The UK is this morning grieving the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the country's longest-serving monarch.

Details have started to emerge about events that will be held to remember the Queen and honour the King, starting today with parliament convening and a public memorial service at St Paul's Cathedral.

In the rain they gathered outside Buckingham Palace.

Most Britons have only lived under the Queen's reign.

For decades, Queen Elizabeth II was a figure of national pride, a symbol of stability and continuity, who was respected around the world. 

The prime minister of New Zealand has told how she was woken at 5am by a police officer shining a torch into her bedroom to tell her the news of the Queen's death.

The American president has paid tribute to a "steadying presence, a source of comfort and pride for generations" in his fulsome and personal statement on the passing of the Queen.

The official Royal Family website was changed to mark the Queen's death on Thursday.

The Queen's death marks a monumental and disruptive moment in the history of the nation.

The nation is in mourning after the death of its longest serving monarch Queen Elizabeth II.