Period of royal mourning announced until seven days after the Queen's funeral

Buckingham Palace has confirmed a period of royal mourning will be observed for seven days after the Queen's funeral, which is expected to take place in the next 10 days.

The date of Queen Elizabeth II's funeral will be confirmed in due course, PA reported on Friday morning (9 September).

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The Royal Family’s official website states that a period of respect is ‘observed by members of the Royal Family and their Households, together with troops committed to Ceremonial Duties’.

It continued: "During this period, Members of the Royal Family will continue undertaking engagements appropriate to the circumstances. Mourning bands will be worn where appropriate."

News of Her Majesty's passing 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."

Other members of the Royal Family, including Prince William, Prince Harry, and Prince Andrew, travelled to Balmoral to be with their beloved grandmother and mother.

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Members of the public have left flowers outside Buckingham Palace in London after the news was announced.

The Queen's death marks a monumental shift in British history and the end of a 70-year reign. Having ascended to the throne in 1952 aged just 27, she was the longest reigning British monarch, as well as the longest-serving female head of state ever.

Earlier this year, she became the first British monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee.

During her reign, she worked alongside 15 prime ministers beginning with Winston Churchill and continuing through to new PM Liz Truss, whom she met on Tuesday (6 September) at Balmoral.

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Last year, she lost her husband of 73 years, Prince Philip, who died in April 2021 just two months before his 100th birthday.

She described the death of Philip as having left a ‘huge void’ in her life.

More recently the Queen has been forced to step back from a number of public duties due to health concerns and she battled covid-19 earlier this year, with other members of the Royal Family stepping in to cover for her.