National one-minute silence will be held in honour of the Queen at 8pm on Sunday
Lucy Devine
Featured Image Credit: Xinhua/SOPA Images Limited/Alamy Stock Photo
A national one-minute silence will be held in honour of the Queen, at 8.00pm on Sunday, 18 September, Downing Street has announced.
The day before the Queen's state funeral, on 19 September, the nation will come together in a one-minute tribute to the monarch, who passed away on Thursday 8 September at her Balmoral residence.
The one-minute silence will take place while the Queen's coffin lies in state at Westminster Hall in London.
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A spokesperson for the prime minister said: “At 8pm on Sunday 18 September, the night before the state funeral, there will be a one-minute silence where the public are invited to come together and observe a national moment of reflection to mourn and reflect on the life and legacy of Queen Elizabeth II.
“The shared national moment of reflection is an opportunity for everyone across the UK to mark the death of Her Majesty and we will set out details of where the Prime Minister will mark it closer to that time.”
The Queen's funeral will take place at Westminster Abbey on Monday 19 September at 11.00am, it was confirmed over the weekend.
The Queen’s coffin was taken by road to the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh on Sunday, 11 September. The Queen will lie in state in Edinburgh at St Giles' Cathedral for 24 hours before being flown to London where she will remain at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday, 13 September.
The Queen will then lie in state for four days in Westminster Hall starting from Wednesday 14 September until Sunday 18 September.
Members of the public will be able to pay their respects to Her Majesty 24 hours a day over the five-day period, with authorities in London preparing for hundreds of thousands of people.
An estimated 200,000 people visited the Queen Mother when she was lying in state in Westminster Hall in 2002.
Her Majesty will be laid to rest in the King George VI Memorial Chapel at Windsor Castle. Prince Philip will be moved from the Royal Vault so he can be laid to rest with his wife.
News of the Queen's death was confirmed by the Buckingham Palace, which issued a statement on Thursday evening.
The statement announced that the 96-year-old monarch had died 'peacefully' at Balmoral in Scotland.
"The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon," it read.
"The King and the Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow."