Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022) died on September 8th at the age of 96. Buckingham Palace has now announced the first details regarding the official royal mourning period. “Following the death of Her Majesty the Queen, it is the wish of His Majesty the King that a period of royal mourning be observed from now until seven days after the Queen’s funeral,” it said.
Regardless of state mourning, royal mourning is observed by “members of the royal family, staff of the royal household and representatives of the royal household performing official duties, and troops performing ceremonial duties”.
Meanwhile, flags at all royal residences will be flown at half-mast until 8am the morning after the official end of the royal mourning period. The half-height of the flags at the royal residences “does not apply to the royal standard and the royal standard in Scotland when the king is at the residence, as these are always flown at full mast”. The royal residences are expected to remain closed until after the Queen’s funeral.
The Queen’s funeral is expected to take place at Westminster Abbey in less than two weeks. The exact day will be announced by Buckingham Palace. The Queen’s funeral is believed to be on Monday September 19th, 2022.
A memorial service will be held at St. Paul’s Cathedral on Friday, according to the BBC. As the Queen died in Scotland, her coffin is laid out in St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh. He will then be flown to London.
In honor of the Queen, the bells of Westminster Abbey, St. Paul’s Cathedral and Windsor Castle will ring. In addition, 96 gun salutes will be fired in Hyde Park and at the Tower of London for each year the Queen is born.
