Ten days of national mourning begin today day one – in the UK up to the funeral. The schedule for the next few days, which has been prepared since the 1960s and monitored by the sovereign herself, has yet to be confirmed by the palace. But the main lines are already known. Here’s what to expect the day after and the day after Elizabeth II’s death.

At midday, 96 guns will be fired from multiple locations across the country and the bells of St Paul’s, Westminster Abbey and Windsor Castle will be rung.

After returning to London with Camilla, now the Queen consort, the King will address Brits for the first time on television on Friday, in a message that will be recorded and broadcast in the evening. At the moment, no picture has been released since Elizabeth II’s death was announced.

Shortly before that, he will meet Prime Minister Liz Truss, whose enthronement by Elizabeth II on Tuesday was the final constitutional act of a life dedicated to her role to the end.

Charles III must then be officially proclaimed King by the Accession Council on Saturday, which is meeting at St James’s Palace in London, near Buckingham Palace. The Accession Council consists of certain members of the Royal Family, the Prime Minister and several Ministers of State, two Archbishops of the Church of England, the Lord Mayor of the city and about 700 members “Secret Council” of the monarch.

The dress code is black and decorations – military or otherwise – are not worn. The ceremony takes place in two stages, first without the new monarch, then in his presence. Then the proclamation is read in front of the palace and then, traditionally, in the Royal Bourse, a building in the heart of the city. Across the country, all flags that were flown at half-mast in mourning are flown at the top of the mast to signal the presence of the new sovereign.

To learn more about the remainder of these ten days of national mourning, you can read this article: