this is bbc news — i'm kasia madera live in westminster. our top stories... a minute's silence is held for queen elizabeth as people across the uk reflect on her life and legacy. president biden pays his respects at queen elizabeth's lying—in—state — and later made this tribute. our hearts go out to you. you were fortunate to have had herfor 70 years, we all were. the world is better for her. hundreds of world leaders and dignitaries have been attending a reception at buckingham palace hosted by king charles, ahead of his mother's funeral on monday. in the last few minutes,

the queue for people waiting to pay their respects and file past the queen's coffin lying in state has reached capacity and no more are allowed to join. and i'm lewis vaughan—jones. in other news... act swiftly to save your lives — the warning ofjapan�*s prime minister to people living in the path of a huge typhoon making landfall in the south. one of russia's most famous singing stars strongly criticises the war in ukraine, saying russian young men are "dying for illusory aims." we are at westminster, where just within the past few minutes the

queue for people joining to pay tribute to the queen has been closed. so the people behind me will be able to see and pay tribute to the queen lying—in—state at westminster hall, but, well, the people who have potentiallyjoined within the last few moments, they will not be able to make this journey that others have spent hours and hours attending, waiting to pay their respects. earlier on today... a minute's silence was held across the united kingdom in memory of the late queen, on the eve of her state funeral in westminster abbey. to pay tribute to her. herson, king charles, said in a statement tonight that he and his wife, the queen consort camilla, were deeply touched by the many messages of condolence and support they've received from this country and across the world — and that during their tour of the nations of the uk, they were moved "beyond measure" by everyone who came

to pay their respects to his late mother. members of the public are queuing for the finalfew hours in which they will be admitted to westminster hall to see the queen's coffin lying in state. asi as i said, injust the past few moments it has been officially announced that the queue has now closed, so there will be disappointed people. the online tracker that had been provided by the department for digital culture sport and media has now said it will be officially closed. among those who have attended the westminster hall today a bit earlier was president wyden, who was one of the many world leaders and dignitaries who arrived for the funeral on monday. —— was president biden. let's begin with our coverage from nicholas witchell. it is ten days now since the news

came of the queen's death. the new king, charles, arriving at buckingham palace earlier today with a wave to the crowds, has led the country's mourning in the days since. in a message tonight he said he'd been deeply touched by the many messages from around the world. "as we all prepare to say our last farewell, he wrote, i wanted simply among the hundreds of world leaders in london for the state funeral, the president of the united states. his motorcade arrived at the palace of westminster. a few moments later, president biden and the first lady of the united states, drjill biden, stood quietly on a balcony inside westminster hall. like so many thousands of others over the past four days, struck by the intensity of the scene. i think what she gave is a sense of maybe above all, the notion of service. we all owe something,

there is something within our capacity to do that can make things, notjust the world better, but your neighbourhood better, your household better, your workplace better. to all the people of the united kingdom, our hearts go out to you and you were fortunate to have had herfor 70 years, we all were. the world is better for her. as the royal family prepares for the state funeral, from camilla, the queen consort, her reflection on the 70 years of the queen's reign. she has been part of our lives for ever. i'm 75 now and i can't remember anybody except the queen being there. it must have been so difficult for her being a solitary woman, there weren't women prime ministers or women presidents, she was the only one. so i think she carved her own role. i'll always remember that smile. you know, that smile

is unforgettable. many thousands of people have wanted to be a part of this moment. some have queued for many hours or place flowers hours or placed flowers in the designated spaces, or simply travelled to london to absorb the sights and emotions along the route of the procession and outside the abbey church where the funeral will take place. we didn't know what exactly to do, but we wanted to do something. you know, it felt right to come up and do something and bring my son here. you know, i think there's a lot of people who don't know what to do but feel like they need to do something, so itjust felt like the right thing to do was to come up here with everybody else. during the hours of darkness the last visitors will be admitted to the lying—in—state at westminster hall. and then in the morning, the state funeral will take place of her majesty, queen elizabeth ii. nicholas witchell, bbc news.

we are now in those last hours and the people behind me are some of the last who will be visiting, who will be walking past, filing past the queen as she continues to lie in state until the early hours of the morning, 6:30am in the morning. we know officially now that the queue has been closed, so anyone coming will not be able to join the people who are filing quietly behind me, the people who have been there for hours waiting to get their moment to file past and pay tribute to her majesty the queen. a little earlier this evening at 8pm local time, there was a minute's silence for a national moment of reflection. across the uk people came together to pause and to remember on the eve of the state funeral. fergal keane reports. piper plays. the flowers of the forest echoing

across a scottish mountainside. a lament for the fallen, played now in tribute to a queen. and then, on the cusp of silence, in blackpool, the going down of lights.

then out of silence, into the anthem celebrating a new monarch. god save the king. # god save our gracious king. # long live our noble king. # god save the king. # send him victorious. # happy and glorious. # long to reign over us.

# god save the king #. applause. across the land it was a gathering of strangers. for whom the queen was the unifying symbol. i don't think we'll see the likes of our queen again. you know, she's been such a role model all our lives, really. she was very important i to me and i'm starting to get emotional now. because i remember the coronation. i'm old enough to - remember king george vi and him dying and the coronation, and we had a little 12—inch - television and all the neighbours .

came in to watch the coronation, so yes, she has been our queen for a long time j and she served us well. this the silence spoke of respect and affection on the eve of farewell. fergal keane, bbc news. fergal keane bearer earning us of that national minute's silence that took place — that national minute's silence that took place a that national minute's silence that took lace ., ., ., took place a little earlier today. tomorrow _ took place a little earlier today. tomorrow at — took place a little earlier today. tomorrow at the _ took place a little earlier today. tomorrow at the end _ took place a little earlier today. tomorrow at the end of - took place a little earlier today. tomorrow at the end of the - took place a little earlier today. . tomorrow at the end of the service that will be taking place at westminster abbey there will be a two—minute national silence for once again the whole country to reflect and join together, just like all the people behind me who have been queueing for so many hours, the queueing for so many hours, the queue now officially closed, so anybody wanting to join will now not be able to, there is no more that opportunity to bond, as we have been hearing so many stories of people

just bonding together and the scenes outside westminster are incredibly busy, the roads are closed and people are now beginning to queue up to be able to get their positions to be able to take part in what will be happening tomorrow, the procession from westminster hall that will be carrying the queen's coffin to westminster abbey and these are the final people who will have been brought together by the death of her majesty, so many people having been brought together by the queen's death. we can talk to one person who isjoining us live. i'm joined now by lester holloway, the editor of the voice newspaper, a publication aimed at the british african—carribean community. the amount of people that have been brought together is quite unprecedented in terms of what we are seeing, historical moments here will stop so many people brought together by the queen. i wondered if you could just reflect, share your thoughts about the monica? weill.

you could just reflect, share your thoughts about the monica? well, i'm not sure it is — thoughts about the monica? well, i'm not sure it is quite _ thoughts about the monica? well, i'm not sure it is quite unprecedented - not sure it is quite unprecedented if we remember back to the number of people that came out on the very sad death of princess diana, but certainly a lot of people have been touched by the death of queen elizabeth, she is the only monarch that virtually all of us have known and, you know, whether... whatever views people have about the royal family, people feel sympathy for her, you know, her whole family and the grief they must be going through because it is something that affects us all with all our families from time to time.— us all with all our families from time to time. yes, it is good view 'ust to time to time. yes, it is good view just to remind — time to time. yes, it is good view just to remind all _ time to time. yes, it is good view just to remind all of _ time to time. yes, it is good view just to remind all of us _ time to time. yes, it is good view just to remind all of us that - time to time. yes, it is good view just to remind all of us that this l just to remind all of us that this is also a family occasion, of a family in mourning of course, while so many of us are witnessing what is happening in public, this is a family that mourning. you have spoken about king charles and his

relationship with the uk's black community. you said about him? remind us. well, king charles of prince charles, as he was fairly recently, guest edited a guest edition of the voice newspaper, which as you say is the only afro black caribbean newspaper and that was because he wanted to pay tribute to the newspaper's 40th anniversary and saw the walls as we do that the princes trust is also a0 years old because we were both set up at the same time as the result of the same circumstances, the 1981 uprisings or the riots across britain, so the voice was set up to be the voice of black communities because it wasn't being reflected in the mainstream and prince charles set up the trust to give opportunities to turn people's lives around and give them

the opportunity that were otherwise not afforded to them.— not afforded to them. lester holloway. — not afforded to them. lester holloway, thank _ not afforded to them. lester holloway, thank you - not afforded to them. lester holloway, thank you very - not afforded to them. lester i holloway, thank you very much not afforded to them. lester - holloway, thank you very much for reflecting on this, fascinating to hear about how bender prince charles, now of course king charles, was the guest editor of the voice. lester holloway, thank you very much forjoining us tonight on the eve of the queen's funeral, as the late monarch continues to lie in state at westminster hall, this historic building that has seen so much history. these are the images of the people that are still able to file past. they have waited for many, many hours to get to this point. still many thousands of people waiting in the queue, the queue which has now officially being closed, so anybody coming to london who wants to join will not be able to. the queue now officially closed, as the thousands of people behind me wait their turn to pay their respects to her majesty the queen at

westminster hall. lewis. thanks so much for that and of course we will be back in westminster in the hours ahead. president biden will be among around 2,000 other guests — including some 500 heads of state and foreign dignitaries — who will attend the queen's state funeral tomorrow. it will be one of the biggest gatherings of royalty and politicians hosted in the uk for decades. they have been paying their respects to the late queen and signing the book of condolence all afternoon, as our diplomatic correspondent, james landale, reports. some came by themselves in, well, some sort of style. 0thers came together, rather unusually on a bus, but they were all here to honour the queen in perhaps the biggest diplomatic wake scene for decades. wake seen for decades. there was the king and queen of spain. there was his exiled father, juan carlos. there was the president of france and his wife. leaders from the gulf. the king and queen ofjordan.

hundreds of statesmen and women, there to pay their respects and indulge, perhaps, in a little diplomacy. 0thers arrived around the back of the palace. prime ministers and presidents, all guests of the king and other members of the royal family at a formal state reception. on a day of frantic international engagement, the princess of wales even found time to meet the first lady of ukraine. earlier, joe and jill biden had followed other heads of state and government in stopping off at lancaster house to sign a book of condolence. a steady flow of the global great and sometimes good, paying their respects on behalf of themselves and their countries. i so wish eternal peace to her wonderful, generous spirit and of course, every good wish to king charles iii. on behalf of the government and people of barbados that i record my sincere

sympathy to all of great britain and especially to the members of the royal family. we appreciated very much her- leadership of the commonwealth. leadership of the commonwealth, which saw a dramatic _ transformation from a nation of eight countries when she went on to the throne to 56 - at the time of her death. thank you, your majesty, thank you for your dedication. the people of fiji will never forget you. many also came to see the lying—in—state. not queueing, of course, butjoining the public to stand in silence and perhaps some awe before the coffin of a woman whose reign will outlast their own. and despite the opposition of some mps and peers who have been sanctioned by beijing, a delegation from china also came to westminster hall, including the vice president,

on the right, who will attend the funeral tomorrow. one man who will not be coming to the abbey tomorrow is saudi arabia's crown prince and de facto ruler, mohammad bin salman, who has been accused of being involved in the murder of a journalist — accusations he has denied. several leaders, including canada's prime minister, also dropped by downing street for what officials said were informal conversations with liz truss. earlier he paid his own tribute to the queen. i first met her majesty when i was seven years old and her presence throughout my life had been constant, inspiring and graceful. as prime minister, i benefited from her counsel, her thoughtfulness, her curiosity, her sense of humour. tomorrow, the diplomacy will be put on hold as the leaders arrive at westminster abbey and the focus returns to the monarch they have come to mourn. james landale, bbc news.

among the world leaders in that reception, there was the australian prime minister, anthony albanese. we can go live to sydney and speak to our correspondent, shaimaa khalil. hello, how is australia marking the event? ~ . , hello, how is australia marking the event? ~ ., , �* ., hello, how is australia marking the event? ~ �* ., ., event? well, as britain and the world aet event? well, as britain and the world get ready _ event? well, as britain and the world get ready to _ event? well, as britain and the world get ready to say - event? well, as britain and the world get ready to say goodbye event? well, as britain and the i world get ready to say goodbye to queen elizabeth ii, australia is waking up to that day and also remembering a monarch that has had a long and enduring relationship with the country and its people. many australians view the queen not only as the head of state and the monarch for so long, but also as a friend of australia. the flag is flying at half mast here at the sydney harbour bridge. it will be flying at half mast on all of the australian landmarks across the country,

really, until after the funeral. you mentioned there the prime minister, anthony albanese ee, was among the dignitaries and heads of state and leaders in london and the moment he arrived there he laid flowers next to an australian flag in green park, excuse me, and said this was a tribute to a life well lived and he said, all around us we can see affection to her majesty the queen. he also met king charles iii, he met the prime minister, liz truss, and over the past few days, really, since the announcement, when you speak to people here in australia there is a mixed emotion. of course, there is a mixed emotion. of course, there is a mixed emotion. of course, there is that sense of loss of the only monarch that most people here have known, goodwill to the king, king charles iii, who also has a very close relationship with australia, but as well the queen's death has pushed that discussion of

republican news and whether australia should be a republic with a president as head of state has pushed that debate to the fore. the prime minister was asked about that many times, including in london by the australian media and he said, look, now is not the time to speak politics, now is not the time to talk about this. this is a time to commemorate the queen and i think this is really something that... that you can notice here in australia, that separation, even the staunchest republicans will tell you that, yes, we want australia to be a republic, but there is that deep respect and admiration for queen elizabeth ii and her long relationship with the country. of course, she arrived here at the sydney harbour in that historic first visit in 195a, being the first and only reigning monarch to visit australia and since then she has come back 15 times and so many people here have so many memories about that monarch and today is the

day that people remember that and of course on thursday the 22nd of september it will be a national day of mourning, with a minute's silence at 11am australian time and it will be a public holiday as well. qm. be a public holiday as well. 0k, shaimaa khalil, _ be a public holiday as well. 0k, shaimaa khalil, thank you so much for that. the prime minister ofjapan has urged people to move swiftly to save their lives as the country is hit by one of the most destructive typhoons in years. fumio kishida's warning comes as the authorities urgently advised 3 million people to leave their homes, as a huge storm moves across the southern island of kyushu. in ukraine ukrainian authorities are still recovering bodies from izyum. bodies are being assumed from a mass burial site on the edge of the city.

0ur correspondence james waterhouse has more now from here. since ukraine forced russia out for the first time since the invasion and retook territory that was taken, it now seems to be focusing on investigating what the invaders did and what moscow is going to do next. in the case of the city of izyum, while bodies continue to be recovered from a mass grave, the latest claim from kyiv is that evidence has been uncovered which suggests that torture chambers were used by russian troops. there are reports of people being tortured and a city being littered with mines. there has again today been heavy fighting in the kharkiv region, where ukraine has enjoyed some recent successes, but on the question of what russia will look to do next, well, the thought from the uk ministry of defence is that it will look to strike more civilian targets in ukraine, while it is frustrated on the battlefield. but this is something russia has done throughout this war, it has hit targets

across this vast country to try to exert influence and undermine ukrainian morale, but on that latter point in his latest address president zelensky has said, just because we have regained vast swathes of territory, this does not mean there will be a lull. what russia will hope is that the very speed of their retreat will force ukraine to pause. thanks to james for that. now, one of russia's most famous singers has publicly condemned the war in ukraine. alla poogachova said she wanted to be declared a foreign agent in solidarity with her husband, who's another outspoken critic of the conflict. 0ur russia editor, steve rosenberg, told us the intervention is significant, as alla poogachova is more than just a pop star. she is super popular, she is admired, she is adored, she is respected across russia and aside from her wonderful voice, when she has something to say, people tend to sit up and listen.

the statement that she issued today was more than just a staunch defence of her husband, it was a stinging criticism, really, of what the kremlin still calls its special military operation. some strong language, and at one point she said, "our lads," meaning russian soldiers, "are dying for illusionary aims that make our country a pariah and the lives of our citizens extremely difficult." i reckon that language like that coming from someone like that, someone as famous as alla pugacheva, is going to infuriate the kremlin. so i suspect we will see attempts to discredit alla pugacheva in the state media. but it's going to be fascinating to see whether her public criticism will affect public opinion here and spark more public opposition to the special operation. now, you may remember, recently several town councillors in russia expressed public criticism of vladimir putin and called on him to resign.

today, we hear the criticism from alla pugacheva. is there a pattern here? i think it is too early to tell, but certainly the message from the kremlin is, as far as they are concerned, everything is going according to plan. thanks to steve for that. puerto rico's entire electricity grid has been knocked out by hurricane fiona, which has made landfall on the island's south—west coast with sustained winds of 1a0 kilometres an hour. the us territory's population of 3.3 million is without power and the us national hurricane centre says catastrophic flooding is expected. it comes just five years after the island was devastated by hurricane maria. president biden has approved an emergency declaration, allowing the federal authorities to provide disaster relief. now, when news of the queen's death

broke last week there was one striking image in particular that was broadcast around the world, a portrait of the monarchy painted by the artist richard stone. he has been speaking to our reporter, richard daniel. it was an image seen around the world, a portrait completed 30 years ago by the essex artist, richard stone. , . , , , stone. this was the very first sketch for — stone. this was the very first sketch for the _ stone. this was the very first sketch for the project - stone. this was the very first sketch for the project i - stone. this was the very first sketch for the project i had . stone. this was the very first i sketch for the project i had been commissioned to paint of the queen. the very first sitting, when i was setting out to capture notjust a likeness, but something in herface that reflected her personality. b, that reflected her personality. a year later, this life—size head study was published with the queen's approval, but some newspapers were scaling. i was absolutely mortified

and immediately phoned buckingham palace, feeling i had really let the queen down, but i was reassured that everything was just fine. find queen down, but i was reassured that everything was just fine.— everything was 'ust fine. and so, my riaht hand everything wasjust fine. and so, my right hand remained _ everything wasjust fine. and so, my right hand remained steady - everything wasjust fine. and so, my right hand remained steady and - everything wasjust fine. and so, my right hand remained steady and i - right hand remained steady and i continued with the work. bitter right hand remained steady and i continued with the work.- continued with the work. after 9 more sittings. — continued with the work. after 9 more sittings, the _ continued with the work. after 9 more sittings, the portrait, - more sittings, the portrait, commissioned by the borough of colchester, was unveiled at the national portrait gallery. it colchester, was unveiled at the national portrait gallery.- colchester, was unveiled at the national portrait gallery. it was a labour of love. _ national portrait gallery. it was a labour of love. and _ national portrait gallery. it was a labour of love. and i _ national portrait gallery. it was a labour of love. and i enjoyed . national portrait gallery. it was a i labour of love. and i enjoyed every single second of agonising over that picture. i so wanted to get it right. i mean, it was a huge privilege to spend so much time with the queen and she was terribly generous with her time. we all knew the queen was 96 and getting increasingly frail. but her passing was so quick, none of us were prepared for that. and then coupled with the fact that it was my portrait that was being broadcast

and transmitted around the world... it was a goose bumps moment. i am still trying to come to terms with it, i can't quite believe that we now have a king. he it, i can't quite believe that we now have a king.— it, i can't quite believe that we now have a king. he painted his first ro al now have a king. he painted his first royal portrait _ now have a king. he painted his first royal portrait aged - now have a king. he painted his first royal portrait aged just - now have a king. he painted his first royal portrait aged just 21 l first royal portrait aged just 21 and it is his dearest wish that one day he might be asked to paint the king. i day he might be asked to paint the kinu. ., day he might be asked to paint the kin. _ ., ., day he might be asked to paint the kinu. ., ., ., king. i would love to. i so en'oyed my sittings— king. i would love to. i so en'oyed my sittings with i king. i would love to. i so en'oyed my sittings with him in * king. i would love to. i so en'oyed my sittings with him in the h king. i would love to. i so enjoyed my sittings with him in the past. l king. i would love to. i so enjoyed i my sittings with him in the past. he is a truly remarkable man stop you sittings with him have been a great pleasure because we have just talked about art. and if that opportunity ever arose, about art. and if that opportunity everarose, i about art. and if that opportunity ever arose, i would love to accept. next shot a young girl who has sent a poem to the queen during her platinumjubilee says a poem to the queen during her platinum jubilee says she was amazed to get a thank you card the day after the late monarch died. nine—year—old

lewis from southampton in the south of england has said she will