A number of events across the country have been cancelled or postponed as the nation mourns the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
The monarch died at Balmoral on Thursday afternoon, aged 96. In a statement confirming her death Buckingham Palace wrote: "The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow."
Her son Charles III has now been named King. In a statement released shortly after news of her death was announced, Charles III said: "Charles, the King, said: "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."
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A 10-day period of mourning began at midnight and will last until the Queen’s funeral. As a mark of respect, a number of events across the national calendar which were due to take place over the coming days have been moved.
There is "no obligation" for events or sporting fixtures to be cancelled, or for entertainment venues to be closed, during the period of national mourning, the Government has said.
But official guidance suggests organisations may with to consider cancelling or postponing events or closing venues on the day of the state funeral "as a mark of respect."
From the BBC Proms, to Horseracing events, to scheduled strike action - these are the events that have been cancelled or postponed following Her Majesty's death.
Entertainment
The BBC announced that the final two nights of The Proms had been cancelled as a mark of respect for the Queen.
"Following the very sad news of the death of Her Majesty The Queen, as a mark of respect we will not be going ahead with Prom 71 on Friday September 9, or the Last Night of the Proms on Saturday September 10," the organisation tweeted.
The Mercury Prize award ceremony due to take place on Thursday was also postponed. A statement from organisers said: "Tonight’s Mercury Prize event has been postponed at this time of great national sorrow. We know everyone involved in the Mercury Prize will understand.
"Our thoughts and condolences are with The Royal Family at this very difficult time. We will make an announcement regarding future arrangements as soon as we are able." Harry Styles, Sam Fender and Little Simz were among the acts in the running for the prestigious prize.
A Fireworks event due to take place at Gulliver's Theme Parks on Saturday (10 September) has been cancelled "out of respect" but will remain open as normal.
They said in a statement: "Out of respect, our fireworks display on Saturday 10th September will no longer be taking place. Instead, all four Gulliver's Theme Parks will be operating as a standard day, opening at 10:30am and closing at 5pm.
"Guests With Pre-Booked Tickets: If you have pre-booked tickets for Saturday 10th September they are still valid to use on this date. All guests will be emailed later today with more details about a partial refund."
Sport
The Great North Run, the world’s largest half-marathon, cancelled its sister 5k event on Friday and said it would assess the 60,000 main race, scheduled for Sunday. "We will continue to assess plans for this weekend’s Great North Run events and provide an update tomorrow morning," a statement said.
Horse Racing at Southwell and Chelmsford on Thursday evening was abandoned following the death of the Queen. The British Horseracing Authority also announced the meetings scheduled for Friday – including the third day of the St Leger meeting at Doncaster – have also been cancelled.
The final day of the Cazoo St Leger Festival at Doncaster has been switched to Sunday after the British Horseracing Authority announced all Saturday’s fixtures will be cancelled as "an ongoing mark of respect" following the death of the Queen.
Friday’s cricket match between England and South Africa men at The Oval, along with all scheduled matches in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, will not take place.
Northampton announced the postponement of their Premiership Rugby Cup clash against Saracens scheduled for Thursday evening.
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.
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.
Further announcements about the weekend’s fixtures at all levels were set to be made "as soon as possible", the governing body said.
Play was suspended for the day at the BMW PGA Championship and there will be no play on Friday.
Friday’s Tour of Britain stage has been cancelled with a decision on the rest of the tour to be made.
Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix will go ahead as scheduled with a minute’s silence planned before practice on Friday and another expected before the race.
Manchester United’s Europa League clash with Real Sociedad at Old Trafford and West Ham’s game against FCSB in the Europa Conference League at the London Stadium went ahead on Thursday evening with pre-match tributes.
The Northern Ireland Football League announced that Friday night’s matches between Cliftonville and Glentoran and Larne and Dungannon have been postponed.
The English Football League also confirmed that Friday night’s Championship game between Burnley and Norwich and the League Two match between Tranmere and Stockport had been postponed, with a decision on Saturday’s fixtures yet to be made.
The Scottish Professional Football League announced that Friday evening’s Championship clash between Dundee and Cove Rangers was off.
The Premier League and EFL also confirmed that they were postponing matches scheduled for this weekend. It said in a statement: "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."
Strikes
The Royal Mail has cancelled a planned strike for Friday, the Communication Workers Union announced.
Meanwhile, members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union have suspended strikes due for September 15 and 17 following the Queen’s death.
Its general secretary Mick Lynch said: "RMT joins the whole nation in paying its respects to Queen Elizabeth. The planned railway strike action on September 15 and 17 is suspended. We express our deepest condolences to her family, friends and the country."
The Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) and train drivers union Aslef also suspended the strikes.
A Network Rail spokesman said: “We welcome the unions’ decision to call off next week’s strikes and we join them and the rest of the railway family in sending our condolences to the royal family.”
Politics
The House of Commons will not be sitting for business at 9.30am as initially planned, the House of Commons announced in a tweet on Thursday.
Instead, the house is due to sit at 12pm for tributes to the Queen and senior members of the commons will take an oath to King Charles III on Saturday.
The TUC Congress, due to be held in Brighton from Sunday, has been postponed, said sources.
The Bank of England has postponed next week’s meeting of its Monetary Policy Committee, which had been widely expected to hike interest rates.
The Bank said that the September meeting would be postponed for a week due to the period of national mourning following the Queen’s death. The new rates decision will instead be announced on September 22.
"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," it said.
We will be updating this story throughout the day.
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