Queen Elizabeth II: King Charles III back in London; Queen Elizabeth mourned
The latest news, updates and reaction on Queen Elizabeth's death. For more on the Royals, visit here.
11:20 a.m. ET U.S. climate envoy and former U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, has paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth, describing her as the calm in the storm" and a great stateswoman."
In brief comments to The Associated Press in London, Kerry said his thoughts were with the royal family and noted the sense of loss that people were feeling around the world.
Kerry also praised what he described as the queen's great sense of direction."
11 a.m. ET The Crown," Netflix's acclaimed series about Queen Elizabeth II and her family, has paused production due to the monarch's death.
A spokesperson for the series said production was paused on Friday as a mark of respect" and will also be suspended on the day of the queen's funeral.
The show is in production on its sixth season. Its first two seasons starred Claire Foy as the young Princess Elizabeth ascending to the throne and gradually growing into her role as monarch, and seasons three and four featured Olivia Colman as a more mature queen.
The show, which has won 22 Emmy Awards so far, has gradually moved closer to current events. Netflix recently revealed casting of the actors who are playing Prince William and his wife Kate in the sixth season.
10:45 a.m. ET The federal Conservatives are going ahead with plans to elect their new leader Saturday, but they're putting away the confetti.
Whether they should or could host a big celebration in the wake of the Queen's death Thursday was debated by party officials well into Thursday evening, but a decision was made to proceed.
The event planned to announce the results of the Conservative party leadership race will go ahead as planned on Saturday at 6 p.m. Eastern, with a revised program that reflects the passing of Her Majesty the Queen," the head of the organizing committee, Ian Brodie, said in a statement early Friday morning.
Read the full story from the Star's Stephanie Levitz
10:27 a.m. ET The foreign affairs minister for Myanmar's National Unity Government, an underground parallel government spearheading the fight for democracy in Myanmar against its military-led government, posted her condolences on Twitter.
I'm deeply saddened by the news of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. On behalf of @NUGMyanmar and the people of Myanmar, I extend our deepest sympathies to the Royal Family and the people of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth," wrote Zin Mar Aung.
10 a.m. ET Visitors who hailed from around the world ae carrying bouquets to lay in nearby parks of Buckingham Palace, where thousands of people have come to pay respects.
A stuffed Paddington Bear, cards, pictures and handwritten notes were among the tributes that were piling up at the base of trees that line the road to the palace.
9:50 a.m. ET South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol tweeted his condolences on the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
She had a strong belief in the cause of human freedom and left great legacies of dignity," he said. He wrote that her kind heart and good deeds will remain in people's memories.
9:20 a.m. ET (updated) King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort are greeting cheering crowds as they arrive at Buckingham Palace.
He got out of the car to greet well-wishers and look at some of the huge pile of floral tributes left to honor his mother Queen Elizabeth II. Some called Thank you Charles" and Well done, Charlie!" as he shook hands with the crowd. Several shouted God save the King!"
9 a.m. ET Saturday's Accession Council will be televised for the first time in history. The Accession Council, attended by Privy Councillors, is divided into two parts. In Part 1, the Privy Council, without The King present, will proclaim the Sovereign, and formally approve various consequential Orders, including the arrangements for the Proclamation.
Part II, is the holding by The King of His Majesty's first Privy Council. The Kind will make his declaration and read and sign an oath to uphold the security of the Church in Scotland and approve Orders in Council which faciliate continuity of government
8:42 a.m. ET King Charles III has arrived in London.
8:31 a.m. ET (updated) Former CTV News anchor Lisa LaFlamme will lead a rival network's coverage of the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
In a Friday morning tweet, Rogers Sports and Media announced that LaFlamme, dismissed last month as anchor of CTV's flagship newscast, will feature as a special correspondent from London, leading CityNews' coverage of the Queen's life, her funeral and the transition to King Charles III.
The Queen is the only monarch most of us have ever known. We grew up with Her Majesty and mourn the passing of this remarkable and inspiring woman," said LaFlamme in a statement accompanying the announcement.
Read the full story from Star staff
8:08 a.m. ET The gun salute consisting of 96 volleys separated from cannons ten seconds apart to represent the 96 years of Queen Elizabeth II's life are happening worldwide.
8 a.m. ET After seven decades on the throne, Queen Elizabeth II, Britain's longest reigning monarch, died Thursday at Balmoral Castle. She was 96.
Elizabeth is succeeded by her eldest son, Charles. Royal officials confirmed the new monarch will be known as King Charles III.
Here are seven things you need to know about the Queen's passing from the Star's Kevin Jiang.
7:45 a.m. ET: The Senate of Canada Building and the Peace Tower in Ottawa will be lit up in royal blue over the coming days as a tribute to Queen Elizabeth II. A royal cypher will also be projected on the Peace Tower.
The illumination began last night and the Senate of Canada says it will continue from dusk until midnight during the official mourning period for the Queen.
7:32 a.m. ET: Bells are tolling across the UK in honour of Queen Elizabeth II.
7:30 a.m. ET: During her seven visits to Toronto, Queen Elizabeth did plenty of marvelling: at gleaming municipal buildings, suburban malls, grape-stomping exhibitions.
She really wanted to know what makes Toronto tick," says former mayor Art Eggleton.
Eggleton was mayor in 1984. It was Toronto's 150th birthday, and the Queen's second visit to the city. Her first had been in 1951, when she was a young princess touring Toronto in place of her father. A postwar immigration boom had changed the city in the intervening years, something she had acknowledged in 1973, telling the crowd at the Royal York that she was Queen of Canada, not just of one or two ancestral strains."
Read the full story from the Star's Katie Daubs
7:11 a.m. ET: In becoming King Charles III upon the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, the new King took up a nominative legacy dating back some five centuries - a legacy to which, perhaps, he would rather not foster comparisons during his reign.
Though the bar, it seems, is not set particularly high.
His first namesake was heavy-handed and tyrannical, fought constantly with his Parliament, eventually drew the country into civil war and was ultimately beheaded for his troubles after being convicted on charges of high treason. Thereafter, England abolished the monarchy.
His second namesake - Charles II, son of the first Charles - was first named King of Scotland after his father's execution. After his defeat by the monarch-less English, he spent years on the run before regaining the English throne.
Read the full story from the Star's Steve McKinley
6:45 a.m. ET: The English Premier League postpones all games this weekend as mark of respect' following death of Queen Elizabeth II.
6:30 a.m. ET: King Charles III leaves Balmoral Castle in Scotland to head to London a day after the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Britain's new king prepared to meet with the prime minister Friday and address a nation mourning Queen Elizabeth II.
6:17 a.m. ET: The Royal Family have yet to announce a date for a state funeral for the Queen, but have released a notice saying the it is His Majesty The King's wish that a period of Royal Mourning be observed from now until seven days after The Queen's Funeral."
The date of the Funeral will be confirmed in due course," the statement read.
6 a.m. ET: British sports were holding a day of mourning for Queen Elizabeth II, with high-profile golf, cricket and horse racing events cancelled Friday as a mark of respect and the Premier League meeting to discuss whether to call off games scheduled for the weekend.
The BMW PGA Championship, the flagship event on the European tour, was paused near the end of the first round Thursday following the announcement of the queen's death - there were still 30 players out on the course - and there will be no play Friday.
We remain hopeful of restarting at some stage over the weekend," the tour said Friday in a statement, adding that it would be reviewing protocol guidance from Buckingham Palace" while also aligning with the decisions made by other sporting events in Britain.
The England and Wales Cricket Board has already announced that there would be no play on Friday in the third and deciding test between England and South Africa at the Oval. There was no update on whether play would be resuming over the weekend.
Other events called off included the third day of horse racing's St. Leger festival in Doncaster - horse racing was the queen's favourite sport - and cycling's Tour of Britain, which also cancelled the final two stages of the race scheduled for the weekend.
Soccer matches in the English Football League - the three leagues below the Premier League - and in the Scottish lower league will not be played Friday and matches scheduled to be played in Northern Ireland over the weekend were also cancelled.
5:56 a.m. ET: Malcolm Turnbull, the leader of a failed campaign to have an Australian president replace the British monarch as Australia's head of state and who later became prime minister, came close to tears on Friday in paying tribute to Queen Elizabeth II.
Turnbull was chair of the Australian Republican Movement in 1999 when Australians voted at a referendum against the nation becoming a republic, severing its constitutional ties to the queen. He was prime minister between 2015 and 2018, during which time the queen gave him a photograph of herself with her husband Prince Philip.
Turnbull's voice trembled as he recalled looking at the photo on Thursday night before he and his wife Lucy Turnbull went to bed with a sense of dread because of news from Buckingham Palace of the queen's failing health.
I took the portrait of the queen out and set it up and we just thought, What an amazing life. What amazing leadership,'" Turnbull told Australian Broadcasting Corp.
It's the end of an era and let's hope that the future, after the queen's passing, is one where we will have leadership as dedicated and selfless as she has shown," Turnbull added.
5:54 a.m. ET: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol tweeted his condolences on the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
She had a strong belief in the cause of human freedom and left great legacies of dignity," he said. He wrote that her kind heart and good deeds will remain in people's memories.
5:52 a.m. ET: (updated) If this was Sir Elton John's Toronto swan song in terms of concert appearances, then it was a doozy.
Performing in front of a crowd of 45,000 fans for the second night in a row - and for the sixth time as part of his seemingly never-ending Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour" that has been interrupted by the pandemic and health issues - John, 75, had plenty to say about the city where he's not only staged nearly 30 concerts and played for more than 750,000 people since the '70s, but gave him true love and a husband in Torontonian David Furnish among other joys.
I have a lot to thank you for," the legendary piano-playing superstar declared just before launching into Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," the 23rd song of a marathon two-and-a-half hour evening of predominantly chart-topping hits - and his grand finale.
Read the full review from Nick Krewen
5:50 a.m. ET: Canadians mourning the death of Queen Elizabeth II can pay tribute to her in a book of condolences at Rideau Hall starting today.
Gov. General Mary Simon signed the book of condolences Thursday evening ahead of it being made available to the public. Simon, who delivered part of her tribute in her first language, Inuktitut, said people would be sharing words of remembrance about the Queen in countless languages around the world."
An official book of condolences was also opened online Thursday.