A period of royal mourning has begun in the UK, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday.
The passing of Queen Elizabeth, Britain's longest-reigning monarch, marks a pivotal moment in the history of both the UK, and the rest of the world. Buckingham Palace has said today that it is the wish of the new King that the period of mourning will begin from now until seven days after the Queen's funeral.
The palace did not say when the funeral would be held, but it is likely to take place around 11 days after the queen's death on Thursday.
READ MORE:
During the mourning period, there will be major changes in some aspects of our day-to-day lives. Intricate plans had been drawn up for when Her Majesty sadly passes away, codenamed Operation London Bridge, that will see differences to what events are on, where we shop and even what appears on TV.
Rail strikes planned for the 15 to 17 September have been called off – and there is huge plans underway to deal with the millions set to flock to London via public transport. Official documents obtained by Politico in 2021 warned of the extra pressures if the capital became "full" with healthcare, policing, roads, public transport and food services being stretched.
However, because train operators were planning crew rotas a week ahead assuming the strikes would take place, there could still be some disruption on Thursday, the Independent reports. That said, Network Rail signallers will work normally, meaning the entire network should be accessible in some capacity.
There may also be some additional train services to take people who want to pay their respects to the late Queen to and from London.
There are no known other reasons at present why rail or bus services should be disrupted for the entirety of the mourning period. However, both bus and train travel is likely to be impacted on the day of Her Majesty's funeral.
This is because this will be a Day of National Mourning, though it is at the discretion of employers as to whether or not they give staff the day off.
The official guidance reads: "There is no obligation on organisations to suspend business during the National Mourning period. Depending on the nature and location of their business and the tone of planned events, some businesses may wish to consider closing or postponing events, especially on the day of the State Funeral, however this is at the discretion of individual businesses.
"Public services will continue as usual, although there maybe some changes to service availability."
Receive newsletters with the latest news, sport and what's on updates from the Liverpool ECHO by signing up here
READ NEXT:
Reason King Charles III's reign is called the Carolean era
Full list of what you can and can't do as Britain enters national period of mourning
Everything cancelled or closed following the Queen's death – from shops to football
Paddington Bear's message to the late Queen Elizabeth has fans in tears
King Charles declares period of mourning after Queen's death
