Jamaica said his country would mourn Elizabeth, and his counterpart in Antigua and Barbuda ordered flags to half-staff until the day of her burial. But in some quarters there are doubts about the role a distant monarch should play in the 21st century – Reuters

British luxury brand Burberry said it had cancelled its spring-summer 2023 runway show on Sept. 17 following the death of Queen Elizabeth. Burberry's runway shows are a highlight of London fashion Week. – Reuters

All soccer fixtures in England between Sept. 9-11 were postponed by the country's Football Association (FA) on Friday as a mark of respect following the death of Queen Elizabeth but rugby matches scheduled for the weekend will go ahead as planned. – Reuters

Britain's King Charles arrived at a military base near London on Friday, having flown back from Scotland to address the nation following the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth a day earlier. Charles, wearing a dark suit and black tie, and his wife Camilla were met at the steps of the plane by an official royal car. – Reuters

People from all walks of life are gathering outside the Buckingham Place and placing flowers and beautiful notes as part of tributes for their beloved Queen. 'Queen of our hearts,' read one of the notes.

The plane carrying King Charles III has taken off for London. A BBC report says that there is immense global interest in the new King. The BBC says that over 1 lakh people are believed to be monitoring the flight path of the King's plane. The data was basd on the current stats of flightradar.com, a site that tracks all planes in the air around the globe.

Liz Truss, the newly appointed British PM, addressed the House of Commons today. In her address, Truss said that even though the new King is mourning, his sense of duty is very clear.

Mourners pays respect at the gates of Buckingham Palace in London, Friday, Sept. 9, 2022. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

More than 2,400 top lawyers in the UK have seen their official titles change after the death of Queen Elizabeth II. They are the country's top lawyers who carry the words “Queen's Counsel” after their names in recognition of their expertise – an honour created by the Queen's namesake, Elizabeth I, the BBC reported. As soon as the former Prince of Wales became King Charles III, all of them became “King's Counsel”. This is just one of the many symbolic changes to British public life and society that have now begun. (PTI)

Britain's King Charles has left Balmoral Castle where he and other members of the Royal Family had gathered following the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth, reported Reuters. A Reuters photograph showed the 73-year old monarch in the back seat of a grey car, with his wife, and now the Queen Consort, Camilla at the front sitting beside the driver. Both of them were photographed wearing black.

A mourners is overcome with emotion as he pays his respect at the gates of Buckingham Palace in London, Friday, Sept. 9, 2022. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

A mourners is overcome with emotion as he pays his respect at the gates of Buckingham Palace in London, Friday, Sept. 9, 2022. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

As per a Reuters report, King Charles will meet British Prime Minister Liz Truss on Friday afternoon, Truss's spokesman told reporters.

Genny Di Virgilio, craftsman of San Gregorio Armeno, Naples, Italy, works on a commemorative statuette for the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Friday, Sept. 9, 2022. (Alessandro Garofalo/LaPresse via AP)

A 'National mourning guidance' has been published by the British Government which declared the start of a period of national mourning for Queen Elizabeth. The documents has guidance on flying flags, information on travel, business and public services. It also stated that the mourning will continue till the end day of the state funeral. (Reuters)

The king and crown prince of Saudi Arabia have offered their condolences over the death of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II. Statements carried early Friday in Saudi state media quoted King Salman as saying that Queen Elizabeth was “a model of leadership that will be immortalized in the 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.”

Newspapers devoted to the death of Queen Elizabeth II are seen in Manchester, England, Friday, Sept. 9, 2022. Queen Elizabeth II, Britain's longest-reigning monarch, died on Thursday Sept. 8 aged 96. (AP Photo/Jon Super)

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr expressed his greif on Friday over the death of Britain's longest-serving monarch. He said that the Queen “exemplified to the world a true monarch's great dignity, commitment to duty, and devotion to all those in her realm.” “We, together with many Filipinos living and working in England, though not subjects of the Queen, have found ourselves having developed a great sense of affection for her as a Queen, as mother, and as a grandmother,” Marcos Jr. said in a statement posted on Facebook.

According to Reuters report, Britain's Royal Family will observe a period of mourning that ends on the seventh day after the funeral of Queen Elizabeth, with flags at royal residences to remain at half mast. The report said that a royal gun salute will be fired in London at 1300 BST in Hyde Park, with one round fired for each year of the 96-year-old queen's life, Buckingham Palace said on Friday.

An official period of state mourning is underway in the UK on Friday, a day after Queen Elizabeth II died at her Balmoral Castle residence in Scotland, and there has been an outpouring of grief from members of the public who have been laying flowers at royal residences around the country. Crowds gathered outside Buckingham Palace in London and also at Windsor Castle in Berkshire, with many in tears as they paid their personal tributes to Britain's longest-serving monarch who died aged 96 after a 70-year reign. “In 1953 Her Majesty defined our family of nations as one which 'bears no resemblance to the empires of the past'…Her Majesty's vision for the Commonwealth at the beginning of her reign has been fulfilled, fuelled by her dedication and commitment,” said Baroness Patricia Scotland, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth. – PTI

Top actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) founder Kamal Haasan on Friday condoled the death of Queen Elizabeth II and reminisced her visit to the sets of his unfinished venture 'Marudhanaygam,' during her visit here in 1997, reported PTI. She came to the sets very much aware of the dialogues to be delivered against the colonial rule, in the backdrop of which the movie is set to be based, and the late queen had the realisation that world and politics had changed, the veteran star said. “The dialogues we spoke were against the colonial rule. She came there despite knowing that…it shows she didn't come as a queen but as a mother, someone who realised politics has changed, the world has changed. I liked that,” Haasan said, reported PTI.

Australian Greens Party leader, a prominent republican, took to Twitter and wrote, “Our thoughts are with her family and all who loved her. Now Australia must move forward.” He further added, “We need Treaty with First Nations people, and we need to become a Republic.”

People gather outside Buckingham Palace in London as a double rainbow appears in the sky, Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022. Earlier, Buckingham Palace said Queen Elizabeth II had been placed under medical supervision because doctors were “concerned for Her Majesty's health.” Members of the royal family traveled to Scotland to be with the 96-year-old monarch. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, the son of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, is reportedly now technically a prince following the death of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II. His younger sister, Lilibet “Lili” Mountbatten-Windsor, is also entitled to be a princess after the death and the accession of her grandfather Charles, the Prince of Wales, to the throne, The Guardian newspaper reported. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex Harry and Meghan Markle will reportedly see no change in their Royal titles.

Mumbai's famed dabbawalas, who operate a globally renowned lunchbox delivery and return system that supplies hot lunches from homes and restaurants to people at work, are mourning the demise of the queen, who marked 70 years on the throne this year, and was the oldest and longest-reigning monarch in British history. Raghunath Medge, an office bearer of the Nutan Mumbai Tiffin Box Suppliers Association, told PTI that he spoke to the Queen and had breakfast with her twice when he and Sopan Mare, another dabbawala from Mumbai, were special guests at the royal wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles in April 2005. Medge said they undertook an eight-day visit to London for the royal wedding. “We had breakfast twice with Queen Elizabeth and other members of the royal family. She was very humble,” he said.

Now that the Queen has peacefully breathed her last, Britain is expected to bring about a series of new changes. For example, the queen’s portrait appears on British money and postage stamps, and those will need new designs.

Flowers, flags, candles and messages are put at the gates of Buckingham Palace in London, Friday, Sept. 9, 2022. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Since the Queen breathed her last at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, her body will be carried to London by a royal train. the whole process is being dubbed as 'Operation Unicorn'. 'Operation Lion' refers to the Queen's coffin being transferred from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster via a ceremonial route through London, reported PTI. The coffin is expected to lie in state where thousands of people are expected to arrive and pay their respects. The State Funeral is expected at Westminster Abbey in London. No official details have been released about what will happen over the coming days, but it is anticipated that the Queen will be given a full state funeral, as is traditional to mark the death of a monarch.

Queen Elizabeth II, center, walks with U.S. President John F. Kennedy, right, and his wife Jacqueline Kennedy, as they enter an ante-room in Buckingham Palace, London, June 5, 1961, before a dinner given by the Queen in honour of the visiting President and his wife. Queen Elizabeth II, Britain's longest-reigning monarch and a rock of stability across much of a turbulent century, died Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022, after 70 years on the throne. She was 96. (AP Photo, File)

Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh on Friday took to Twitter and condoled the demise of Queen Elizabeth II, the UK's longest-serving monarch. “My heartfelt condolences to the people of England & the Royal family on the passing away of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Britain's longest reigning monarch, she has left behind a great and glorious legacy of dedication, humility and commitment. May she rest in peace,” Singh said.

Britain's King Charles will address a nation in mourning on Friday following the death of his mother and the country's figurehead, Queen Elizabeth, at the age of 96, reported Reuters. Charles reportedly rushed to be with his mother in her last moments at her Scottish home on Thursday. As per Reuters, Charles was due to travel back to London with his wife Camilla, now Queen Consort, before meeting the prime minister and making a televised statement.

As per a Reuters report, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said, “Deeply grieved at the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Pakistan joins the UK & other Commonwealth nations in mourning her death. My heartfelt condolences to the royal family, people & government of the UK.”

“I willingly join 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,” says Pope Francis, reported Reuters.