Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Queen’s funeral to take place at Westminster Abbey on September 19

Flowers left in tribute to the Queen in Ballater. Photo: Kath Flannery/DC Thomson.
Flowers left in tribute to the Queen in Ballater. Photo: Kath Flannery/DC Thomson.

The Queen’s funeral will be held on Monday, September 19, it has been announced.

Officials have confirmed that it will take place at Westminster Abbey at 11am, marking the first funeral of a monarch at the location since the 18th century.

The King has approved an order stating that the day of the Queen’s funeral will be a bank holiday.

It is understood that Princess Anne will travel with the coffin from Edinburgh to London on Tuesday.

The Queen will then lie in state for “four clear days” at Westminster Hall from Wednesday.

‘I will honour her memory’

The Prince of Wales has paid tribute to the Queen saying she was by his side for his happiest and saddest moments.

In the first statement released under his new title, he shared a touching message in memory of an “extraordinary leader” who he knew better as “Grannie”.

He said: “I have had the benefit of The Queen’s wisdom and reassurance into my fifth decade. My wife has had 20 years of her guidance and support. My three children have got to spend holidays with her and create memories that will last their whole lives.

“She was by my side at my happiest moments. And she was by my side during the saddest days of my life. I knew this day would come, but it will be some time before the reality of life without Grannie will truly feel real.

“I thank her for the kindness she showed my family and me. And I thank her on behalf of my generation for providing an example of service and dignity in public life that was from a different age, but always relevant to us all.

“My grandmother famously said that grief was the price we pay for love. All of the sadness we will feel in the coming weeks will be testament to the love we felt for our extraordinary Queen.

“I will honour her memory by supporting my father, The King, in every way I can.”

The Prince and Princess of Wales have travelled to Windsor to greet well-wishers and view tributes left for the Queen.

They have been joined by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Charles III officially King

Charles III has been proclaimed King during a ceremony at St James’s Palace.

He automatically took on the role of King when his mother died at Balmoral on Thursday.

At today’s formal ceremony, he was officially proclaimed by the Accession Council which was televised for the first time.

This meant people across the world were able to witness the moment the new monarch was named.

The Prince of Wales, the Queen Consort, and King Charles III during the Accession Council at St James’s Palace, London, where King Charles III is formally proclaimed monarch. Photo: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire

Signing of the proclamation

The ceremony took place at St James’s Palace in London from 10am.

The council ceremony was in two parts starting with the announcement of the Queen’s death by the Lord President, followed by the signing of the proclamation.

It was signed by The Queen Consort, the new Prince of Wales and Prime Minister Liz Truss, among others.

King Charles III then made his declaration and the oath relating to the Church of Scotland in front of the Privy Council, with active members in attendance.

He has vowed to dedicate “what remains” of his life to his new role and also paid tribute to the late Queen.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was present, alongside former prime ministers, including Boris Johnson, Theresa May and Gordon Brown.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, former prime ministers Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Boris Johnson, David Cameron, Theresa May and John Major ahead of the Accession Council ceremony at St James’s Palace. Photo: Kirsty O’Connor/PA Wire

The proclamation was read out from the balcony above the Friary Court by the Garter King of Arms. Crowds gathered outside to hear a rendition of God Save the King and gave three cheers to the new King.

Flags will be flown at full-mast from 11am and then will return to half-mast 24 hours later in mourning for the Queen.

A second proclamation followed at the Royal Exchange in London, and the Accession Proclamation will also be read in Edinburgh, Belfast and Cardiff.

It has been confirmed that readings will also take place in other UK locations tomorrow, including across the north and north-east of Scotland.

This afternoon, the King will undertake a number of audiences at Buckingham Palace.

He will receive the Archbishop of Canterbury, Prime Minister Liz Truss and members of the Cabinet, leaders of the opposition parties and the Dean of Westminster.

Prime Minister Liz Truss signs the Proclamation of Accession of King Charles III during the Accession Council ceremony at St James’s Palace. Photo: Kirsty O’Connor/PA Wire

First Day as King

The new King was at Balmoral Castle when the Queen died on Thursday and travelled back to London the following morning for his first full day as the sovereign.

He received heartfelt condolences from the crowd outside Buckingham Palace upon his arrival, and spent some time looking at the flowers with the Queen Consort.

The King also met with new Prime Minister Liz Truss on Friday afternoon, just days after his mother appointed her to the role Monday.

Ms Truss offered her condolences at a time the King said he had been “dreading”.

On Friday evening, the King made his first address to the nation during which paid tribute to his “darling mama” and her life of service, and he vowed to serve with loyalty, respect and love.

He also confirmed that his heir, Prince William, will become the Prince of Wales.

King Charles III addresses the nation from Buckingham Palace. Photo: PA

What happens next?

Proclamation ceremonies will take place across the UK over the weekend.

On Sunday, the Queen will start her journey down to London where she will lie in state.

Her cortege is expected to leave Balmoral at 10am tomorrow before making its way through Aberdeenshire and into Aberdeen.

The journey will continue on to Edinburgh where ceremonial events will be carried out at Holyroodhouse.

The Press and Journal has worked out the route which the cortege is expected to take when it leaves Balmoral.

Cones have already been put in place at a number of spots in preparation.

Saturday morning in Milltimber. Picture by Wullie Marr/DC Thomson.

Back at Balmoral

Members of the public are continuing to gather outside Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle to mourn the Queen.

At Balmoral, more bus loads of people have made the journey to leave bouquets of flowers and condolence messages at the gates.

Residents came from across the north-east as early as 7am to pay their respects.

This afternoon, members of the Royal Family left the estate to attend a private church service at Crathie Kirk.

Upon their return, they took some time to look at all of the tributes which have been left over the past 48 hours.

They paused to wave to the crowds before returning to the privacy of Balmoral Castle.

Zara Tindall and the Countess of Forfar look at the floral tributes. Picture by Wullie Marr/DC Thomson.

Aberdeenshire Council has shared a reminder that there is currently no vehicle access to the Balmoral estate.

A Park and Ride bus service has been set up leaving from Monaltrie Park in Ballater and from next to Braemar Castle throughout the day.

They will operate between 8am and 7pm with the last bus departing at 6.30pm.

Based on the large number of people who travelled through yesterday, the buses are expected to be busy again today.

More to follow.