Death of Queen Elizabeth updates: Charles pledges to serve UK
Death of Queen Elizabeth news on September 9: UK’s King Charles III pays heartfelt tribute to his late mother in first address as monarch.
- King Charles III says he feels “profound sorrow” over the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, and is pledging to carry on her “lifelong service” to the nation.
- The monarch expresses his love for Prince Harry and Meghan, his son and daughter-in-law, a significant gesture towards a couple whose relationships with the rest of the family have been strained.
- King Charles III says he feels “profound sorrow” over the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, and is pledging to carry on her “lifelong service” to the nation.
- The monarch expresses his love for Prince Harry and Meghan, his son and daughter-in-law, a significant gesture towards a couple whose relationships with the rest of the family have been strained.
- The leader of the Sinn Fein party in Northern Ireland says she looks forward to working with King Charles and urged fellow Irish nationalists to be respectful as their unionist neighbours mourn the death of Queen Elizabeth.
- President of the United States Joe Biden says he will attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in the UK.
This live blog is now closed, thank you for joining us. These were the updates on the death of Queen Elizabeth on Friday, September 9:
Russian President Putin not to attend queen’s funeral
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attendance to the queen’s funeral is not an option, his spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said.
State-owned TASS news agency reported Peskov as saying that he did not believe that the deceased monarch had a particular place in the hearts of Russians.
“She was treated with great respect in Russia, just like throughout the rest of the world, for her wisdom, and for her global authority,” Peskov said. “Such qualities are lacking nowadays on the international stage,” he said.
He added that the royal court has yet to announce who will be permitted to attend the funeral and how it will be arranged.
From locals to international, people keep coming to pay tribute
From locals to international visitors, people continue to come and to pay tribute at the Balmoral Castle, the royal Scottish residence, as the night falls.
“They have been coming for at least the past nine hours and at one point they were so many they were jamming the bridge,” said Al Jazeera’s Rob Mathesom.
“It’s interesting the type, the nature of the crowd [that came to the Balmoral Castle], we had a lot of local people, but also international visitors who have been on holidays in Scotland and felt necessary to come here and show the kind of impact that the royal family and, in particular, Queen Elizabeth has had on them,” he said.
The coffin is expected to remain at Balmoral Castle until Sunday to then be taken to Edinburgh where there will be a ceremonial procession up the Royal Mile to St Giles’ Cathedral.
‘He has a big job to do and he’s ready to do it’: royal expert
King Charles III is aware that his mother’s tradition must be honoured, but also modified, said Sarah Gristwood, royal and historical affairs expert.
“He spoke more emotionally than what his mother would have done and the speech was very very careful. His priorities are going to be to affirm and assert, in a gentle way, the continued relevance of the monarchy, but it will be a slimmed-down royal family, hopefully, a more dynamic-looking one,” Gristwood said.
“He has a big job to do because … we have gone through a pandemic, we are facing a probably appalling financial downturn and a new prime minister took office only two days before the queen died, so the queen’s role as a figure of stability of reassurance has never been more important than right now and yet this is the moment she has left us,” she said.“King Charles has a big job to do but it is one he has been preparing, thinking and training his all life and I feel a lot more positive than once I did, that he is ready to do it,” she added.
‘She was the rock on which modern Britain was built’: Truss
Newly elected Prime Minister Liz Truss has offered her “deepest condolences” on the passing of Queen Elizabeth.
“She was the rock on which modern Britain was built,” Truss said on Twitter. “The thoughts of this government and this nation are with His Majesty The King and his family,” she added.
On behalf of a grieving nation I offer my deepest condolences on the passing of Her Majesty.
She was the rock on which modern Britain was built.
The thoughts of this government and this nation are with His Majesty The King and his family. pic.twitter.com/1tUra5luLf— Liz Truss (@trussliz) September 9, 2022
Biden to attend funeral of Queen Elizabeth II
President of the United States Joe Biden says he will attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in the United Kingdom.
“I don’t know the details yet, but I’ll be going,” the Democratic leader told reporters.
The date of the funeral has not yet been confirmed, but it is expected to take place in Westminster Abbey in London on September 19.
In pictures: People across the nation listen to King Charles’s first speech
King Charles III’s speech was broadcast on television and streamed at St Paul’s Cathedral, where some 2,000 people attended a service of remembrance for the queen.
‘May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest’
In his heartfelt address to the nation, King Charles speaks about the profound debt he owed his mother, the queen.
“In our sorrow let us draw strength from the light of her example,” he said. “For her love, affection, guidance, understanding and example.”
“And to my darling mama, as you begin your last great journey to join my dear late papa, I want simply to say this: thank you. Thank you for your love and devotion to our family and to the family of nations you have served so diligently all these years”.
“May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest,” the monarch added.
King Charles expresses love for Harry and Meghan
King Charles expressed his love for Prince Harry and Meghan – his son and daughter-in-law – during his speech, a significant gesture towards a couple whose relationships with the rest of the family have been strained.
“I want also to express my love for Harry and Meghan as they continue to build their lives overseas,” Charles said in a solemn televised speech.
Queen Elizabeth ‘was an inspiration and example’: King Charles
“Throughout her life, her majesty the queen – my beloved mother – was an inspiration and example to me and to all my family, and we owe her the most heartfelt debt any family can owe to their mother,” King Charles III said.
He said his mother pledged to devote her life “to the service of her peoples” on her 21st birthday in 1947.
“That was more than a promise: it was a profound personal commitment which defined her whole life.
“She made sacrifices for duty,” the king added.
“Her dedication and devotion as sovereign never wavered, through times of change and progress, through times of joy and celebration, and through times of sadness and loss.”
‘Profound sorrow’: King Charles III addresses the nation
King Charles III says he feels “profound sorrow” at the death of his mother and promises to continue the queen’s “lifelong service”.
“Our values have remained and must remain constant … her death brings great sadness and I share that sense of loss beyond measure,” the king said in his first address to Britain and his Commonwealth realms.
“The role and duties of the monarch also remain,” he said.
“As the queen herself did with such unswerving devotion, I, too, now solemnly pledge myself, throughout the remaining time God grants me, to uphold the constitutional principles at the heart of our nation,” Charles added.
Irish nationalists Sinn Fein looking forward to working with King Charles
The leader of the Sinn Fein party in Northern Ireland says she looks forward to working with King Charles and urged fellow Irish nationalists to be respectful as their unionist neighbours mourn the death of Queen Elizabeth.
Michelle O’Neill was among the first people to sign a book of condolence at Belfast City Hall after she and other senior members of the former political wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) offered words of sympathy on the queen’s death.
The IRA, which ended its 30-year armed campaign against British rule in Northern Ireland after a 1998 peace deal, killed Charles’s great uncle, Louis Mountbatten, in a 1979 bomb attack. The king described his great-uncle as “the grandfather I never had” and felt the loss deeply.
“We have bridges to mend and I look forward to working with King Charles. I’m sure that he will carry on the legacy of building relationships between our two islands,” O’Neill, dressed in black, told reporters.
Charles has long been a figure of hate among some supporters of a united Ireland because he was head of the British Army’s Parachute Regiment, members of which killed 13 Roman Catholic civil rights marchers in the 1972 Bloody Sunday shootings.While Sinn Fein has stepped up its campaign for a referendum on splitting from the United Kingdom in recent years, it has also sought to build a better relationship with Britain, not least when former IRA commander Martin McGuinness shook hands with the queen in Belfast in 2012.
Queen Elizabeth II’s lasting impression on Kenya
When Queen Elizabeth first visited Kenya in 1952, she arrived as a princess and left only days later to ascend to the throne.
Back then, Kenya was still part of the British Empire. Now, it is one of more than 50 members of the Commonwealth of Nations. Some Kenyans feel the Commonwealth itself is coming to the end of an era.
Al Jazeera’s Catherine Soi reports from central Kenya.
Prime Minister Liz Truss reaches Buckingham Palace
Prime Minister Liz Truss has met King Charles III as part of the plans that mark the queen’s death.
Al Jazeera’s James Bays said: “The first meeting between the new sovereign and the prime minister, of course, what is poignant about this is that she [Truss] only got the job at the beginning of the week and was given the job by the late queen in her last ever public engagement.
“It’s a chance at this meeting for the new prime minister to wish her condolences to the new king. Condolences on her own behalf and on behalf of the whole nation.
“Of course they have spoken already by phone, but this is a face-to-face meeting between the two of them that’s taking place.”
‘It was remarkable’: AJ correspondent
Cricket to resume on Saturday
England’s third and deciding test against South Africa at The Oval will resume on Saturday after the second day was postponed on Friday following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
“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.
The opening day was washed out by rain on Thursday, and no extra day will be added, meaning that the series decider is effectively now a three-day test.
“We have been in discussions with Cricket South Africa but they have to fly home on Tuesday to spend a few days at home before heading to India and Australia,” the ECB said.
“Tomorrow [Saturday] is therefore confirmed as day three of a five-day Test Match.”
Cricket to Resume and Pay Tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II pic.twitter.com/V8uhSkbF93
— England and Wales Cricket Board (@ECB_cricket) September 9, 2022
King Charles III greets the public outside Buckingham Palace
King Charles arrives at Buckingham Palace
King Charles III stopped to get out of his car while arriving at Buckingham Palace and shook hands with members of the public, following the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth.
The UK king stepped out of the royal car to huge cheers from a crowd outside the palace.
Italian Grand Prix holds a moment of silence
The opening practice session of the Italian Grand Prix was preceded by a minute’s silence following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Formula One chief Stefano Domenicali, FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem and former technical director Ross Brawn lined up alongside Mercedes’s two British drivers, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, for the brief ceremony.
“F1 sends its deepest condolences to the royal family and to the people of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth,” said Domenicali.
A further minute’s silence is scheduled at Monza before Sunday’s race.
The Bank of England to delay interest rate meeting
The Bank of England said it has decided to postpone a meeting on interest rates due next Thursday by one week following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
“In light of the period of national mourning now being observed in the United Kingdom, the September 2022 meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee has been postponed for a period of one week,” a statement said.
The Bank of England, which had been widely forecast to raise interest rates again next week to tackle sky-high inflation, will announce its latest decision on Thursday, September 22.
All you need to know about the new king
Charles Philip Arthur George, the prince of Wales before the death of the UK’s Queen Elizabeth II, is now officially known as King Charles III.
He was born on November 14, 1948, and is the first-born son of Elizabeth and Philip. As monarch, the 73-year-old grandfather of five will serve as the king of the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth sovereign states.
Described by biographers as “a sensitive man”, it is said that he is a keen gardener and enjoys tending to the organic garden in his countryside manor.
He is also believed to be a skilled watercolour painter and has interests in traditional countryside practices such as hedge laying.
As a young man, commentators say he did not have much in common with his parents, relations of which would improve as he got older.
He studied in Britain and Australia, reading archaeology, anthropology and history at Trinity College, Cambridge in the late 1960s before becoming a Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot.
More on King Charles III here.
Australia pays tribute to the queen
A picture of Queen Elizabeth II was projected onto the sails of the Sydney Opera House on Friday.
Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II cancels jubilee events in light of the queen’s death
Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II has called off some weekend events to mark the 50th anniversary of her accession following the death of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, the palace said.
The Danish queen, Elizabeth’s third cousin, has cancelled a carriage procession through Copenhagen and a palace balcony appearance, while reception and lunch at City Hall have been postponed.
A scaled-down gala theatre performance in her honour will go ahead at Copenhagen’s royal theatre on Saturday evening and lunch with Nordic royals to go ahead as planned on Sunday, as well as a downsized gala banquet at the Christiansborg Palace.
Margrethe is also Europe’s only reigning queen, although four countries – Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden – have crown princesses next in line to the throne.
Sympathy expressed in Ireland over the death of Queen Elizabeth
Queen Elizabeth II reigned for more than 70 years, and for 30 years during that time, a vicious conflict was fought in the part of her United Kingdom known as Northern Ireland.
About 3,600 people were killed and more than 30,000 wounded from 1969 until the signing of an agreement in 1998, which largely brought peace between those fighting against British rule in the northern province of Ireland, and those battling to preserve and defend the union with Britain.
The fighting, euphemistically known as “The Troubles”, was brutal, bitter and sectarian.
British troops, the Northern Irish security services, Irish Republican Army (IRA) fighters, and pro-British loyalist armed groups bombed and shot, killed and maimed, as they turned city streets and rural towns into guerrilla-war battlefields.
For generations of Irish nationalists and republicans, the British Crown and its forces were an enemy responsible for the degradation of centuries of colonial rule in Ireland.
Yet, on Thursday, two Irish soldiers lowered Ireland’s tricolour flag to half-staff at a government building in Dublin to mark the queen’s death. Irish embassies around the world also followed suit and lowered the republic’s flag as a mark of respect.
More on Ireland’s response to the passing of Queen Elizabeth here.
The Irish flag has been lowered to half mast at Government Buildings this evening to mark the death of HM Queen Elizabeth.
Statement from Taoiseach @MichealMartinTD ➡️ https://t.co/luw9aLl0sl pic.twitter.com/kvs7Ki9zwv
— MerrionStreet.ie (@merrionstreet) September 8, 2022
UK parliament holds special tribute session on the queen
MPs and peers have assembled in parliament to pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth.
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle opened the proceedings with his memories of the queen, where he said: “As the longest serving monarch this country has known she would have been assured of a notable entry in our history books even if it were not for the magnificence in which she undertook the role as queen.
“She was the most devoted monarch. As well as queen, she was a wife, a mother, a grandmother and great-grandmother – roles she carried out with the same sense of occasion and human kindness as the role of queen.”
Prime Minister Liz Truss said: “As we meet today, we remember the pledge she made on her 21st birthday to dedicate her life to service.
“The whole House will agree, never has a promise been so completely fulfilled.”
“Her devotion to duty remains an example to us all. She carried out thousands of engagements, she took a red box every day, she gave her assent to countless pieces of legislation and was at the heart of our national life for seven decades.”
Shadow cabinet Labour leader Keir Starmer followed and said: “Our country, our people, this House, are united in mourning.
“Yet it’s one we all share because Queen Elizabeth created a special personal relationship with us all.
“That relationship was built on the attributes that defined her reign, her total commitment to service and duty, her deep devotion to the country, the Commonwealth and the people she loved.
“In return for that, we loved her.”
King Charles to be officially proclaimed on Saturday
King Charles III will be officially proclaimed as king on Saturday at the Accession Council at 10am in the State Apartments of St James’s Palace, Buckingham Palace has just announced.
The Accession Council is made up of privy councillors, including the prime minister, cabinet members, shadow cabinet members, archbishops of Canterbury and York, plus representatives of the realms.
After the accession, parliament will meet in a special session at 2pm so senior MPs can take an oath of allegiance to King Charles III.
NEW: Accession Council (the first since 1952) to be held tomorrow morning at St James’s Palace. There the new King will be officially proclaimed. Accession Council is made up of Privy Councillors. pic.twitter.com/bbSafrS7J2
— Lewis Goodall (@lewis_goodall) September 9, 2022