Events around the country, from sporting fixtures to strike action, have been cancelled following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Buckingham Palace announced a period of royal mourning will be observed from now until seven days after the Queen’s funeral, the date of which will be confirmed in due course.
King Charles III, who has left Scotland to travel to London with his wife, the Queen Consort, is due to address the nation on television this evening.
As a mark of respect for the Queen’s death, a host of events across the grief-struck nation have been cancelled. They include:
Sport
Cricket
After play was cancelled on Friday, cricket will resume on Saturday with England’s Test match against South Africa to take place at the Oval. All international, domestic and recreational matches scheduled to take place across the weekend can go ahead, including England women’s T20 match against India in Durham.
“Cricket will resume on Saturday to pay tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and honour her remarkable life and service,” the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said.
“Play will resume from Saturday including international, domestic, and recreational fixtures. The decision has been taken after consultation with DCMS and in line with Official National Mourning guidance.”
Friday’s play between England and South Africa men at The Oval, along with all scheduled matches in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, was cancelled but Ben Stokes, England’s captain, said he would be “honoured” to play in the Queen’s memory.
Football
The Premier League and EFL on Friday agreed to cancel all games as a show of respect to the monarch.
A statement from the Premier League confirmed: “At a meeting this morning, Premier League clubs paid tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. To honour her extraordinary life and contribution to the nation, and as a mark of respect, this weekend’s Premier League match round will be postponed, including Monday evening’s game.”
The English Football League (EFL) cancelled two games scheduled for Friday, while West Ham United fans sang a rousing rendition of “God Save the Queen” before their Europa Conference League match against Romanian side FCSB on Thursday. A minute’s silence was observed at Europa League games featuring British teams and players wore black armbands.
The Scottish Championship game on Friday between Cove Rangers and Dundee was also postponed by the Scottish Professional Football League.
The Northern Ireland Football League announced that Friday night’s matches between Cliftonville and Glentoran and Larne and Dungannon have been postponed.
Rugby Union
Friday’s Premiership matches between Bristol and Bath and Sale and Northampton have been postponed, but the rest of the opening weekend of the season will go ahead as scheduled on Saturday and Sunday.
A statement read: “Bristol Bears v Bath Rugby will take place at 5.30pm on Saturday and an update will be given on the Sale Sharks v Northampton Saints as soon as possible.
“The other matches scheduled for Saturday and Sunday will go ahead as scheduled, with Premiership clubs joining with supporters in recognising Queen Elizabeth’s life and service. Prior to the start of each match, a one-minute silent tribute will take place. All players and coaches will be invited to wear black armbands.”
The Scottish Rugby Union has postponed all domestic competitive games this weekend as a mark of respect and the women’s summer Test international between Scotland and Spain on Sunday is also off.
Rugby League
The RFL postponed Friday’s Betfred Championship fixture between Sheffield Eagles and Dewsbury Rams, but the first Super League elimination play-off between Catalans Dragons and Leeds will go ahead as it is taking place in Perpignan, France.
A further announcement about the weekend was made on Friday afternoon, as the governing body confirmed that fixtures at all levels will go ahead.
Cycling
The Tour of Britain called off Friday’s sixth stage before also cancelling the weekend’s remaining stages.
Golf
Play was suspended for the day at the BMW PGA Championship and there was no play on Friday. However, the tournament will resume with rounds on Saturday and Sunday and the event being reduced to 54 holes.
Horseracing
The British Horseracing Authority also suspended all events for two days. Horse racing was the queen’s passion and she was a regular race-goer as well as an owner and breeder of racing stock.
American football
The US-based National Football League observed a moment of silence before the start of the regular-season opening game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Buffalo Bills.
Tennis
The US Open tennis championships and motor racing’s Formula One will continue but will observe silences.
Athletics
The Great North Run, the world’s largest half-marathon, will go ahead on Sunday. Organisers cancelled its 5k sister event on Friday, but confirmed that the main race will go on.
Arts and culture
Burberry has cancelled its London Fashion Week show but other events in the schedule are still planned to go ahead.
The Mercury Prize was postponed on Thursday night. The event was scheduled to begin an hour after the news of the Queen’s death was announced. Earlier in the day, organisers cancelled the planned red carpet run.
Bafta has cancelled its annual tea party in Los Angeles.
“In light of today’s very sad news of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the annual Bafta Tea Party will no longer be taking place this weekend,” according to a statement.
The BBC cancelled the remaining Last Night Of The Proms events.
The conclusion of the eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts, which takes place predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in central London, was due to conclude on Saturday, September 10.
The Royal Opera House also cancelled its opening night of Mozart’s Don Giovanni on Thursday.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS), which collects data on a range of subjects on life in Britain, announced its publications scheduled for Friday have been postponed until on Monday 12 September.
Strikes
Planned strikes by Britain’s rail and postal workers have been called off, as union bosses paid tribute to the longest-reigning sovereign.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union had been due to walk out on 15 and 17 September in a long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.
Royal Mail workers were due to continue a 48-hour walkout on Friday in a dispute over pay and conditions – and had been due to launch another strike on 30 September.
But the head of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) said the planned industrial action was now suspended.
The Royal College of Nurses has confirmed it will pause its plans to ballot members over strike action next week, which were in response to the government failing to offer an above-inflation pay rise this year.
The union was due to conduct a ballot on 15 September asking members whether they want to strike.
In an email to members on Friday, the RCN said: “Out of respect, the NHS pay ballot due to open next week will be delayed and campaigning should pause until further notice.”
Trade unions have postponed their annual congress until later this autumn “as a mark of respect” following the death of the Queen.
The conference – where unions were expected to rally support for industrial action to defend wages – had been due to take place in Brighton from Sunday 11 to 14 September.
Commons
The House of Commons will see a schedule change and is sitting from 12pm to allow MPs to pay tribute to the Queen. The House is likely to sit until 10pm.
