The Royal Family Gives Update on Mourning Queen Elizabeth
The British royal family, along with the entirety of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth nations and much of the world, are in mourning following Queen Elizabeth II's death. Hours after Buckingham Palace announced Thursday that the queen passed away at Balmoral as the longest-reigning British monarch, the palace shared an update early Friday morning regarding the mourning period, which will last seven days and include a number of royal traditions paying tribute to the late monarch.
A statement shared by the palace announced, "Following the death of Her Majesty The Queen, it is His Majesty The King's wish that a period of Royal Mourning be observed from now until seven days after The queen's Funeral." The palace added that a date for the queen's funeral "will be confirmed in due course." According to the statement, "Royal Mourning will be observed by Members of the Royal Family, Royal Household staff and Representatives of the Royal Household on official duties, together with troops committed to Ceremonial Duties."
As part of the week-long mourning period, flags at Royal Residences were immediately lowered to half-mast upon Her Majesty's passing. They will remain at half-mast until the morning after the end of the official mourning period. However, the flags at the Royal Standard and the Royal Standard in Scotland will remain at full mast when King Charles III is in residence. Additionally, all Royal Residences – including The Queen's Gallery and the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace, The Queen's Gallery in Edinburgh, Balmoral Castle, Sandringham House, The Queen's private estates, and Hillsborough Castle, among others – will close until after the funeral.
At 1 p.m. local time on Friday, Sept. 9, a gun salute will be fired in London in Hyde Park, with one round fired for each year of the 96-year-old queen's life, per the palace. The Royal Salutes will be fired by The King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery and at the Tower of London by the Honourable Artillery Company.
Amid the mourning period, members of the public are also invited to take part. Although there are no physical Books of Condolence at the Royal Residences, an online Book of Condolences is available on the royal website here. Members of the public have also been given guidance for leaving floral tributes at that various Royal Residences in honor of the late monarch. Although the palace has not officially announced a date for the queen's funeral, Reuters and several other outlets reported that it is likely to take place around 11 days after the queen's death on Thursday.