Queen’s funeral cortege to leave Balmoral; proclamations of King Charles ring out across Commonwealth – live

Proclamation ceremonies were held in Australia and New Zealand on Sunday to recognise King Charles III as their new head of state.

The army band plays at the Proclamation of King Charles III, on the forecourt of Parliament House in Canberra.
The army band plays at the Proclamation of King Charles III, on the forecourt of Parliament House, in Canberra, Sunday, September 11, 2022. Photograph: Tracey Nearmy/AAP
People gather to see a 21 gun salute by the Australian Defence Force during a Proclamation of Accession ceremony for Britain's King Charles III at Parliament House in Canberra on September 11, 2022.
People gather to see a 21 gun salute by the Australian Defence Force during a Proclamation of Accession ceremony for Britain’s King Charles III at Parliament House in Canberra. Photograph: Gary Ramage/AFP/Getty Images
An indigenous dancer performs as Governor-General David Hurley (R) and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (C) look on during the Proclamation of King Charles III, on the forecourt of Parliament House, in Canberra, Australia, 11 September 2022.
An indigenous dancer performs as Governor-General David Hurley (R) and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (C) look on during the Proclamation of King Charles III, on the forecourt of Parliament House in Canberra. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/EPA
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern attends a Proclamation of Accession ceremony for Britain’s King Charles III at the Parliament in Wellington on September 11, 2022.
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern attends a Proclamation of Accession ceremony for Britain’s King Charles III at the Parliament in Wellington on September 11, 2022. Photograph: Andrew Turner/AFP/Getty Images

The Queen’s funeral procession will begin on Sunday morning in Scotland. Here is a more detailed schedule:

10am The cortege is expected to leave Balmoral Castle, where the Queen died on Thursday. Crowds can gather along the route from Balmoral to Edinburgh.

10.12am The cortege will first head to the nearby town on Ballater in Aberdeenshire, passing along the A93. Tributes will be led by the Lord-Lieutenants of Aberdeenshire, as well as senior officers and councillors. The cortege will then travel along the A93, through Aboyne, Banchory and Drumoak.

11.20am It is then expected to arrive in Aberdeen, where the Lord Provost of Aberdeen, in his role as Lord-Lieutenant, will lead a tribute at Duthie Park.

2pm The cortege will arrive in Dundee. Members of the public are being invited to pay their respects in safe standing areas along the A90 Forfar Road and Kingsway.

4pm The cortege will then head to Edinburgh, where First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and other party leaders in Scotland are expected to observe the coffin as it goes past the Scottish parliament.

The coffin will then be taken into the Palace of Holyroodhouse, where it will remain for the night.

It’s now 5.30am on Sunday in the UK, D-Day +2. (The announcement of the Queen’s death took place late on Thursday, and so plans were shifted a day to allow for arrangements to be put in place.)

Today, proclamations will be held in the devolved nations simultaneously at noon, and the Queen’s coffin will be driven from Balmoral Castle to Edinburgh.

The King will also meet the Commonwealth secretary-general at Buckingham Palace before hosting realm high commissioners and their spouses in the Bow Room.

Here’s a brief summary of what’s happened since Saturday afternoon in the UK:

  • Timing of the State Funeral for the Queen has been confirmed, and will take place at Westminster Abbey on Monday 19th September. Before then, the Queen will lie in-state in Westminster Hall for four days, to allow the public to pay their respects, the royal family has said.

  • New Zealand, Australia and Canada all held proclamation ceremonies to recognise King Charles III as their new head of state. The proclamation ceremonies are a constitutional and ceremonial event that formally transition to a new monarch for the countries.

  • Those country leaders have made tributes to the Queen as they recognised her successor. New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern said the country was “filled with sadness for her passing, but also gratitude for the life she led”. Australian PM Anthony Albanese said the Queen was “admired for her devotion to duty, for her commitment to the people of the United Kingdom, to the people of the Commonwealth including Australia and indeed to the world”.

  • The prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda has said following the Queen’s death he will call for a referendum on the country becoming a republic within three years. The country will retain a British monarch for now, but prime minister Gaston Browne said a referendum would be “the final step to complete that circle of independence, to ensure that we are truly a sovereign nation”.

  • King Charles III held his first audiences at Buckingham Palace on Saturday afternoon, with Prime Minister Liz Truss, members of her Cabinet and opposition leaders, as well as the Archbishop of Canterbury

  • Liz Truss to accompany King Charles III on tour of Britain. The UK’s new prime minister will accompany King Charles on a royal tour of Britain’s four nations to lead days of national mourning for his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

source: theguardian.com