windsor prepares its final farewell to the duke of edinburgh, whose funeral will be held tomorrow at the castle. tonight, buckingham palace released a new photo of the duke and queen in happy, relaxed times, in the cairngorms in 2003. the archbishop of canterbury, who will play a key part in the funeral service, said the queen would face the day as a monarch and a grieving widow. she's the queen. she will behave with the extraordinary dignity and extraordinary courage that she always does. we'll be looking at how the royal family will have to mourn, like so many others this last year, bound by the covid restrictions. also on the programme... the actress helen mccrory, known for her roles in peaky blinders

and the harry potter films, has died of cancer at the age of 52. in the us, graphic police footage shows an officer shooting dead a 13—year—boy, who appeared unarmed when he was killed. covid infections across all parts of the uk fall to their lowest levels since the autumn. just keep your head down a little bit. and we have a special report from ukraine, where tensions build — as russian troops gather along the country's eastern border. coming up in the sport on the bbc news channel — delight for dan evans. the british number one comes from a set down to seal his place in the semifinals of the monte carlo masters. good evening. final preparations are being made

tonight, for the funeral of the duke of edinburgh tomorrow at windsor castle. the archbishop of canterbury, who will play a key part in the service, has spoken of what he called an "anguished moment" for the queen. justin welby told the bbc that the queen, as a grieving widow, now found herself in the same position as millions of others who've lost family members in the pandemic. the funeral will be a more muted event, with people being told not to go to windsor because of covid restrictions, and to watch proceedings on tv. we'll have more on the reflections from the archbishop in just a moment, but first our royal correspondent nicholas witchell reports from windsor, on the plans being made for tomorrow's ceremony. a husband and wife, plainly happy in each other�*s company — a previously private image taken at balmoral in 2003, selected by the queen to be published on the eve of her husband's funeral. outside st george's chapel,

within windsor castle, some of the flowers left by members of the public have been laid out on the lawns. close by, a wreath from the prime minister, with a card paying tribute to a man to whom the nation owes more than words can say. there were wreaths too from commonwealth nations, from canada and new zealand — countries which the duke had often visited. the earl and countess of wessex and their daughter came to inspect the flowers and some of the cards and other tributes which have been left, and this as the final touches for tomorrow's funeral were being put into place. all the military contingents who are involved in the short ceremonial procession have completed their main preparations. at the centre of the procession will be the land rover hearse which the duke helped to design. it will be in the castle�*s central quadrangle that the proceedings will begin. the service detachments

will be drawn up. a few moments after 2:40 tomorrow the duke's coffin will be borne from the state entrance to be placed on the land rover. at 2:45 the small procession will step off for the eight—minute journey through the castle. some members of the royalfamily will walk behind the coffin. the queen will follow in a limousine. the route will be lined by the military. at 2:53 the coffin will arrive at the west steps of st george's chapel. it will be borne to the top of the steps, where it will pause. at three o'clock a one—minute silence will be observed, before the coffin enters the chapel for the funeral service. inside the chapel, the queen will sit by herself. like all the 30 members of the congregation she will wear a mask. at one point the chapel will echo to the bugle call for action stations, a reminder of the duke's service as an officer in the royal navy in the second world war.

in the town of windsor many of the residents have their own stories of the duke. you would see him out on his carriage and he would always acknowledge you, he would always say hello to the group of us as we were walking. it will be very strange because we've only ever known prince philip in my life, he's always been here. so, a castle which has witnessed many moments in britain's long royal history is ready for another. the weather forecast for tomorrow is good, but both the palace and the police are hoping that won't tempt people to come to windsor. they've reiterated the point that no part of the funeral will be visible to spectators. the only way to follow it is to watch it on television. audiences around the world will watch and listen as the queen bids farewell to the man she described as her "beloved husband". nicholas witchell, bbc news, windsor. like all other funerals this year, the service for prince philip will be subject to covid restrictions, with the numbers

limited to 30, and social distancing rules requiring the queen to sit alone. a little earlier, i spoke to the archbishop of canterbury as he prepared for his part in the service, and i began by asking him what the emotional impact of the occasion — under these strict restrictions — will be on her majesty. she's the queen. she will behave with the extraordinary dignity and extraordinary courage that she always does. and at the same time, she is saying farewell to someone to whom she was married for 73 years. i think that must be a very, very profound thing in anybody�*s life, and i hope that the whole nation, if they believe in that, then they pray for her, if they don't, they sympathise and in their hearts offer their condolences to her, and the hope for her to find strength in what must be an anguished moment.

because she is both the monarch and a grieving wife? she is, a grieving widow, and over the last year, there's literally millions of people around the world who've been in her position, and they will identify especially. in one sense, part of the burden that her majesty carries is that burden of representing everyone in her person. and that's a heavy burden. so, this funeral will be a national event, but also one that resonates very personally for a lot of people. i think it will resonate very deeply for a lot of people. i think there will be tears in many homes, because other names will be on their minds, faces they've lost that they don't see again, funerals that they couldn't go to, as many haven't been able to go to this one. that will break many a heart.

this is clearly a big moment in the nation's life, how do you hope that we will emerge from it? i suspect that what the duke would say is, now get on with it. and i hope that we will see this moment as something we share in, in the grief of this very, very hard year that we've all gone through, and then we'll say, the best thing we can do is to do what he did in all his life, just get on with it. archbishop, thank you. thank you. that was the archbishop of canterbury speaking to me earlier today. we'll be live in windsor later in the programme, with more details about tomorrow's funeral ceremony. the actress helen mccrory, best known for starring in the hit bbc series peaky blinders and in the harry potterfilms, has died from cancer at the age of 52. her husband, the actor damian lewis, said he'd lost a "beautiful and mighty woman" who'd passed away peacefully at home,

surrounded by loved ones. 0ur arts correspondent david sillito looks back at her life. peaky blinders, tv�*s �*20s criminal gang whose business affairs were run by aunt polly. i'm having trouble these days, i'm twice the man you are. played by helen mccrory. i booked you both tickets for the next boat from liverpool to new york. it was her best—known tv role, for this award—winning star of stage and screen. why? you met her often enough before. she played cherie blair twice, the first, in the film the queen. just remember, you're a man that's just been elected by the whole nation. her on—screen husband michael sheen today paid tribute. she was, he said, funny, passionate, smart, one of the greatest actors of our time. demonstrates a reckless disregard... sam mendes, who directed her

injames bond, said she was an astonishing talent, a fabulous person. of course. is he alive? and to harry potter fans, jk rowling said she was an extraordinary woman. in 2019 she presented have i got news for you. she was also in recent months an organiser with her husband, the actor damian lewis, of a scheme providing hot meals for nhs staff during the pandemic. and today, it was damian lewis who wrote, i am today, it was damian lewis who wrote, iam heartbroken today, it was damian lewis who wrote, i am heartbroken to announce that after an heroic battle with cancer the beautiful and mighty woman that is helen mccrory has died peacefully at home surrounded by a wave of love from friends and family. she died as she lived,

fearlessly, god, we loved her and know how lucky we are to have had her in our lives. helen mccrory, 52, there were many great roles she had yet to play. the actress helen mccrory, whose death was announced today. let's turn now to the coronavirus pandemic, and the latest government figures show that there were 2,596 new coronavirus infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period, which means that on average the number of new cases reported per day in the last week is 2,588. the latest daily figure for the number of people across the uk in hospital with coronavirus is 2,291. 3a deaths were reported, that's people who died within 28 days of a positive covid—i9 test. on average in the past week, 26 deaths were announced every day. the total number of deaths so far across the uk is 127,225.

as for the continuing vaccination programme, 129,782 people have had theirfirst dose of a covid—i9 vaccine in the latest 24—hour period, taking the overall number of people who've had their firstjab to over 32.5 million. the number of people who've had their second dose of the vaccine in the latest 2a hour period is 417,683. that takes the overall number of people who've had their second jab to nearly nine million people. 0ur health editor, hugh pym, is here. there is other data out today, showing that the infection level is at its lowest since september? yes. at its lowest since september? yes, the office for— at its lowest since september? yes, the office for national— at its lowest since september? yes the office for national statistics survey covering those in the community who don't know they've got the virus because they haven't got symptoms, that shows quite a big drop since january. the number of people with the virus out there down

90% and the lowest since september and infection rates falling in all the nations of the uk, but of course last week schools were still closed for holidays and we haven't got to the opening up we've seen in different parts of the uk this week, so policymakers next week will be watching the data very closely to see what has developed.- watching the data very closely to see what has developed. there is advice out _ see what has developed. there is advice out today _ see what has developed. there is advice out today for _ see what has developed. there is advice out today for pregnant - see what has developed. there is - advice out today for pregnant women about vaccinations? yes. advice out today for pregnant women about vaccinations?— about vaccinations? yes, up until now the advice _ about vaccinations? yes, up until now the advice for _ about vaccinations? yes, up until now the advice for pregnant - about vaccinations? yes, up until. now the advice for pregnant women has been rather unclear. those who work in professions like health and social care more exposed to the virus and those with underlying health constellation is subject to conversations with their doctors were offered the vaccines but others were offered the vaccines but others were left not totally sure. now the jcvi, the advisory committee, says all pregnant women should be offered the vaccine. that's because in the united states, 90,000 pregnant women have been givenjabs, mainly united states, 90,000 pregnant women have been given jabs, mainly pfizer and moderna, and no real safety concerns have emerged there, so the jcvi advice and recommendation is

that pfizer and moderna should be offered to pregnant women going down through the age groups when they qualify, and that's been widely welcomed tonight by health and medical leaders.— welcomed tonight by health and medical leaders. hugh pym, many thanks. the mayor of chicago has appealed for calm after the release of footage showing an unarmed 13—year—old boy being shot dead by a policeman last month. the video shows adam toledo with his hands up and with no weapon. the police film shows a handgun near the spot where he fell. the teenager's death comes at a time of continuing high tension in the us about police killings. barbara plett usher is in chicago for us tonight. yes, adam toledo was killed in the alleyway right behind me and he was one of the youngest people killed by police in recent years, and so of course there is outrage, and that has been amplified by the fact that there was this delay in the release of the footage, it took more than

two weeks, and during that time, police talked about an armed confrontation. and on top of that, this is all happening at the same time as the trial for the killing of george floyd, which also resonates deeply here. stop! the policeman chases the boy down an alleyway. "raise your hands," he shouts. then a shot is fired. drop it! gunshot. police had said the boy, adam toledo, was carrying a gun. but the video shows him raising empty hands before he falls to the ground. 19 seconds from start to finish. get me an ambulance up here now. the distraught officer, eric stillman, calls for medical backup, but they can't save adam. it seems he had dropped his weapon before turning round. even as our understanding of this incident continues to evolve, this remains a complicated and nuanced story. and we all must proceed with deep empathy and calm. and importantly, peace.

it was community activists who fought hard to see the video, to find out exactly what happened. adam keeps running, he goes inside here, i and as he's going inside, officers tell him, "stop, i turn, put your hands up." he puts his hands up, and poom, he gets shot, he lands here. - what do you make of the fact that there was a gun found? so, yeah, most of the times police plants this type of stuff, _ so we don't trust them, | and yeah, he could have probably dropped it, . but again, he complied. |the officer ordered him to stop, | he stopped, he raised his hands. so, he could have tackled him, i he could have done 90 different things, not killed a child. he didn't have to shoot him. the police union defended its officer, claiming he had to make a split—second decision on whether to fire. gunshot. chanting. another shooting this week, in minneapolis, triggered nights of protests against police.

the killing of a young black man at a traffic stop has become one more flashpoint in a year of demonstrations for racialjustice. and now they have also started shouting adam toledo's name here. in chicago, his death has stirred up familiar tensions. there were regular protests here last year after the killing of george floyd. the city had been preparing for a reaction to the verdict in that trial already, before this happened. the mayor and the family are urging calm. barbara plett usher, bbc news, chicago. escalating tensions between ukraine and russia have been the focus of international talks between ukraine's president and the leaders of france and germany. volodymyr zelensky has been anxious to increase international support following the recent build—up of russian troops along ukraine's eastern border and in crimea. there have been tensions between russia and ukraine ever since russia annexed the crimea in april 2014, and russian—backed

forces seized a large swathe of eastern ukraine's donetsk and luhansk regions, coloured in turquoise here. a ceasefire was negotiated in 2015, but it remains fragile. 0ur correspondentjonah fisher reports now from the front line near marinka in eastern ukraine. rpg shell. yours, or theirs? theirs. in eastern ukraine a war that had been dormant is coming back to life. just keep your head down a little bit. this is marinka. just a hundred metres separate these ukrainian army trenches from the positions of the russian—backed forces. for the last six years very little has changed here along the front line in eastern ukraine, but the last few weeks has seen a very dramatic shift in mood,

and that's because on the russian side of the border there's been a massive build—up of both personnel and equipment. they have their trenches over there. news of the troop movements have coincided with a deterioration of the situation on the ground. how seriously are soldiers here taking the possibility of russia launching a full—scale invasion? at war you always have to be serious. it doesn't matter if you are expecting for escalation or you do not, but no matter what will happen we will do ourjob. we will stand here until the end. during our time in the trenches we get a glimpse of how tense things have become. what's going on? 0ver there, 600 metres from us, is a drone. a drone. yeah, an enemy drone.

they are usually carrying charges or grenades. it's better to stay over here. the ukrainian soldiers open fire, but fail to hit the drone. yet another breach of a tattered ceasefire. along the front line, those who can leave have long gone. nalia, a 72—year—old widow, has had no choice but to stay, deciding each day whether to spend her small pension on firewood or on food. her memories are still fresh of the intense fighting of seven years ago. translation: so many people in our village were killed. - there were young women and children shot in their homes. wars are so pointless.

0n the roads we see signs that ukraine is getting battle ready. the hope here is that russia is flexing its military muscle rather than preparing for all—out war. jonah fisher, bbc news, in eastern ukraine. 0ur correspondent steve rosenberg is in moscow. steve, what can we read into what russia is doing?— steve, what can we read into what russia is doing? well, we're back to the question — russia is doing? well, we're back to the question that _ russia is doing? well, we're back to the question that we _ russia is doing? well, we're back to the question that we have _ russia is doing? well, we're back to the question that we have heard - russia is doing? well, we're back to the question that we have heard sol the question that we have heard so often, really. what is radamie putin thinking, what is he planning? what we know, i think, thinking, what is he planning? what we know, ithink, is thinking, what is he planning? what we know, i think, is that president putin doesn't normally advertise military action ahead of time, so, in 2014 he surprised everyone when he sent special forces into ukraine to annex crimea. this time round, moscow isn't hiding the fact that it is moving troops around, building up troop numbers, possibly to send a message washington, tojoe biden, look at me, talk to me. and despite

the diplomatic tit—for—tat that we have been seeing here, us sanctions against russia and today russian sanctions against the us, talks and the possibility of a us— russia summit, that is a possibility, but for that to happen, there must be an escalation in tension, and the concern is, in europe, in nato and in america, that russia's actions are destabilising the situation. steve rosenberg, many thanks. labour have written to the head of the civil service to ask him to investigate whether the health secretary matt hancock breached the ministerial code after it emerged he has shares in a company that can bid for nhs contracts in england. mr hancock declared in the latest register of mps' interests that he acquired more than 15% of topwood limited, which specialises in the secure storage and shredding of documents. the government says mr hancock has acted "entirely properly" and has no active role in running the company.

a leading pro—democracy campaigner in hong kong, the billionaire media owner jimmy lai, has beenjailed for 14 months for his role in large street protests two years ago. eight other activists also received sentences. this evening, the foreign secretary, dominic raab, called on china to stop prosecuting pro—democracy campaigners in hong kong, from where our correspondent danny vincent sent this report. crowd chants. outside the court, cries of hong kongers hold on until the end, but today's sentencing will be seen here as a powerful message to those who dare to oppose beijing. veterans of the pro—democracy movement sentenced for taking part in peaceful marches two years ago. translation: it creates a chilling effect which makes citizens - afraid of speaking up, and it also makes a society gradually lose a rational, patient and peaceful voice

to communicate with the government. we will work with those who are inside the prison and the fight goes on, and so don't say the game is over, hong kong is finished — it is not. but there are many more trials to come. today, billionaire media tycoonjimmy lai was given a one—year sentence, but his real legal battles have only just begun. he now faces a possible life sentence under a sweeping national security law. there have been more than 10,000 arrests across the city since the protest movement began. most, young activists, but the sight of pro—democracy veterans in court today underlines just how little room there is here for the political opposition. we were given exclusive access to folloinmmy lai — and his opposition newspaper — in the build to his court case.

fear is the most inexpensive and convenient way of grooming people and controlling people. beijing says it's restoring stability in the city and has ended violent protest, but for many in hong kong the quest to protect freedoms granted here will go on. danny vincent, bbc news, hong kong. china has said it is willing to co—operate more with some european countries over the challenges of climate change, as the argument continues over which of the major economies is the biggest polluter. president xijinping made the pledge during a video summit with the leaders of germany and france. our science editor, david shukman, reports. china is the world's greatest factory and its biggest polluter, and america is the second largest. together, they account for nearly half of global emissions, and there's now a us president determined to change that. we can't wait any longer.

we see it with our own eyes, we feel it, we know it in our bones. and it's time to act. so he's pushing for a lot more green energy and he's reversing the trump years by sending his envoy john kerry worldwide. secretary kerry, can we avert climate catastrophe? - including the uk last month, and crucially, china just now. we cannot solve the climate issue without china beginning to reduce their emissions. this is the key to the global puzzle. biden has to figure out a way to compel beijing to begin to cut their emissions, or all the efforts we're making domestically are going to be ineffectual. one of the big arguments is over which of these two giant polluters should do more. the us points out that it produces about 14% of the global total of emissions, while china releases about twice that. but for its part, china says look

instead at the accumulation of greenhouse gases since 1750 — america has emitted about a quarter of those, while china, which only industrialised relatively recently, has produced far fewer. another dispute is over coal. beijing is encouraging others to burn more of it. i filmed these chinese workers at a coal—fired power station in serbia, one of dozens of projects around the world. and this comes as pressure over human rights leads to worsening international relations, which may mean china sticks with coal — it's got big reserves which it can rely on. if you are looking to a greater tension across the world and particularly a greater confrontation with the united states, you probably want to hedge your bets and keep a hold of coal, because there is so much uncertainty in the world. today, chinese television reported on president xi having virtual talks with the leaders

of france and germany. climate change was the key topic. the pace of diplomacy on this is accelerating. david shukman, bbc news. voters across scotland will go to the polls on 6th may to elect members of the scottish parliament. today, the scottish liberal democrats launched their manifesto with a promise to put the recovery from the pandemic ahead of any independence referendum. our scotland editor, sarah smith, reports. as the smallest party in the last scottish parliament, lib dems have to make an effort to get noticed. today, their leader turned barista for the cameras. do you want the legs to move as well? willie rennie has made colourful photo calls a signature move... we like to organise our visits to send a message... ..including rather amorous pigs during the last election. you are the smallest party in the scottish parliament, what difference can the liberal democrats make? i can bring people together, i did that in the last year through the pandemic, working with scottish ministers to get things done.

we got £120 million extra for mental health, we got £80 million extra for education, we challenged them on things like the police in previous years. this time, lib dem proposals include... the party are also against scottish independence and would oppose another referendum. no, i don't believe we should have a referendum. i'm not in favour of one, i'm not in favour of independence. if people have voted for a majority of msps who do support independence, how can the liberal democrats stand in the way of a democratic choice about scotland's future? because i've said during the election that i am against independence. i will never vote for it, i will never encourage it, i will never support it, because i don't think it's right to divide the country when we should

be focusing on recovery from the pandemic. it's really simple for people, they need to just vote for the liberal democrats if they want to stop all this nonsense. the liberal democrats don't see themselves as the next scottish government, or even partners in a coalition, but the way the electoral system works here, it's really difficult for any party to get an overall majority, so the smaller parties can sometimes get some of their priorities implemented. sarah smith, bbc news, edinburgh. there will be elections to the welsh parliament, the senedd, on the same day as those in scotland, and today the welsh lib dems also launched their manifesto. their leader, jane dodds, pledged to put post—pandemic recovery first by freezing business rates and by creating a £500 million welsh towns fund. we want to make sure that we support our high streets and our small businesses. we want to abolish business rates and have a much more different model. on mental health, we want a 24/7

mental health service. for our carers, we want to make sure they have a living wage,