19 September 2022

In Pictures: Key moments in the days since the Queen’s death

19 September 2022

Queen Elizabeth II, the nation’s longest-reigning monarch, died on Thursday September 8, sending the country into a period of mourning.

Here the PA news agency looks at how the royal family and nation have been paying their respects since the Queen’s death at Balmoral.

Thursday September 8

People and the media began gathering at Buckingham Palace and Balmoral after a statement was released on the Queen’s health.

Her close family immediately headed to her home in the Scottish Highlands.

At 6.30pm, Buckingham Palace announced that the Queen had died and large crowds began gathering at the palace gates to pay their respects.

A rainbow is seen, as members of the public gather outside Buckingham Palace (Victoria Jones/PA) (PA Wire)

Friday September 9

With the nation and millions around the world in mourning, a service was held at St Paul’s Cathedral and flowers piled up at royal palaces.

The Service of Prayer and Reflection at St Paul’s Cathedral, London (Ian Vogler/Daily Mirror/PA) (PA Wire)
Floral tributes are laid at the gates of Balmoral in Scotland (Andrew Milligan/PA) (PA Wire)

The King turned to his duties as monarch and held his first audience with Prime Minister Liz Truss.

Charles then delivered a historic televised address to the nation, paying a moving tribute to his “darling Mama” in his first public broadcast as monarch.

People watching a broadcast of Charles’s first address to the nation as King (Martin Rickett/PA) (PA Wire)

Upon arrival at Buckingham Palace, the King went on a walkabout to meet the crowds.

A well-wisher kisses the hand of King Charles III during a walkabout outside Buckingham Palace (Yui Mok/PA) (PA Wire)
Members of 105 Regiment Royal Artillery, Army Reserves, during the Gun Salute at Edinburgh Castle to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II (Jane Barlow/PA) (PA Wire)

Saturday September 10

The Prince of Wales and Duke of Sussex were consoled by well-wishers when they put on a united front during a walkabout, on the day their father was proclaimed King.

With their wives, Kate and Meghan, the brothers viewed floral tributes left to the Queen at Windsor Castle.

The Prince and Princess of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex viewing the messages and floral tributes left by members of the public at Windsor Castle (Chris Jackson/PA) (PA Wire)

The King’s proclamation took place at St James’s Palace with all living former prime ministers attending.

King Charles III signs an oath to uphold the security of the Church in Scotland during the Accession Council at St James’s Palace, London (Victoria Jones/PA) (PA Wire)
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 (Kirsty O’Connor/PA) (PA Wire)

Sport paid its own tributes with moments of silence, while a rousing rendition of God Save The King was sung before England’s cricketers took on South Africa at the Oval.

England players observe a minutes silence at the Kia Oval in London (John Walton/PA) (PA Wire)

Sunday September 11

Crowds packed Edinburgh’s famous Royal Mile as the Queen arrived in the Scottish capital for one final time.

Having left her “beloved” Balmoral estate, the coffin carrying the late monarch travelled to the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

The hearse carrying the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped with the Royal Standard of Scotland, passing over the Queensferry Crossing (Owen Humphreys/PA) (PA Wire)
The Princess Royal curtsying as the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II arrives at Holyroodhouse (Aaron Chown/PA) (PA Wire)

Monday September 12

The King led the royal family in a poignant display of respect for the late Queen – walking behind the monarch’s coffin with his siblings on a day which also saw him address peers and MPs in London.

Charles gives his address thanking the members of the House of Lords and the House of Commons for their condolences, at Westminster Hall, London, as the Queen Consort looks on (Dan Kitwood/PA) (PA Wire)
The King, the Princess Royal, the Duke of York and the Earl of Wessex walk behind the Queen coffin during the procession from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh (Lesley Martin/PA) (PA Wire)

Tuesday September 13

The King visited the royal residence of Hillsborough Castle in Co Down in Northern Ireland, as royal well-wishers camped on The Mall in London ahead of a ceremonial procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall.

The King and the Queen Consort view floral tributes left outside Hillsborough Castle, Co Down (Niall Carson/PA) (PA Wire)
John Loughrey wearing a hat with various badges outside Buckingham Palace (Danny Lawson/PA) (PA Wire)

Wednesday September 14

The Queen was handed to the care of the nation for a period of lying in state after her family marched in homage behind her coffin as it was carried to Westminster Hall.

A gun carriage that had borne the coffins of her mother and father carried the late monarch to Westminster Hall – a procession of pomp and pageantry through the heart of the capital watched by tens of thousands who lined the route.

Members of the royal family follow the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, draped in the Royal Standard with the Imperial State Crown placed on top, as it is carried on a horse-drawn gun carriage of the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery (Chip Somodevilla/PA) (PA Wire)
The ceremonial procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall (Chip Somodevilla/PA) (PA Wire)
Charles arriving in Westminster Hall where the coffin lay in state until Monday morning (Phil Noble/PA) (PA Wire)

Thursday September 15

After standing in queues stretching for miles, hundreds of people of all ages filed past the coffin of the long-reigning monarch. Many wiped their eyes with tissues, some bowed, some curtsied and others simply took  a moment to look at the extraordinary scene.

Members of the public file past the coffin of the Queen, lying in state on the catafalque in Westminster Hall (Yui Mok/PA) (PA Wire)
Members of the public in the queue at Potters Fields Park, central London as the wait to see the Queen lying in state reached more than 24 hours at times (Aaron Chown/PA) (PA Wire)

Friday September 16

The King and the Queen Consort were greeted by gun salutes and cheering schoolchildren when they arrived in the Welsh capital, Cardiff – the final stop on their tour of the four home nations which began after the Queen’s death.

Later, the Queen’s children – Charles, the Duke of York, the Princess Royal and the Earl of Wessex – mounted a vigil around her coffin as a steady stream of mourners filed past to pay their final respects.

School children wait for King Charles III to arrive at Cardiff Castle in Wales (Ben Birchall/PA) (PA Wire)
The King, with the Queen Consort, speaking after receiving a Motion of Condolence at the Senedd in Cardiff (Andrew Matthews/PA) (PA Wire)
The King meeting members of the public as he leaves Cardiff Castle in Wales (Ben Birchall/PA) (PA Wire)
King Charles III, the Princess Royal, the Duke of York and the Earl of Wessex hold a vigil beside the coffin of their mother (Daniel Leal/PA) (PA Wire)

Saturday September 17

On Saturday, the Queen’s eight grandchildren – the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Sussex, Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Lady Louise Windsor, James, Viscount Severn, Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips – stood guard around her coffin for a vigil in Westminster Hall.

The Queen’s grandchildren arrive to hold a vigil beside the coffin of their grandmother (Ian McIlgorm/Mail On Sunday/PA) (PA Wire)
Floral tributes from members of the public are laid outside Windsor Castle onto Cambridge Drive, near the Long Walk, Windsor (Victoria Jones/PA) (PA Wire)

Sunday September 18

US President Joe Biden visited Westminster Hall to pay his respects to the Queen.

Speaking at Lancaster House afterwards, he said: “You were fortunate to have had her for 70 years, we all were. The world is better for her.”

A minute’s silence was held at 8pm on Sunday, with people marking the occasion privately at their homes and at community events and vigils.

US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden view the coffin of the Queen (Joe Giddens/PA) (PA Wire)
Castle Wardens observe the national minute’s silence in memory of the Queen at Windsor Castle (Victoria Jones/PA) (PA Wire)

Monday September 19

The nation bid farewell to its Queen as a state funeral service was held at Westminster Abbey.

The Queen was head of state but also a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother and in a personal touch, the wreath adorning her coffin had a handwritten note from the King.

The message said: “In loving and devoted memory.”

Members of the public on the Mall listen to the state funeral (Tim Goode/PA) (PA Wire)
Members of the royal family, the Prince of Wales, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, the Princess of Wales, the Duke of Sussex, the Duchess of Sussex, Peter Phillips, and the Earl of Snowdon, arriving at the state funeral (Dominic Lipinski/PA) (PA Wire)
The coffin procession heads down the Mall towards Wellington Arch (Zac Goodwin/PA) (PA Wire)
The State Gun Carriage carries the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II (Ian West/PA) (PA Wire)
The King salutes as the State Gun Carriage carrying the coffin of his mother arrives at Wellington Arch (Jane Barlow/PA) (PA Wire)
The coffin of Queen Elizabeth II with the Imperial State Crown resting on top is carried by the Bearer Party into Westminster Abbey (Gareth Cattermole/PA) (PA Wire)
The Queen’s two corgis, Muick and Sandy, are seen during the Ceremonial Procession through Windsor Castle to a Committal Service at St George’s Chapel (Peter Nicholls/PA) (PA Wire)
King Charles III places the Queen’s Company Camp Colour of the Grenadier Guards on the coffin at the Committal Service for Queen Elizabeth II (Jonathan Brady/PA) (PA Wire)

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