LONDON — Britain is to observe a nationwide minute of silence Sunday, on the eve of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.
The British government says the “moment of reflection” will take place at 8 p.m. (1900GMT).
People are encouraged to mark the silence at home or at community events.
The queen’s funeral will be held next Monday at Westminster Abbey.
Britain’s monarch of the past 70 years died Thursday in Scotland at the age of 96.
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KEY DEVELOPMENTS:
— People wanting to pay final respects to queen face long wait, strict rules
— For Queen Elizabeth II, Balmoral estate was place to ‘be normal’
— Queen Elizabeth II loved corgis breed from childhood
— Former British colonies conflicted over Queen Elizabeth II
— What’s next for the UK as Queen Elizabeth II laid to rest
— What will happen to all the currencies that feature the queen?
— The queen, as imagined — from punk rock to mystery novels
— Find more AP coverage here: https://apnews.com/hub/queen-elizabeth-ii
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OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:
LONDON — King Charles and his wife Camilla, the Queen Consort, have boarded a flight to Edinburgh where the new monarch will take part in a procession bearing his late mother’s coffin to St Giles’ Cathedral.
The plane left RAF Northolt on the outskirts of London for the flight to Edinburgh Airport on Monday.
In the Scottish capital, Charles and Camilla were due at Hollyroodhouse palace where Queen Elizabeth’s coffin stayed overnight. It arrived there after a six-hour journey in a hearse from the queen’s beloved Balmoral Castle summer retreat, where the 96-year-old sovereign died Thursday.
The royal couple are to attend a service of remembrance for the queen, visit the Scottish Parliament and meet senior officials.
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LONDON — A 100-year-old British woman says she received a congratulatory telegram from Queen Elizabeth II the day after the monarch’s death.
Gwendolyn Hoare read out the telegram in a recording shared with the BBC by her family and aired Monday.
She said it made her “feel quite tearful” and added: “I’m a royalist … old fashioned.”
Hoare’s niece, Sue Beckett, posted a message to a BBC online page which is compiling tributes to the late queen. She said the telegram arrived Friday, a day before her aunt’s 100th birthday, and a day after the 96-year-old queen had died at her Balmoral estate in Scotland.
“For decades she talked about receiving a telegram from the Queen and was devastated to hear the news … but her telegram arrived (on Friday) and she was ecstatic,” Beckett wrote.
The British monarch traditionally sends a telegram of congratulations to citizens who reach the age of 100.
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LONDON — King Charles III has addressed lawmakers in Britain’s Parliament, telling them: “I cannot but help feel the weight of history which surrounds us.”
Charles told members of the House of Commons and House of Lords that he would follow his late mother Queen Elizabeth II in upholding “the precious principles of constitutional governance” that underpin the U.K.’s political system.
He paid tribute to his mother, saying: “As Shakespeare said of the earlier Queen Elizabeth, she was a pattern to all princes living.”
Charles is due to travel from Parliament to Edinburgh and accompany the queen’s coffin to St. Giles’ Cathedral for a service of remembrance.
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LONDON — In a first official statement since the queen’s death, her grandson Prince Harry has hailed her as a “guiding compass” and praised her “unwavering grace and dignity.
The personal statement, posted Monday on Harry and his wife Meghan’s Archwell website, said he cherished their times together “from my earliest childhood memories with you, to meeting you for the first time as my Commander-in-Chief, to the first moment you met my darling wife and hugged your beloved greatgrandchildren.”
Harry quit as a senior royal and moved to the U.S. two years ago. On Saturday, he and Meghan joined his brother Prince William and his wife Catherine in meeting mourners outside Windsor Castle.
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WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand has announced it will mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II with a public holiday on Sept. 26.
The nation will also hold a state memorial service in the capital, Wellington, on the same day. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Elizabeth was an extraordinary person and many people would appreciate the opportunity to mark her death and celebrate her life.
“As New Zealand’s queen and much-loved sovereign for over 70 years, it is appropriate that we mark her life of dedicated public service with a state memorial service and a one-off public holiday,” Ardern said.
She also said she would be leaving this week for Britain to attend Elizabeth’s funeral.
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WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has formally accepted an invitation to attend the state funeral service for Queen Elizabeth II.
The White House said Sunday that the president will be accompanied by first lady Jill Biden. The service will be held Sept. 19.
Earlier in the day, Biden remembered the words of comfort that the late monarch had provided to the United States following the Sept. 11 attacks.
“Grief is the price we pay for love,” said Biden, quoting part of the queen’s message to America during remarks on the 21st anniversary of the attacks.
Speaking at a commemoration at the Pentagon, Biden said the queen’s words remain as poignant as they did 21 years ago but the weight of loss also remains heavy.
“On this day, the price feels so great,” Biden said.
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DONCASTER, England — British horse racing has paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth II as the late monarch’s favorite sport returned after a pause following her death.
Two minutes of silence were held at Doncaster on Sunday. A video was then played on the big screens of the queen at various races through the years, along with some of her greatest triumphs as a racehorse owner.
Horse racing was the big sporting fascination of the queen, who became one of the biggest faces of the sport both in Britain and globally and had more than 1,800 winners.
“No one person ever has, or ever will, do so much for so long for horse racing, than did her majesty the queen,” narrator Brough Scott, a former jockey turned TV presenter, said during the video. “The sport worldwide will forever be in her debt.”
It was followed by a long ovation from the jockeys and officials who lined up for the tribute ceremony.
