On her third day as Prime Minister, Liz Truss stood outside Downing Street to deliver a sombre tribute to the Queen, whose death she said marked the end of the "second Elizabethan era".
Ms Truss had started the day focused on the announcement of her energy bill support scheme, which her team knew had the power to derail her premiership if it landed badly.
The plan to freeze household bills at £2,500 for two years to help Brits struggling with eye-watering energy costs carries an estimated price tag of £150bn - more than the combined cost of furlough and other pandemic business support.
But she had barely set out the details when it became clear that something was happening that would push this massive announcement to the back of people's minds.
Notes began being passed to the PM, Labour leader Keir Starmer and the Commons Speaker to inform them that the Queen was gravely ill.
Ms Truss was informed by the Cabinet Secretary at 4.30pm that the Queen had died, setting a chain of events in motion that immediately threw her political plans into disarray.
A period of national mourning is now underway.
Over the 10-day stretch, the Government will halt all public-facing activity except for the most urgent work. Parliament is expected to rise after two days of tributes.
Such scenes would have been unimaginable when team Truss were plotting their first days in office as the Tory leadership race drew to a close.
Ms Truss had been planning to announce herself to the public in grand fashion - with a "shock and awe" energy bills package and an emergency Budget to slash taxes and offer support to struggling families.
She was plotting a trip to Kyiv to underline the UK's commitment to supporting Ukraine against Russian aggression.
The new PM was also planning to jet off to the United States for the UN General Assembly meeting - where she was hoping for talks with President Joe Biden.
Now question marks hang over whether she can attend the summit and any plans for a Ukrainian visit are on ice.
Any politicking is out of the window, so Ms Truss won't be able to push her crackdown on trade unions or talk tough on tax cuts.
Details on another key priority - the NHS - will have to wait, alongside critical Brexit negotiations over the deal for Northern Ireland.
No10 officials say the work on the energy bills package will continue despite the death of the Queen because the dealing with the cost of living crisis is an issue of critical national importance.
They are currently thrashing out how the Government can legislate for the freeze on energy bills during this period, as the changes are supposed to come into force on October 1.
While all this presents a serious headache for the new administration, Ms Truss may benefit from looking statesmanlike at the events to come.
She is due to hold an audience with the King and to give a reading at a service at St Paul's Cathedral today - and she will undoubtedly be involved in the State Funeral for the Queen.
All of these events will be viewed around the world and will help to announce the new Prime Minister to a global audience.
At home, Ms Truss will have to tread a fine line to ensure she remains in sync with public mood.
She must share in the national grief at losing the Queen while remembering that the cost of living crisis is still at the forefront of people's minds.
