India will observe one day of state mourning on Sunday as a mark of respect for Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth, who died on Thursday. The national flag will be flown at half-mast on all government buildings throughout the country.
“Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth-II, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, passed away on September 8, 2022. As a mark of respect to the departed dignitary, the government of India has decided that there will be one-day state mourning on September 11 throughout India,” an official statement said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier expressed his condolences on the demise of the queen. The Queen will be remembered as “a stalwart of our times,” Modi said, adding that “she provided inspiring leadership to her nation and people. She personified dignity and decency in public life.”
World leaders have also paid tribute to her long reign. US President Joe Biden called her a “stateswoman of unmatched dignity and constancy.”
In England, a period of royal mourning will be observed from September 12, the day of the Queen’s funeral, and will last for seven days, according to Buckingham Palace. Royal residences’ flags will remain half-masted until 0800 hrs on the morning after the final day of royal mourning.
Her majesty’s state funeral will take place at 3:30 PM (IST) on Monday at the Westminster Abbey in London, Reuters reported. The coffin will be taken from Balmoral Castle to Edinburgh on Sunday before being flown to London on Tuesday.
Details of the queen’s funeral will be released later, but organisers described the ceremony as a “fitting farewell to one of the defining figures of our times,” according to AP.
Elizabeth died Thursday at Balmoral Castle, her summer home in Scotland. She was 96 years old. The queen’s body currently rests in an oak coffin covered with the royal standard of Scotland in the ballroom of the castle.
Her passing ends an era, the modern Elizabethan age. Her 73-year-old son, Charles, automatically became king upon her death.
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