Queen's children stand vigil beside her coffin in Edinburgh

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand has announced it will mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II with a public holiday on Sept. 26.

The nation will also hold a state memorial service in the capital, Wellington, on the same day. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Elizabeth was an extraordinary person and many people would appreciate the opportunity to mark her death and celebrate her life.

“As New Zealand’s queen and much-loved sovereign for over 70 years, it is appropriate that we mark her life of dedicated public service with a state memorial service and a one-off public holiday,” Ardern said.

She also said she would be leaving this week for Britain to attend Elizabeth’s funeral.

DONCASTER, England — British horse racing has paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth II as the late monarch’s favorite sport returned after a pause following her death.

Two minutes of silence were held at Doncaster on Sunday. A video was then played on the big screens of the queen at races through the years, along with some of her greatest triumphs as a racehorse owner.

Horse racing was the big sporting fascination of the queen, who became one of the biggest faces of the sport both in Britain and globally and had more than 1,800 winners.

“No one person ever has, or ever will, do so much for so long for horse racing than did Her Majesty the queen,” narrator Brough Scott, a former jockey turned TV presenter, said in the video. “The sport worldwide will forever be in her debt.”

It was followed by a long ovation from the jockeys and officials who lined up for the tribute ceremony.

LONDON — A line has already started forming to view Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin when she lies in state in London, even though that won’t start till Wednesday evening.

Security staff members are preparing for millions of people to pay their respects to the late monarch, whose coffin will be in London’s Westminster Hall until her state funeral Sept. 19.

Vanessa Nathakumaran, 56, traveled Monday from Harrow near London to Lambeth Bridge in central London, where the entrance of the line is expected to be set up.

“I really, really want to be part of it,” said Nathakumaran, who is originally from Sri Lanka — a country once called Ceylon and ruled by Britain.

The line is expected to stretch from Parliament along the bank of the River Thames.

Officials have advised commuters to change their working patterns because London is expected to be extremely busy in coming days.

LONDON — Officials in charge of the park outside Buckingham Palace have told people to stop leaving marmalade sandwiches as a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II because of the “negative impact on the park’s wildlife.”

Some mourners have left the snacks alongside floral tributes at Buckingham Palace and neighboring Green Park. The sandwiches are a reference to a comedy sketch featuring the queen and an animated Paddington Bear that was filmed for her Platinum Jubilee this year.

In the video, the queen said that like Paddington Bear she also favors marmalade sandwiches and hides them in her purse “for later.”

The Royal Parks organization said Monday that people should not leave the snacks but that they could leave teddy bears and other items if they wished.

Among the anecdotes that are being shared about the queen were tales of her knack for comforting others.

James Roscoe, her former press secretary, recounted his favorite story in an interview Monday on MSNBC: A surgeon who had worked in Afghanistan and other war zones was invited for a private lunch at Buckingham Palace several years ago with the queen.

"She was asking him about his time there, and obviously it was very traumatic for him, and he talks about really struggling and being on the brink of breaking down at one point," Roscoe said.

Instead of going through the formulaic questioning, the queen paused and asked him to open a box on the table, Roscoe said. It contained dog biscuits. And for the next 20 minutes, the pair fed the queen's corgis.

"There you are, that's much better than having to talk about things, isn't it?" the queen told the doctor, Roscoe said.

"And I think it just shows how, yes, she was an extraordinary monarch and queen, but she was also an incredible human and able to really relate to people at a very human level," Roscoe added.

In an appearance in the Scottish Parliament on Monday, the new king promised to serve Scotland and its people.

"While still very young, the queen pledged herself to serve her country and her people and to maintain the principles of constitutional government," King Charles III said in reply to a motion of condolence in the assembly. "As we now mark, with gratitude, a promise most faithfully fulfilled, I am determined, with God’s help and with yours, to follow that inspiring example."

British Transport Police said Monday it will deploy additional police officers at railway stations and along travel routes in the days leading up to the queen's state funeral next week.

Security operations at transit hubs are being increased in conjunction with Metropolitan Police and City of London Police.

"People can expect to see a marked increase in highly visible patrols, with more officers on hand to support those travelling and to deter any criminality," Assistant Chief Constable Sean O'Callaghan said in a statement.

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to pay their respects to the queen as she lies in state ahead of her funeral Sept. 19, providing a challenge for officials.

The queen's life and legacy were honored Monday in a homily given by the Right Rev. Iain Greenshields, the moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.

Speaking at a thanksgiving service at St. Giles' Church in Edinburgh, where members of the royal family paid their respects, Greenshields said the queen proudly represented both the Church of Scotland and the Church of England during her reign.

"She had little difficulty belonging to two churches, appreciating the strengths of each," he said, adding that she "she spoke unashamedly of her trust in God."

Her family and subjects, he continued, are "united in sorrow."

"Most of us cannot recall a time when she was not our monarch," Greenshields said, adding, "She has been a constant in all of our lives for over 70 years."

King Charles III and other members of the royal family paid their respects to the queen with a thanksgiving service at St. Giles' Church on Monday.

The crown of Scotland was placed on Elizabeth's coffin during the service of prayer and reflection.

Charles left the cathedral later, as crowds stood outside to pay their respects.

Members of the public will be able to visit the queen's coffin at the cathedral, where it will remain until Tuesday, before it is moved to London.

Police arrested a man who heckled Prince Andrew during the procession accompanying Queen Elizabeth II's coffin in Edinburgh, Scotland, on Monday.

During the procession to St. Giles’ Cathedral, a voice could be heard shouting: "Andrew, you're a sick, old man." Andrew was walking alongside his brother King Charles III and sister, Princess Anne, behind the hearse carrying their mother's coffin.

The man, who declined to give his name but said he was 22 years old, was subsequently seen being pulled to the ground by other spectators. He was detained by police as members of the crowd chanted: "God save the king!" An officer at the scene said the man was being arrested and accused of breach of the peace.

A spokesperson for Police Scotland confirmed that a 22-year-old man was arrested in connection with a “breach of the peace” on the Royal Mile at around 2:50 p.m. local time (9:50 a.m.).

Andrew's relationship with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his confidant, the British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell, have deeply embarrassed the royal family. In January, the queen stripped Andrew of his military titles, and the palace said in a statement at the time that he would no longer undertake royal duties.

The decision came after his lawyers failed to persuade a U.S. judge to dismiss a civil lawsuit that accuses Andrew of sexual abuse. Andrew reached a legal settlement with Virginia Giuffre, who had alleged that Andrew sexually abused her when she was 17.

EDINBURGH, Scotland — Many mourners broke out into tears seeing the hearse carrying the queen's coffin pass through the Palace of Holyroodhouse gate.

“It was so sad,” said Audrey Loy, 62, struggling to speak through sobs, while standing on the Royal Mile. “I am just glad she died in Scotland so we had a chance to say goodbye.”

“I just feel for her children because they are grieving too."

EDINBURGH, Scotland  — Murmurs rippled through the crowd at the first sight of the hearse flanked by the Royal Company of Archers coming through the Holyroodhouse Palace gate.

“This is it,” one man says. Then an almost total silence, remarkable given the tens of thousands here. The only sounds are the horses hooves and the once-a-minute cannon fire from the castle at the top of the street. 

It was so quiet when the coffin passed that the only other thing you could hear were the footsteps of the royals and archers’ feet as they marched slowly behind. When it passed, there was restrained applause, and now the street is back to life again.

The new monarch's address to the British Parliament on Monday was hugely significant because it was the first to happen in a televised era, historian Andrew Roberts told NBC's "TODAY" show.

“It hasn’t happened for a very long time because, of course, the queen was in Africa when she became queen, and previously the abdication crisis meant that there hadn’t been a death for condolences to be given,” Roberts said. “So this is actually an old ceremony, but one that hasn’t been seen in public before, hasn’t been televised.”

Charles addressed members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords at Westminster Hall in London, the oldest existing building on what’s known as the Parliamentary Estate.

Read more here.

King Charles and Camilla, the Queen Consort, were driven along the Royal Mile toward the Palace of Holyroodhouse, in Edinburgh, Scotland, on Monday.

The new king also inspected the guard of honor as he arrived to attend the Ceremony of the Keys, at the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

For one man in the crowd in Edinburgh, the queen held even greater significance than a beloved head of state. For Hardy Gardy, 26, he sees her as being the difference between life and death. He fled Iraqi Kurdistan in 2016, as the Islamic State terrorist group swept the country, and made a perilous journey to the U.K.

He journeyed across Europe on foot and other modes of transport, waiting at the infamous Calais camp in France for seven months before stowing away in the back of a truck and making it across the English Channel.

“It was winter, so it was so cold,” said Gardy, now a barber working in Edinburgh. “I knew it was dangerous to come in the back of the truck but I had no choice.”

Unlike thousands of others, he not only made it into the country, but also navigated its notoriously hard-line immigration system to gain asylum and eventually become a citizen. Whether the queen played a part or not, Gardy still sees her as the figurehead of a country that gave him a new life.

“I am here to see her coffin because she really helped us as asylum-seekers,” said Gardy, sporting a skin fade haircut, AirPods and a black shell suit top. “She was like a mom to us, because she let me stay here in a safe country.”

As a nonworking member of the royal family, Prince Andrew will not wear his military uniform at ceremonial events during the period of royal mourning, except at a final vigil in Westminster Hall, a spokesperson for the king said.

The spokesperson said the Duke of York would only wear the uniform as a special mark of respect for the queen at the final vigil.

Working members of the royal family are expected to wear military uniforms at all five ceremonial events during the period of mourning, the spokesperson said.

The queen stripped Andrew of his military titles in January and a statement from the palace at the time said that he would no longer undertake royal duties. The decision came after his lawyers failed to persuade a U.S. judge to dismiss a civil lawsuit that accuses him of sexual abuse.

Andrew later reached a legal settlement with Virginia Giuffre, who had alleged that she was sexually abused by the British royal when she was 17.

Crowds gathered in Edinburgh on Monday to watch King Charles' arrival as the city prepares to mark the queen's life of service and her death.

“We wanted to see a bit of history and get amongst the vibes,” said Sam Brynes, 29, an electrician who moved from Australia to Edinburgh last year and was cradling his 4-month-old baby, Elias.

“My family in Australia are originally from England and they are big on the royals, but for the younger generation it’s probably not as important as it was.Catherine Vost, 69, and Anne Tullo, 62, traveled from nearby Glasgow and arrived more than two hours before the king’s scheduled historic appearance, in Edinburgh on Monday.

EDINBURGH, Scotland — Under bright, hot sunshine and the gaze of police sharpshooters on rooftops, King Charles III arrived at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in his first visit as king in Scotland.

It was not a ceremonial pace, more a brief flypast that seemed to surprise many waiting outside the palace gates, only one of whom had time to shout “God save the king!”

He stopped outside the gates of this palace, which sits under the looming Arthur’s Seat, a craggy hill made from an extinct volcano.

Soon after, the national anthem — new lyrics and all — could be heard faintly over the palace walls.

Some of the crowd tried to join in, but in truth it was hard to hear.

The queen helped the many British prime ministers who served in her lifetime by listening to them and asking intelligent questions in her traditional weekly audience with them, former Prime Minister David Cameron said Monday.

"It’s just the most immense privilege really, you’re spending time with someone who was the world’s greatest public servant and one of the greatest diplomats," he told Savannah Guthrie on NBC’s "TODAY" show.

"She was a good listener, she asked good questions ... you came out feeling a foot taller and feeling you were able to solve all these problems."

Cameron served as prime minister from 2010 to 2016 when he stood down, having led the unsuccessful Remain campaign in the Brexit referendum.

EDINBURGH, Scotland — Most in the crowd have only ever known the queen’s reign — but not all.

Fiona Meikle, 83, was presented as a debutante at age 13 to the new queen at Holyroodhouse in 1952.

“I had to do a bit of a curtsy, and ever since I have had great loyalty to the queen,” she said.

She was waiting to say goodbye to the monarch she met 70 years ago, waiting with her son, Stewart, 56, and his wife, Alison, 60.

“I have never done anything like this before — I usually scoff at this royalist nonsense,” Stewart Meikle said. “But this is just a bit different, he said, deploying intentional understatement.

And their views on Charles? “Errr…,” his wife hesitated. “Let’s just wait and see how he turns out.”

A plane carrying Britain's new king and Camilla, the Queen Consort, has landed at Edinburgh Airport.

Charles will lead a royal procession behind his mother's coffin as it is transported from Holyroodhouse, the queen’s official palace in the Scottish capital, to St. Giles' Cathedral.

The queen's body will lie at rest there until Tuesday, before being moved to London.

There will be a nationwide moment of silence to remember the queen at 8 p.m. (3 p.m. ET) Sunday ahead of her funeral next Monday, Prime Minister Liz Truss' spokesperson has announced.

Around 1,500 military personnel will be on hand to assist in the queueing arrangements as the queen lies in state, the spokesperson said in the same briefing. The queen will lie in state beginning Wednesday until next Monday.

Australia’s prime minister Monday defended a long-standing protocol blocking the nation's Parliament from sitting for 15 days following the death of a British monarch.

Lawmakers are expected to reconvene Sept. 23 to debate a condolence motion for Queen Elizabeth, which is the earliest date allowed under the obscure protocol, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

With the last British monarch dying in 1952, the Australian protocol is not well-known. Asked who was behind the protocol, Albanese told reporters it had “been in place for a long period of time.”

“I think there is something to be said for a prime minister who follows tradition, who follows protocols and who follows order,” he said. “That is something that I hope to define my prime ministership is respect for those traditions.”

The king and queen consort have left London for Holyrood in Edinburgh, where they will accompany the queen's coffin in a procession to St. Giles Cathedral. Their plane took off around 11.30 a.m. (6.30 a.m. ET).

The couple will join other members of the royal family, including Elizabeth’s children and grandchildren, walking behind the queen’s coffin on its route to the cathedral, with the guns of Edinburgh Castle firing every minute throughout. Thousands of people are expected to line the Royal Mile to watch.

Charles’ visit to Edinburgh officially marks the start of his tour of all the four nations of the kingdom: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

A service will be held at that cathedral, where the queen’s coffin will rest for 24 hours, allowing members of the public to file past and pay their respects from 5 p.m. (noon ET). The Scottish government has warned that people could be stood waiting for many hours in “potentially challenging weather conditions.”

Prince Louis said the queen was “now with great-grandpa" after learning of her death, his mother told mourners who had gathered in Windsor on Saturday.

“My little Louis, he’s so sweet, he said, ‘Mummy don’t worry, she’s now with great-grandpa’... That just shows you how special she was to everybody, of all generations,” said Kate, the Princess of Wales, according to TikTok footage verified by NBC News.

“Kate was so lovely, kind and concentrated. She was willing to talk to all the public," Nicole Gumienny, a 16-year-old from Farnborough, England, who was present at the meeting, told NBC News.

“My eyes started watering when she mentioned Prince Louis talking about the queen being with great-grandpa now.”

The thanksgiving service to be held for the life of the queen at St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh on Monday will be preceded by hymns including "Thou knowest Lord the secrets of our hearts" and "Salvator mundi."

Singer Karen Matheson will sing a psalm in Gaelic and readings will be made by the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh, Most Rev. Leo Cushley and Most Rev Mark Strange, Bishop of Moray, Ross & Caithness, Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church.

Prayers will be also read by Morag Mylne, an Elder of the Church of Scotland, and Samuel Nwokoro, a Commonwealth student from Nigeria.

The service will be sung by the cathedral's choir conducted by the Master of the Music Michael Harris, and the organ will be played by Jordan English. The service will conclude with the national anthem “God Save the King.”

King Charles addressed parliament on Monday, saying he was “resolved” to follow his mother’s “example of selfless duty.”

Britain’s new monarch said he was “deeply grateful” for condolences received by lawmakers following his mother’s death. He said the messages of sympathy “so touchingly encompass what our late sovereign, my beloved mother, the queen, meant to us all.”

Of his mother, Charles said: “While very young, her late majesty pledged herself to serve her country and her people and to maintain the precious principles of constitutional government, which lie at the heart of our nation.”

“This vow she kept with unsurpassed devotion,” he said. “She set an example of selfless duty, which ... I am resolved faithfully to follow.”

King Charles and the Queen Consort have arrived at Westminster Hall, where the monarch is expected to address parliament.

They will hear messages of condolences from Britain's prime minister and other politicians.

In one of the main events for today, Charles and Camilla will visit Westminster Hall at 10 a.m. local time (5 a.m. ET) to receive condolences from Prime Minister Liz Truss, as well as members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Charles will then deliver a speech to Parliament.

Westminster Hall is home to both Houses of Parliament and was built in 1097, making it the oldest existing building on what's known as the Parliamentary Estate. The building was originally part of the Palace of Westminster, which served as the main residence for the English monarch until the reign of King Henry VIII.

The majority of the palace was lost to a fire in 1834, but the hall was spared thanks to the work of firefighters and the changing of the direction of the wind that night. The palace was also hit by bombs twice during World War II, but the hall survived.

The queen's coffin will move on Wednesday from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, where she will lie in state until her funeral on Monday. The hall will remain open for 24 hours during that time so that the public can pay their respects.

King Edward VII was the first monarch to lie in state there. After her death in 2002, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, was the most recent royal to do so. Prince Philip requested to not be given a state funeral.

Mourners hoping to pay tribute to the queen will not be able to do so with gifts such as teddy bears and balloons, according to the Royal Parks, the charity that manages royal parklands in London.

Tributes to the queen that are not flowers will not be allowed at Green Park next to Buckingham Palace, the authority announced on its website. Cards and labels, meanwhile, will be permitted but will be periodically cleared away.

The lighting of candles for the queen will also not be permitted.

The Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, was lit up Sunday night with a portrait of the queen superimposed onto the British Union Jack national flag.

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro has accepted his invitation to attend the queen's funeral next week.

Bolsonaro will join other world leaders in London for the proceedings on September 19.

Prince Harry released a statement Monday celebrating the life of his grandmother and honoring her "unwavering grace and dignity."

"In celebrating the life of my grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen — and in mourning her loss — we are all reminded of the guiding compass she was to so many in her commitment to service and duty," he said.

"Granny, while this final parting brings us great sadness, I am forever grateful for all of our first meetings — from my earliest childhood memories with you, to meeting you for the first time as my Commander-in-Chief, to the first moment you met my darling wife and hugged your beloved great grandchildren," the statement later continued. "I cherish these times shared with you, and the many other special moments in between."

"You are already sorely missed, not just by us, but by the world over. And as it comes to first meetings, we now honour my father in his new role as King Charles III."

"Thank you for your commitment to service.

Thank you for your sound advice.

Thank you for your infectious smile.

We, too, smile knowing that you and grandpa are reunited now, and both together in peace."

The Clarence House social media accounts for King Charles and the queen consort have been retired.

Social media pages for Clarence House, the London residence of the now-former Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, were updated with the message: "This account is no longer being updated.

"Please follow @theroyalfamily for updates on His Majesty King Charles III and Her Majesty The Queen Consort."

The Clarence House Twitter account had around 1.1 million followers as of early Monday morning, while the Instagram page had around 1.7 million followers.

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said her government will not discuss plans to remove the British monarch as her country's head of state following the death of the queen.

“This is a large, significant debate. I don’t think it’s one that would or should occur quickly,” Ardern said on Monday.

The prime minister, however, said she believed New Zealand would eventually become a republic, perhaps in her lifetime, but said there are other more pressing issues to be considered for the time being.

Ardern will join other world leaders this week to attend the queen's funeral.

The general public will have their chance to pay respects to Queen Elizabeth, with a round-the-clock operation that will allow mourners to file past the queen's closed coffin.

The queen’s subjects and well-wishers will be able to walk past the raised platform to glimpse her casket inside Westminster Hall in the Palace of Westminster from 5 p.m. BST Wednesday until 6:30 a.m. a week from Monday, the government announced Sunday.

However, officials have warned that the process could be physically taxing on mourners.

“You will need to stand for many hours, possibly overnight, with very little opportunity to sit down as the queue will be continuously moving,” a government statement said.

Larger bags, food and food containers will be strictly prohibited once mourners reach the Palace of Westminster, where they will be subjected to “airport-style” security screening, officials said.

Monday is an opportunity for the people of Scotland to celebrate the life of Queen Elizabeth II before her coffin heads back to London for national viewing ahead of her funeral Monday, Sept. 19.

Her coffin will travel in a procession from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to St. Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh. At 3 p.m. local time (10 a.m. ET) the cathedral will host a service service of prayer and reflection.

The queen will lie in rest at St Giles’ Cathedral through Tuesday afternoon.

Meanwhile, the king and the queen consort will appear at London’s Westminster Hall, where both houses of Parliament will meet to express condolences.

The pair will then travel by air to Edinburgh and Holyroodhouse, then on to the cathedral service.

Later, the king was expected to meet the Scottish government officials before receiving a motion of condolence from lawmakers.

Monday evening, the king will participate in a vigil at St. Giles. Other members of the royal family were expected to attend.