During her reign, Elizabeth II served as Queen of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth – undertaking an important symbolic and unifying role as a head of state, spanning numerous geographical regions, cultures, and religions.
She was not just the longest-reigning British monarch in history, but she was also the first-ever monarch to reign in the UK for 70 years, and was beloved by many for her sense of duty and devotion to her role.
The confirmation of HM The Queen’s passing comes after the public was informed by Buckingham Palace earlier yesterday that she was “under medical supervision” at Balmoral after her doctors had become “concerned for Her Majesty’s health”.
Several notable moments have already taken place since HM The Queen’s passing.
This includes her eldest son becoming King Charles III, a speech delivered by newly-appointed Prime Minister Liz Truss, and tributes paid by leaders across the globe.
HRH Queen Elizabeth II has died aged 96 / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
His statement, shared by Buckingham Palace, 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.
“We mourn profoundly the passing of a cherished sovereign and a much-loved mother. I know her loss will be deeply felt throughout the country, the Realms and the Commonwealth and by countless people around the world.
“During this period of mourning and change, my family and I will be comforted and sustained by our knowledge of the respect and deep affection in which the Queen was so widely held.”
A state of mourning has officially begun across the country, which is set to remain until the HM The Queen’s funeral is held.
The national mourning period is expected to last for 10-12 days.
As confirmed by Buckingham Palace, King Charles III and his Queen Consort Camilla will return to London from Balmoral – with the monarch then due to hold his first audience with Prime Minister Liz Truss shortly after.
King Charles III is expected to meet the Earl Marshal, the Duke of Norfolk – who is in charge of the Queen’s funeral – to approve the schedule for the coming days, and he will decide on the length of court or royal mourning for members of the Royal Family and other royal households.
In the evening, His Majesty is expected to address the nation in a televised speech, where he will pay tribute to his mother and pledge to serve as head of state.
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The House of Commons and the Houses of Parliament are due to gather at noon.
HM Queen Elizabeth II passed away “peacefully” at Balmoral on Thursday 8 September 2022 / Credit: Charles Fred (via Flickr)
The government is not expected to announce any other business today – unless anything urgent occurs – to allow the focus to fall entirely on the HM The Queen until 10pm.
Prime Minister Liz Truss and several senior government ministers will also attend a public service of remembrance at St Paul’s Cathedral in London today, and following this, the government is then due to confirm the length of national mourning – which is likely to be up to 12 days in total, from now up to the day after the Queen’s funeral.
The government will also announce that the day of HM The Queen’s funeral will be a public holiday in the form of a Day of National Mourning.
Then, on Saturday morning, an Accession Council will meet at St James’s Palace in London to formally-proclaim Charles as the new sovereign.
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The first public proclamation of the new sovereign will then be read in the open air from the Friary Court balcony at St James’s Palace by the Garter King of Arms.
A period of national mourning has now begun following the death of HM Queen Elizabeth II / Credit: Adrian Harlen (via Crown Copywright)
How will HM Queen Elizabeth II’s death be marked in Manchester?
Manchester City Council has confirmed that the city of Manchester will be observing the official 10-day mourning period.
The flag on Central Library has been lowered to half-mast as a mark of respect to the HM Queen Elizabeth II.
This will remain in place up to 8am on the day after the State Funeral takes place.
The Queen’s Books of Condolence will be opened from today in Central Library, and this will be open to visitors from 9am – 6pm daily, until the day following the funeral – with the Council confirming that further information on the funeral will be announced “as soon as we have received confirmation of the details”.
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Manchester shares its deepest condolences with the Royal Family today following the sad news of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
The Union Flag on Manchester Central Library will be flown at half mast for ten days of national mourning. pic.twitter.com/YRIe4zsKhA
Manchester City Council has also invited residents who may wish to lay flowers to mark HM The Queen’s death can do so in St Ann’s Square in the city centre, and asks that anyone doing so removes any plastic/cellophane wrappings and anything that is non-biodegradable from the flowers.
This will ensure that, when collected, all of the flowers can be composted.
For the residents who wish to make a donation to one of HM The Queen’s many patronages, a list of organisations and information on how those donations can be made has been compiled at – www.royal.uk/her-majesty-the-queen.
More arrangements are expected to be announced once further details are confirmed.
‘Busiest’ Easter bank holiday weekend expected as 19 million people hit the roads
Emily Sergeant
It’s expected to be one of the busiest Easter bank holidays in three years, as millions of people travel across the UK.
With the four-day weekend upon us, and people nationwide prepare to make the journey to visit family or friends over their extra couple of days off work or school, the RAC has now issued one of its annual travel warnings – anticipating that 19 million people could be hitting the roads from this Thursday evening onwards.
It’s all according to a new study of drivers’ spring getaway plans carried out by the RAC and traffic analytics specialists INRIX.
Research is suggesting that traffic will be equally severe on Thursday 17, Good Friday, and Saturday 19 April, with drivers planning around 2.7 million trips every day during that period, but the number of planned trips does drop slightly on Easter Sunday to 2.5 million.
Sadly, that dip is only short-lived, as the number of trips increases once again to a further 2.7 million on bank holiday Monday as millions of people look to return home.
19 million people are expected to hit the roads over the Easter bank holiday weekend / Credit: Geograph | Pxfuel
To make matters even worse, it’s thought that a further 6.2 million journeys are anticipated at some point over the Easter bank holiday weekend, but drivers planning these trips are still unsure exactly when they’ll travel.
The ‘notorious British weather’ is likely to be a big factor in travel decision making, according to the RAC.
INRIX expects that tomorrow (Thursday 17) will be the worst day for traffic, when jams are likely to increase by nearly a third (30%) more than usual.
Meanwhile, on Good Friday, the lengthiest hold-ups are expected between 11am to 1pm, so drivers are therefore being advised to start their trips as early as possible in the morning, or delay them until later in the afternoon.
Motorists are being warned to plan their journeys in advance / Credit: pxfuel
“The bank holiday weekend clashes with the end of the Easter break for many schools, which we think will change the nature of this year’s getaway,” admitted RAC breakdown spokesperson, Alice Simpson.
“Although journey numbers are still very high, we’re anticipating more day trips and weekend breaks than people heading off on one and two-week stints… [so] this could lead to a ‘hat-trick of hold-ups’ on Thursday, Friday and Saturday as drivers visit family and friends.
“But while getaway journeys may be shorter in length, we’re still expecting to see extremely high levels of traffic from Thursday onwards, with the greatest number of Easter getaway trips planned for three years.”
Alice warned that drivers should expect queues if they ‘don’t plan the best time to set off’.
“It’s always best to travel as early as possible in the morning or later in the day when most of the traffic has eased,” she added.
Featured Image – Geograph
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Onlookers ‘in tears’ after tiny duckling rescued from storm drain in beauty spot
Daisy Jackson
The RSPCA has shared a heartwarming video of a reunion between a tiny duckling and his mum, after the baby bird fell into a storm drain.
The charity, with the help of staff in the nearby Grandpa Greene’s Luxury Ice Cream Parlour, managed to fish the tiny bird out of the storm drain in a painstaking two-hour-long operation.
Miraculously, the duckling was unharmed, and his mum was waiting nearby on the canal in Saddleworth ready to be reunited with her baby.
The RSPCA has now thanked the staff member who helped rescue the duckling, and issued a warning to the public to keep dogs on a lead when near wildlife, believing the poor bird was chased by a dog before falling down the five-feet-high grid.
The rescue operation too place in Diggle last Wednesday 9 April, with Animal Rescue Officer Lee Ferrans taking on the ‘long and painstaking’ process of tempting the duckling into a net.
Lee said: “I wasn’t able to lift the grid so the only thing I could do was push an extendable pole straight down and try to catch the duckling in a net. There wasn’t a lot of room for manoeuvre and the net kept catching on all the debris.
“Just when I thought I’d been successful, the duckling kept disappearing into a drain on one side and then popping out again. A member of staff from Grandpa Greene’s had just finished her shift and came across to the other side of the canal to help me. I unscrewed the top of the pole with the net and held it down on one side of the drain while she used another section to gently encourage the bird to go into the net.
“It was quite a long and painstaking rescue but we eventually managed to bring the little one back up safely after more than two hours.”
The pair then placed the duckling into a cardboard box before heading further up the canal to reunite them with their mother and six sibling ducklings.
The adult duck ‘instantly recognised’ the chirping and swam straight towards it.
Lee added: “A little crowd had gathered and as the family were reunited people were shedding tears. It was a really lovely moment to see them all back together.
“I’d especially like to thank the member of staff from Grandpa Greene’s who offered an extra pair of hands – I couldn’t have done it without her – and to all the people in the area who stopped and were concerned.
“Storm drains can be a bit of a menace for ducklings, especially at this time of the year when there are babies around, and this brood was only a few days old.”
Emily Sergeant -
9th September 2022 
