King Charles III will address the nation at 6pm tonight as the country's new monarch in a televised speech.
Tomorrow morning, an Accession Council – the formal proclamation of Charles as King – will take place at St James’s Palace in London.
But before that, King Charles will address the country for the first time as monarch following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, yesterday afternoon.
The speaker of the House of Commons confirmed within the last half an hour that the house would sit until approximately 10pm this evening to give MPs a chance to pay tribute to her late Majesty.
"I would like to inform the House that we will sit today until approximately 10 p.m. for tributes (to Queen Elizabeth)," Lindsay Hoyle told lawmakers in parliament.
"At approximately 6 o'clock, the House will be suspended while His Majesty the King makes his broadcast the nation."
A plane carrying the King and Queen left Aberdeen International Airport at around 12.30pm for London.
Earlier, Buckingham Palace said 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.
At 1pm today, gun salutes – one round for every year of the Queen’s life – will be fired in London’s Hyde Park and at other stations.
Despite his grief, duty calls for new sovereign Charles who will have his first audience as monarch with Prime Minister Liz Truss this afternoon.
Confirming funeral plans, Charles is likely to meet the Earl Marshal, the Duke of Norfolk, who is in charge of the accession and the Queen’s funeral, to approve the carefully choreographed schedule for the coming days.
The King will then make a televised address to the nation at 6pm, which he is due to pre-record.
He will pay tribute to the Queen and pledge his duty to his service as the new sovereign.
Successor King Charles III spoke of his grief soon after Buckingham Palace announced his mother's death, with the Queen dying “peacefully” yesterday afternoon at Balmoral near Aberdeen.
One of the first acts of the new King – whose chosen title was confirmed by PM Liz Truss – was to speak of his grief and highlight the “respect and deep affection” in which the Queen was “so widely held”.
World leaders, celebrities and ordinary people - gathered at the gates of Buckingham Palace, Balmoral and Windsor Castle – all paid tribute, with US president Joe Biden describing her as “a stateswoman of unmatched dignity”.
Charles, whose wife Camilla is now Queen, said in a written statement: “The death of my beloved Mother, Her Majesty The Queen, is a moment of the greatest sadness for me and all members of my family.
“We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished Sovereign and a much-loved Mother.
“I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth, and by countless people around the world.
“During this period of mourning and change, my family and I will be comforted and sustained by our knowledge of the respect and deep affection in which The Queen was so widely held.”
Charles will hold audiences, and the media will be briefed by the Earl Marshal, who is in charge of the accession and the Queen’s funeral, on the coming days.
Ahead of tomorrow, a Buckingham Palace statement said: “His Majesty The King will be proclaimed at the Accession Council at 10.00hrs tomorrow morning 10th September in the State Apartments of St James’s Palace, London.
“The Accession Council, attended by Privy Councillors, is divided into two parts. In Part I, the Privy Council, without The King present, will proclaim the Sovereign, and formally approve various consequential Orders, including the arrangements for the Proclamation.
“Part II, is the holding by The King of His Majesty’s first Privy Council. The King will make his Declaration and read and sign an oath to uphold the security of the Church in Scotland and approve Orders in Council which facilitate continuity of government.
“The Accession Council will be followed by the Principal Proclamation, which will be read at 11.00hrs from the balcony overlooking Friary Court at St James’s Palace. The Proclamation will be read by Garter King of Arms, accompanied by the Earl Marshal, other Officers of Arms and the Serjeants at Arms. This is the first public reading of the Proclamation.”
