When and where will the funeral for Her Majesty The Queen be held?
- The funeral of Her Majesty The Queen will be held at Westminster Abbey.
- Buckingham Palace has extended invitations to representatives of the Commonwealth to pay their respects at the funeral on behalf of their Realms.
- For Australia, invitations have been extended to the Governor General, the Prime Minister, the High Commissioner and their spouses.
How long is the official mourning period?
- In Australia, there will not be an official mourning period. The Prime Minister will declare the day of the National Memorial Service a National Day of Mourning for Australia.
- In the United Kingdom, the official mourning period following the death of Her Majesty The Queen continues until the day of the funeral.
Should all flags be flown at half-mast?
- The Australian National Flag should be flown at half-mast until after the day of the funeral in the United Kingdom. Direction will be provided to raise the flag for the proclamation.
- Vice-Regal Standards, such as the Governor-General's Standard, are to remain at full-mast. It represents the Monarchy, which is continuous, and it would therefore be inappropriate for it to fly at half-mast.
How can Australians express their condolences?
- Condolence Books will be available at Parliament House and Government House in Canberra.
- Books of Condolence will also be open at Government Houses in each State.
- An online Condolence form will also been established on the Governor-General and Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet websites.
Where can floral tributes be left?
- In Canberra, floral tributes may be left at the Forecourt of Parliament House and Government House.
- Each State and Territory will make local arrangements for floral tributes.
- The Royal Family have noted that instead of leaving floral tributes, Australians may wish to consider making a donation to a charity of their choice.
Will Parliamentary proceedings be suspended?
- The Prime Minister will seek to suspend parliamentary proceedings until after the National Memorial Service.
- Condolence motions will be given in both the House of Representatives and the Senate on their next respective sitting days following the National Memorial Service.
When will accession of the new Sovereign occur?
- The accession of the new Sovereign is automatic.
- The ceremony proclaiming the accession will occur in Australia on D+2.
When and where will the Proclamation of the new Sovereign take place?
- The United Kingdom will hold the Accession Council at St James's Palace.
- This will be followed by the Proclamation of the King at 11.00am (GMT) at St James's Palace and Royal Exchange.
- In Australia, a Proclamation ceremony will be held at Parliament House in Canberra. The Governor-General will read the Proclamation on the Forecourt of Parliament House.
- The Proclamation will be followed by a 21 gun salute.
Who will represent Australia at the Proclamation in the United Kingdom?
- High Commissioners for the Realms have been invited as observers.
- Australia's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom will attend the Proclamation.
- Australian Privy Councillors (The Rt Hon Sir William Heseltine and The Rt Hon Ian Sinclair) will also be invited.
When will the coronation of the new Sovereign occur?
- The coronation will take place at a later time to be announced by Buckingham Palace.
Events marking the Queen's passing
Gun salute
A gun salute will take place at Parliament House in Canberra to mark The Queen's death. It will consist of one round for each year of The Queen's life at 10 second intervals.
Proclamation ceremony
A Proclamation ceremony will be held at Parliament House in Canberra. This event is open to the public, subject to any public health restrictions in force at the time.
The Governor-General will read the Proclamation on the Forecourt of Parliament House. The Proclamation will be followed by a 21 gun salute.
National Memorial Service
A National Memorial Service will be held.
States and Territories may hold additional memorial services.
Public attendance may be limited to comply with any public health restrictions in force at the time. Further advice will be provided when arrangements have been finalised.
National Day of Mourning
This day coincides with the National Memorial Service in Australia.
One minute's silence will be observed at 11:00am (timing TBC).
There is no formal requirement to suspend events on the National Day of Mourning.
The Queen's many visits to Australia
The Queen visited Australia on 16 occasions, her first visit in 1954 and her last in 2011: 1954, 1963, 1970, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1992, 2000, 2002, 2006 and 2011.
Which Australian charities and bodies had the Queen as a patron?
- Anglican Mothers' Union Australia
- Australian Medical Association
- Australian Physiotherapy Association
- Australian Racing Museum
- Australian Red Cross Society
- Commercial Representatives' and Agents' Association of Australia Limited
- Naval Association of Australia
- Royal Australian Air Force Reserve
- Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps
- Royal Australian Army Ordnance Corps
- Royal Australian Engineers
- Royal Australian Infantry Corps
- Royal Australian Institute of Architects
- Royal Prince Alfred Hospital
- Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne
- Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery
- Season of Culture 2021-22
- The Institution of Engineers, Australia
- The Returned & Services League of Australia Limited
- The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne
- The Royal Humane Society of Australasia
- The Royal Melbourne Hospital
- The Royal Society of Western Australia
- The Scout Association of Australia
- Young Men's Christian Association of Australia
- Young Women's Christian Association of Australia
- Young Women's Christian Association of Australia
- Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne
- The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne
- The Royal Melbourne Hospital
Quick facts about the Queen:
- The Queen is Head of State of the UK and 14 other Commonwealth realms. She is Queen of Australia.
- The elder daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, she was born on 21 April 1926 in Mayfair, London.
- Became Queen at the age of 25 in 1952 (6 February)
- The Coronation took place in Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953.
- The Queen is the longest serving British monarch. Only five other kings and queens in British history have reigned for 50 years or more. (Victoria, 63 years 216 days 1837-1901; George III, 59 years 96 days; James VI and I, 57 years, 246 days 1567-1625; Henry III, 56 years 19 days 12-16-1272; and Edward III, 50 years 147 days 1327-1377).
- The Queen was married to His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh. They were married in Westminster Abbey on 20 November 1947. Their marriage was the longest in the history of the British monarchy - lasting 73 years, until Prince Philip passed away at Windsor Castle on 9 April 2021, aged 99.
- The Queen and Prince Philip had four children - Prince Charles (b. 1948), Princess Anne (b. 1950), Prince Andrew (b. 1960), Prince Edward (b. 1964).
- After Princess Elizabeth became Queen, their third child, Prince Andrew, arrived in 1960 and the fourth, Prince Edward, in 1964.
- They also had eight grandchildren - William, Harry, Peter, Zara, Beatrice, Eugenie, Louise, and James - and twelve great-grandchildren - George, Charlotte, Louis, Archie, Savannah, Isla, Mia, Lena, Lucas, August, Lilibet, Sienna.
- Prince Charles, now The Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the throne, was born in 1948, and his sister, Princess Anne, now The Princess Royal, two years later.
- Following the death of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia on 23 January 2015, Queen Elizabeth II became the world's oldest living monarch.
- The Queen became the longest serving monarch in British history on 9 September 2015, surpassing the 63 years, 7 months and 2 day-long reign of her great great grandmother Queen Victoria.
- Following the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand on 13 October 2016, Queen Elizabeth II became the longest-serving living monarch in the world.
- Queen Elizabeth II was the fourth-longest serving monarch in world history - after King Louis XIV of France (who ruled for 72 years and 110 days), Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej (who ruled for 70 years and 126 days) and King Johann II of Liechtenstein (who ruled for 70 years and 91 days).
- Sixteen Australian prime ministers served during The Queen's reign: 1. Robert Menzies, 2. Harold Holt, 3. John McEwen, 4. John Gorton, 5. William McMahon, 6. Gough Whitlam, 7. Malcolm Fraser, 8. Bob Hawke, 9. Paul Keating, 10. John Howard, 11. Kevin Rudd, 12. Julia Gillard, 13. Tony Abbott, 14. Malcolm Turnbull, 15. Scott Morrison, 16. Anthony Albanese.
- Sixteen governors-general served during The Queen's reign: 1. William McKell, 2. William Slim, 3. William Morrison, 4. William Sidney, 5. Richard Casey, 6. Paul Hasluck, 7. John Kerr, 8. Zelman Cowen, 9. Ninian Stephen, 10. William Hayden, 11. William Deane, 12. Peter Hollingworth, 13. Michael Jeffery, 14. Quentin Bryce, 15. Peter Cosgrove, 16. David Hurley.
Quick facts about her role as head of the Commonwealth
- The Commonwealth has grown from seven nations (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), and the United Kingdom) at the beginning of The Queen's reign to 54 members representing 2.4 billion people - or almost a third of the world's population - today.
- A Commonwealth Realm is a country which has The Queen as its Monarch.
- There are 15 Commonwealth Realms: 1. United Kingdom, 2. Australia, 3. The Bahamas, 4. Belize, 5. Canada, 6. Grenada, 7. Jamaica, 8. New Zealand, 9. Papua New Guinea, 10. St Christopher and Nevis, 11. Saint Lucia, 12. Tuvalu, 13. Antigua and Barbuda, 14. Solomon Islands, 15. St Vincent and The Grenadines.
- In addition, there are 39 other countries in the Commonwealth. Africa: 1. Botswana, 2. Cameroon, 3. The Gambia, 4. Ghana, 5. Kenya, 6. Kingdom of Eswatini, 7. Lesotho, 8. Malawi, 9. Mauritius, 10. Mozambique, 11. Namibia, 12. Nigeria, 13. Rwanda, 14. Seychelles, 15. Sierra Leone, 16. South Africa, 17. Uganda, 18. United Republic of Tanzania, 19. Zambia. Asia: 20. Bangladesh, 21. Brunei Darussalam, 22. India, 23. Malaysia, 24. Maldives, 25. Pakistan, 26. Singapore, 27. Sri Lanka. Caribbean and Americas: 28. Dominica, 29. Guyana, 30. Trinidad and Tobago, 31. Barbados. Europe: 32. Cyprus, 33. Malta. Pacific: 34. Fiji, 35. Kiribati, 36. Nauru, 37. Samoa, 38. Tonga, 39. Vanuatu.
