What happens next? A guide to the next 11 days as Britain mourns

A file photo taken on Oct 12, 2018 of the late Queen Elizabeth II. The government will confirm the length of national mourning, which is likely to be around 12 to 13 days, from now until the day after the queen's funeral. Photo: Alastair Grant/POOL/AFP

Thursday (Sept 8) would traditionally have been D-Day or D+0 in the plans for the aftermath of the Queen's death, codenamed London Bridge.

But as the announcement came late in the day – at 6.31pm on Thursday Sept 8 – plans have been shifted a day to allow the complex arrangements to be put in place, meaning D+0 will be considered Friday (Sept 9).The following is expected to take place on Friday, but concrete plans are yet to be confirmed by Buckingham Palace.

The king and queen return to London – Charles and Camilla will stay at Balmoral overnight on Thursday, but return to London on Friday.

- New Prime Minister Liz Truss will have her first audience with the new sovereign as soon as practically possible.

- Charles will meet with the Duke of Norfolk, who as Earl Marshal is in charge of the accession and the queen's funeral, to approve the carefully choreographed schedule for the coming days.

- Charles will decide on the length of court mourning for members of the royal family and royal households. It is expected to last a month.

- The government will confirm the length of national mourning, which is likely to be around 12 to 13 days, from now until the day after the queen's funeral. They will also announce that the funeral day will be a public holiday in the form of a Day of National Mourning.

- Union flags on royal buildings will fly at half-mast. The Royal Standard never flies half-mast, however, as it represents the sovereign and the United Kingdom, and is a symbol of the continuation of the monarchy.

The British flag at the British High Commission building sits at half mast after the death of the Queen in Wellington, New Zealand on Sept 9, 2022. Photo: Marty Melville/AFP

- Bells will toll at Westminster Abbey, St Paul's Cathedral and Windsor Castle, and gun salutes – one round for every year of the Queen's life – will be fired in Hyde Park and elsewhere.

- The King will make a televised address to the nation, which he is due to pre-record. He will pay tribute to the queen and pledge his duty to his service as the new sovereign.

- The prime minister and senior ministers will attend a public service of remembrance at St Paul's in central London, with the event planned to appear as if impromptu.

At 10am on the day after the queen's death, the Accession Council is due to meet at St James's Palace in London to formally proclaim Charles the new sovereign.

First, the Privy Council gathers without the King to proclaim the new monarch and arrange business relating to the proclamation.

Then Charles holds his first Privy Council, accompanied by Camilla and William, who are both Privy Counsellors, and makes his personal declaration and oath.

The first public proclamation of the new sovereign is read in the open air from the Friary Court balcony at St James's Palace by the Garter King of Arms.

Proclamations are made around the city and across the country. Union flags go back up to full-mast at 1pm and remain there for 24 hours to coincide with the proclamations before returning to half-mast.

Charles will also hold an audience with the prime minister and the Cabinet.

The queen's coffin is expected to be taken by road to the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. Proclamations will be read in the Scottish, Welsh and Northern Ireland devolved parliaments in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast.

Procession is expected along Edinburgh's Royal Mile to St Giles' Cathedral. Service and the Vigil of the Princes by members of the royal family. The public may get the chance to file past the queen's coffin at a mini lying in state in St Giles'.

The House of Commons and the House of Lords are expected to come together in Westminster for a Motion of Condolence, which the King could attend.

Coffin expected to be flown to London.

The queen's lying in state is expected to begin in Westminster Hall following a ceremonial procession through London. It will last four full days.

The archbishop of Canterbury will conduct a short service following the coffin's arrival. Hundreds of thousands of people will file past the coffin on its catafalque and pay their respects.

Senior royals are also expected to pay their own moving tribute, standing guard at some stage around the coffin – the tradition known as the Vigil of the Princes.

Lying in state continues and a rehearsal is likely to take place for the state funeral procession.

The lying in state continues, ending on D+9. Heads of state begin to arrive for the funeral.

The queen's state funeral is expected take place at Westminster Abbey in central London. The original plans are for the queen's coffin to process on a gun carriage to the abbey, pulled by naval ratings – sailors – using ropes rather than horses.

Senior members of the family are expected to walk behind the coffin – just as they did for the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, and the Duke of Edinburgh.

The military will line the streets and also join the procession. Heads of state, prime ministers and presidents, European royals and key figures from public life will be invited to gather in the abbey, which can hold a congregation of 2,000.

The service will be televised, and a national two minutes' silence is expected to be held. The same day as the funeral, the queen's coffin will be taken to St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle for a televised committal service.

Later in the evening, there will be a private interment service with senior members of the royal family.

The queen's final resting place will be the King George VI memorial chapel, an annex to the main chapel at Windsor Castle – where her mother and father were buried, along with the ashes of her sister, Princess Margaret.

Philip's coffin will move from the Royal Vault to the memorial chapel to join the queen's. – dpa