Huge crowds thronged the streets of London and at Windsor Castle to witness the moving, grand processions and ceremonies.

The death of Britain's longest-reigning monarch has prompted hundreds of thousands of people to gather at royal palaces across the country to express their condolences.

Her first big announcement, on only her second full day in office, had been a more than 100 billion pound package to ease the pain of spiralling energy prices.

Since Elizabeth's death aged 96 at Balmoral Castle, her Scottish holiday home, a choreographed series of plans to mourn Britain's monarch of 70 years has been put into operation.

A royal gun salute will be fired in London, with one round fired for each year of the 96-year-old queen's life.

The death of the queen, Britain's longest-reigning monarch and a towering presence on the world stage for seven decades, has drawn condolences from around the world.

The story of how Queen Elizabeth handled an encounter with an American hiker who did not recognise her, revealed the fun-loving side of her personality that the public rarely saw.

Ordinary people in Britain and around the globe pay their own respects to a woman who had been the face of her nation for more than 70 years.

A dignified, dependable figure who reigned longer than any other British monarch, Elizabeth helped steer the institution into the modern world.

In some quarters there are doubts about the role a distant monarch should play in the 21st century.

Having the new leader appointed at Balmoral will provide certainty for the new prime minister's diary and avoid last-minute changes, a palace source says.

Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee celebrations will be only the ninth such celebration by a British monarch since king George III in 1809.