Anthony Albanese describes ‘very warm’ meeting with King Charles ahead of Queen’s funeral

Australian prime minister also held informal talks with UK prime minister Liz Truss

Anthony Albanese has described his one-on-one meeting with King Charles ahead of the funeral for Queen Elizabeth as a “great honour”.

“I extended my personal condolences to King Charles but also the condolences of the Australian people,” the prime minister said from London on Sunday morning Australian time.

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Camilla to pay tribute to Queen in TV broadcast

Queen Consort’s address on Sunday will praise mother-in-law for forging role as woman in male world

The Queen Consort is to pay a televised tribute to the Queen on Sunday, praising her for carving out her own role for many years while being in the “difficult position” of being a “solitary woman” in a male-dominated world.

In prerecorded words, she will also recall the late monarch’s “wonderful blue eyes” and say: “I will always remember her smile.”

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Queen lying in state: William and Harry stand vigil over coffin as Biden arrives for funeral – as it happened

Queen’s grandchildren keep watch over coffin in Westminster Hall. This blog is now closed

In an update at 8am, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said the end point of the queue for the Queen’s lying in state was once more accessible in Southwark Park.

The DCMS had earlier warned people not to travel to join the queue and to check back later on Saturday morning for updates on wait times.

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Victoria and George Cross recipients to take part in Queen’s funeral procession

Seventeen of those awarded the honours will be in attendance, including one from New Zealand and four from Australia

Recipients of the highest honours that can be awarded to military personnel and civilians for services to their country are to take part in the procession at the Queen’s funeral.

Seventeen of the 23 recipients of the Victoria Cross for military valour and the George Cross for civilian gallantry will be in attendance at the service on Monday, including one from New Zealand and four from Australia.

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Which businesses will be open or shut on the day of the Queen’s funeral?

Many shops, cinemas, pubs and airports are choosing to limit their hours on Monday

Since it was confirmed last Saturday that Queen Elizabeth’s funeral would be held on Monday 19 September, a slew of businesses and services have said they will be reducing operations or closing for all or part of the day as a mark of respect.

With the day declared a bank holiday, many employers have given staff the entire day off and most shops will be closed. So what will be open on Monday and when?

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The Queen’s funeral: five other ways to spend the bank holiday

Want to avoid Monday’s proceedings? Maybe go for a long walk, or consider leaving the country altogether

While millions in Britain and around the world will mark the Queen’s funeral on Monday with solemnity – whether it be by watching Huw Edwards for nine hours from the comfort of their living room or joining a mass gathering at an official big screen event – many others will want to take advantage of a rare bank holiday and swerve the historic event altogether.

But will that actually be possible? With most sports centres and public buildings, plus many high street shops, supermarkets and museums closing, Monday may feel much like the bank holidays of yore, with pretty much everything shut and not even a James Bond movie for entertainment.

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Queen lying in state: mourners in London warned not to join queue to see coffin; King greets public in Wales – live updates

The King has now visited each of the UK’s four nations since his mother’s death; queue to see coffin is paused as wait reaches 14 hours

UK-based correspondents from European news outlets have written for the Guardian about how Britons will deal with political turmoil, Brexit, recession and the loss of the Queen.

Here’s an excerpt from Stefanie Bolzen, UK and Ireland correspondent for Die Welt, Germany:

The days we are living through mark a new beginning. Only time will tell what the post-Elizabethan era will bring. For the moment, what it does feel like is a juggernaut of one too many challenges coming at the same time, a surreal wave. The aftermath of the pandemic, which has left the UK with a lot of scars; Brexit finally being felt in real life, whether on the M2 towards Dover, in my local Sainsbury’s, or in the port of Larne; Russia’s war on Ukraine; a fourth prime minister in six years. And now the death of Elizabeth II, who seemed to many immortal.

Reporting on the UK as a foreigner often makes it easier to take a step back, to see “the big picture”. Since last Thursday, though, this has become a challenge. The 24/7 coverage of the Queen’s death is all-consuming with layers of events, history and traditions to process. It would not be fair to suggest that these layers are somehow serving to sugarcoat the crisis in this country. Elizabeth II was a historic figure, she symbolises a century that transcended Europe’s borders. What I do notice, however, is that the foreign media cover this long period of ceremonial mourning with less servility. Hardly any British media, for example, dared comment on King Charles III’s rude gesture of impatience during the acclamation.

The actress, known for her role in the BBC hit series Killing Eve, will participate in a procession of national honours as part of the service on Monday.

She joins the delegation as a member of the Order of Canada alongside musician Gregory Charles and Olympic gold medallist swimmer Mark Tewksbury.

Oh was granted the honour recently in June 2022.

Canada’s delegation to the funeral will be led by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Gregoire Trudeau and also include governor general Mary Simon as well as former prime ministers and governor-generals.

The group is due to depart for the UK on Friday, ahead of the service next week.

Details of the delegation were made public on Thursday during a special address given by Trudeau during a special session of Canada’s House of Commons.

It was previously announced the day of the Queen’s funeral will be marked in Canada with a national day of mourning.

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‘It’s special to be here’: David Beckham joins queue to pay tribute to Queen

Ex-England captain recalls receiving his OBE as he waits with thousands of mourners in central London

The former England football captain David Beckham joined the queue for the Queen’s lying-in-state on Friday, saying it was “special to be here”.

He joined other high-profile figures to have been seen waiting to pay tribute this week, including the former prime minister Theresa May, This Morning presenters Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield and the Good Morning Britain host Susanna Reid.

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‘We wouldn’t put Charles on a bus’: Gulf royals balk at Queen’s funeral protocol

The monarchies are hopeful of stronger UK ties under King Charles, but plans for the ceremony have not gone down well

From Oman in the east to Morocco in the west, Middle East and north African royalty have been closely monitoring plans for the Queen’s funeral, but with days to go until the biggest event in modern royal history, they are unlikely to travel to London in numbers.

Monarchies have sought to divine meaning from protocol arrangements, and are largely underwhelmed by what they have seen.

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Police to deploy 10,000 officers for Queen’s funeral in biggest ever operation

Officers drafted in from across country as hundreds of thousands of people expected in London and Windsor

Police chiefs say their operation for Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral will be the biggest ever, with more than 10,000 officers on duty determined to thwart any attempt to disrupt or exploit the event.

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to line the funeral route through central London, and then in Windsor, Berkshire, where the late Queen will be buried, and the route in between.

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‘Stain on Queen’s memory’: Saudi crown prince’s planned visit condemned

Hatice Cengiz, fiancee of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and other campaigners condemn plan

Mohammed bin Salman’s plan to touch down in London on Sunday to pay his respects to the Queen has been condemned by Hatice Cengiz and other human rights defenders as a “stain” on the monarch’s memory and an attempt by the Saudi crown prince to use mourning to “seek legitimacy and normalisation”.

Cengiz, who was engaged to Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi journalist who was killed and dismembered by Saudi agents in the Istanbul consulate in 2018, said she wished that Prince Mohammed would be arrested for murder when he lands in London, but said she feared that UK authorities would turn a blind eye to serious and credible allegations against the future king.

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‘Moment of reckoning’: Queen’s death fuels Jamaica’s republican movement

Ascension of King Charles III has prompted renewed questioning of a British monarch as head of state

In a crisp black suit, white shirt and black tie, Daniel Pryce reached the end of a mile-long driveway flanked by palm trees and clipped lawns. He had come to King’s House to perform his duty, as he put it, by signing a book of condolence for the Queen, whom he served as equerry on her final visit to Jamaica in 2002.

“The very last moment of that visit, as she was about to alight the aircraft, she turned around and she shook my hand and she said ‘Thank you, Daniel’,” the 58-year-old recalled on Tuesday as flags flew at half mast in serene sunshine. “It was the first time she referred to me by my first name and that was special for me.”

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Mohammed bin Salman ‘will travel to London to deliver condolences’

Crown prince will reportedly head Saudi delegation but attendance at Queen’s funeral unconfirmed

Mohammed bin Salman will deliver his country’s condolences to the royal family after the death of the Queen, a source has told the Guardian, but there has been no confirmation about whether he will attend the funeral service at Westminster Abbey.

It will be the Saudi crown prince’s first visit to the UK since the murder of the Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in October 2018 and the subsequent British imposition of sanctions. These included travel bans on a group of courtiers close to the crown prince due to their alleged involvement in the killing inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

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Julia Gillard says Australia will ultimately become republic after death of Queen Elizabeth II

Former PM endorses Anthony Albanese’s view to wait on debate, saying ‘no rush’ on moving away from British head of state

Julia Gillard says Australia will ultimately become a republic but has endorsed the prime minister, Anthony Albanese’s view it is too soon for the debate.

The former Australian prime minister told the ABC, in her first interview since the Queen’s death, that Albanese was right to delay consideration of a republic to a future term of government.

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Queen’s state funeral to be followed by Windsor service and burial next to Philip

Westminster Abbey ceremony to be attended by 2,000 guests and end with two-minute silence

Queen Elizabeth II will be buried next to the Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor in a private ceremony attended by her family on Monday after her state funeral at Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace has said.

The Queen will be laid to rest in the King George VI Memorial Chapel during a service at 7.30pm.

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Anger among MPs as Chinese vice-president to attend Queen’s funeral

Wang Qishan to be at service despite banning of Conservative MPs due to complaints about Chinese repression

The Chinese vice-president, Wang Qishan, is to attend the Queen’s funeral in a move that has prompted complaints from a group of British Conservative MPs that have been banned from travelling to China due to their campaigns against Chinese repression.

Wang will be the most senior Asian political leader to attend the service at Westminster Abbey and among the representatives of authoritarian states, a grouping that also includes Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, the president of Egypt. The Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, is expected to lead a delegation to London, although his attendance at the funeral has not yet been confirmed.

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Queen lying in state: mourners queueing into the night expect nine-hour wait to see coffin – as it happened

On the first full day of lying in state, huge queues have formed in London

The first mourners to see the Queen lying in state have told how they were overcome with emotion as they paid their respects.

Some doffed their hats, others said prayers and shed tears, while one woman said she wanted to sing Ave Maria.

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Long journeys and winding queues as mourners pay last respects to the Queen

People travel from across the country to see procession from Buckingham Palace and attend lying-in-state at Westminster Hall

Joyce Dawson, 54, from Middlesbrough, was watching the news on Tuesday night when she decided to make her first ever visit to London to see the Queen lying in state.

“I texted my daughter and said: ‘We have to go to London tonight,’” she said. “It was a spur of the moment thing.”

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Biden and Naruhito, but no Modi: throng of leaders expected at Queen’s funeral

As well as a sad occasion, the Westminster Abbey farewell will be a global spectacle, and a diplomatic opportunity for the UK

India’s president will represent his country at the Queen’s funeral on Monday, meaning the prime minister, Narendra Modi, is not expected to be among the hundreds of foreign leaders due to attend the global spectacle.

A quarter of the 2,000 places at Westminster Abbey have been reserved for heads of state and their partners, with Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron and Naruhito, the emperor of Japan, the best-known guests confirmed as coming from abroad.

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Mourners pay respects as Queen Elizabeth lies in state – as it happened

Thousands queue on streets of London to file past Queen after procession from Buckingham Palace

Guardian columnist Andy Beckett has written today about how there is no single “national mood” in the aftermath of the Queen’s death, in a country where support for the monarchy has fallen significantly over the last decade.

The idea that the whole country is mourning the Queen and welcoming her successor is a fiction: energetically disseminated, seductive for many in a time of division, but a fiction nonetheless. There is no single ‘national mood’ about the royal family, and there never has been, whatever most journalists and politicians say. Instead there is an assortment of feelings, even right outside Buckingham Palace.

But over the longer term, the reign of her more divisive, less historically resonant son may cause that surge to fade, and the decline in royal popularity to resume, even accelerate. With Charles, known for his impatience with staff and extravagant lifestyle, the sense of entitlement, which is as fundamental to the royal family as a sense of duty, is more obvious.

The poorer country that the UK is likely to become over the next few years may also be less tolerant of one of the world’s most lavish monarchies. The Queen’s old-fashioned, relatively plain public persona, and the length of her reign – to an extent, she continued to be judged by rather deferential, mid-20th century standards – means that modern Britain’s appetite for a less self-effacing ruler has not yet been tested.

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