Queen's death: Memorial service at St Paul's this evening - as details emerge about other events taking place

Details have started to emerge about events that will be held to remember the Queen and honour the King, starting today with parliament convening and a public memorial service at St Paul's Cathedral.

Some aspects of what happens in the coming days and weeks date back centuries, while some of the logistics have been reviewed regularly, particularly in recent years due to the COVID pandemic.

The series of events following the death of the Queen is code-named "Operation London Bridge". Here is what has been confirmed so far...

Queen to lie in state and a period of national and royal mourning

A period of national mourning has begun and will last until the end of the day of the funeral.

Buckingham Palace has revealed a separate period of royal mourning, which will be observed by members of the Royal Family, their staff, and soldiers, and last until seven days after the funeral.

The date of the funeral will be "confirmed in due course", the palace said.

Major sporting fixtures, cultural events and planned strike action are being postponed as a mark of respect.

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Flags are flying at half-mast at Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament and buildings across the country, and will remain so at all the royal residences until 8am on the day after royal mourning has ended, the palace confirmed.

Royal residences will be closed to the public until after the funeral, the spokesman added.

Books of condolence are being placed in town halls so people can pay their own tributes to the Queen and large screens are also being set up in towns and cities for people to follow rolling news coverage.

Gun salutes and memorial at St Paul's

Gun salutes were fired around the country for each of the 96 years of the Queen's life at 1pm today.

The salutes were fired from historic locations including Edinburgh Castle, Cardiff Castle and the Tower of London.

The Army also paid tribute to the Queen with a gun salute at Stonehenge in Wiltshire.

King Charles held his first audience with Prime Minister Liz Truss at Buckingham Palace shortly after 4pm.

The King and his Queen Consort Camilla had passed through the gates of the palace a couple of hours earlier.

Walking side by side, the royal pair were a solemn sight as they left cheering members of the public behind.

The King had spent around 12 minutes speaking with members of the public who had gathered outside - including one who leaned in and kissed the monarch on the cheek.

At 6pm the King will address the nation as part of a service of prayer and reflection at St Paul's Cathedral, where Ms Truss will do a reading.

There will be 2,000 seats available for members of the public and people who want to go must collect a wristband from the City Information Centre in Carter Lane Gardens, a statement from St Paul's Cathedral said.

Meanwhile, a full House of Commons convened on Friday, where MPs have been paying tribute to the Queen.

The MPs, all dressed in black, began the session by holding a minute's silence in the monarch's memory.

The Speaker, Sir Lindsay Hoyle, then paid tribute before Ms Truss and the leader of the opposition Sir Keir Starmer.

In his first appearance in the Commons since he stood down as prime minister, Boris Johnson paid tribute to the Queen and said he "choked up" when asked to speak about her in the past tense.

Other senior politicians, including former prime minister Theresa May, have also paid tribute.

The tributes will continue until the end of the sitting at 10pm tonight and then restart tomorrow.

The government is not expected to announce any other business, unless urgent, to allow focus to fall completely on the Queen.

Meanwhile, foreign leaders and dignitaries will start to make arrangements to fly in for the funeral.

In the coming days, the Queen's body will be moved from Balmoral to St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, before returning to Buckingham Palace.

The Royal Family has opened an online book of condolence - there will be no physical book of condolence at any royal residence - full details here.

A new King

The Accession Council is the formal process of marking the accession of the new King. This will be the first time in history it has been televised.

It is split into two parts, with the first taking place at 10am at St James's Palace.

The King will not attend at this point, with members of the Privy Council formally announcing the death of the Queen and making arrangements for the proclamation instead.

An hour later the second part begins with the Accession Proclamation.

The King will arrive and read an oath in which he will promise to "assume the duties and responsibilities of sovereignty" and follow in the footsteps of his mother.

Explainer: What is the Accession Council and how does it proclaim a new monarch?

Proclamations will also be read out at the Royal Exchange in the City of London at midday and in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland at the same time the following day.

Camilla and Prince William will be at St James's Palace, as they are both members of the Privy Council.

Camilla has become Queen Consort, something the Queen confirmed in a statement to mark the start of her Platinum Jubilee celebrations, putting an end to the uncertainty over her new title.

William, moving up the line of succession, now becomes the Duke of Cornwall, and his wife Kate, the Duchess of Cornwall.

The proclamation is often the first time a monarch officially announces which name they will choose, but Clarence House has already said the King will go by Charles III.

He did not have to choose Charles, however. He could have used any of his given names - Charles, Philip, Arthur or George. For example, his grandfather King George VI was born Albert.

The King's coronation will not take place immediately. The Queen was not crowned for more than a year after her father's death.

Lying in state

Five days after her death, the Queen's coffin is expected to make the mile-long journey from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, where her body will lie in state before the funeral.

Huge crowds could congregate to watch the procession.

Once the coffin reaches the hall, it will probably remain there until the morning of the funeral to allow members of the public to file past and pay their respects. The hall is expected to be open 23 hours a day.

When the Queen Mother died, thousands of mourners lined up, with queues snaking over Lambeth Bridge and along the Embankment.

The government is thought to have a detailed security plan in place for large crowds arriving in London, similar to the one for the 2012 Olympics.

State funeral

The Queen will have a full state funeral, probably ten days after her death, at Westminster Abbey.

Members of government, former prime ministers and heads of state from across the Commonwealth and the rest of the world will attend the service.

It will include a two minutes' silence, which will also be observed by the rest of the nation.

The day of the funeral is the final day of the period of national mourning.

Shops and offices may close, but it is up to individual businesses - and schools - to decide whether they want to open or not.

Major events may be postponed, but can still take place if organisers wish, with the government suggesting they should be preceded by a minute's silence, the national anthem or the wearing of black armbands.

Burial and final resting place

After the funeral, the Queen's coffin is expected to be taken in a procession through the centre of London, before going to Windsor Castle.

It will be brought to St George's Chapel, where Prince Philip's funeral took place. A committal service is likely to be held there.

After the service, her body will be taken to the King George VI Memorial Chapel, where her mother and father are buried. This will be her final resting place.