sweeping in from the thundery rain sweeping in from the south—west. under clear skies across northern scotland, northern england and northern ireland, we could see a touch of frost. tomorrow, this rain continues to move north and it will deposit transient snow in the hills across the lake district, the pennines and southern scotland. behind it, a mixture of sunshine and showers, windy conditions, and across the north of scotland, something brighter but still those wintry showers.— something brighter but still those wint showers. ., ~ , . the death of the queen created headlines around the world. months earlier, they had celebrated the platinum jubilee. earlier, they had celebrated the platinumjubilee. daniela relph reflects on the royal year.

a year the world mourned queen elizabeth ii. # i am the resurrection. her funeral a show of pomp and precision like few had ever seen. # he that believeth in me. thousands joined the queue to see the queen lying in state. for the new king, his was a public grief. just three months earlier, the queen

celebrated her platinum jubilee. with herfamily, the nation... oh, dear. and paddington. perhaps you would like a marmalade sandwich? i always keep one for emergencies. so do i. i keep mine in here. 0h! the last official duty of queen elizabeth ii at her balmoral estate in scotland, meeting the new prime minister — back then — liz truss. two days later came news that the queen was unwell and her doctors were concerned. members of the royal

family flew to scotland. it was clear the situation was grave. just after 6.30pm on thursday 8th september, the announcement that an historic 70—year reign was at an end. huw edwards: the bbc is interrupting its normal programmes to bring you an important announcement. buckingham palace has announced the death of her majesty queen elizabeth ii. in a statement, the palace said the queen died peacefully at balmoral this afternoon. a stable centre during a reign of immense change, the only monarch most have known.

people wanted to pay their respects. the day after his mother's death, the new king, charles iii, returned to london from balmoral with camilla, the queen consort. before going into buckingham palace, he met the crowds gathered outside. cheering. then a first walk through the gates as king and queen consort. from here, he made his first address to the nation as sovereign. and to my darling mama, as you begin your last greatjourney tojoin my dear late papa, i want simply to say this. thank you. thank you for your love and devotion to our family and to the family of nations you have served so diligently all these years. may flights of angels

sing thee to thy rest. the days ahead were filled with ritual and ceremony, some of it dating back centuries. the crown of the united kingdom of great britain and northern ireland is solely and rightfully come to the prince charles philip arthur george. god save the king. all: god save the king! the accession council gathered at st james's palace, former prime ministers, members of the royal family and other dignitaries, as charles iii was officially proclaimed as the new monarch. the queen's death at balmoral meant scotland would play an important role in the public mourning.

three days after she died, the queen's coffin left the royal estate for edinburgh. slowly, the cortege wound through the breathtaking beauty of deeside, where the royal family had spent so many happy summers. the queen was a neighbour to many here, and they came out to say goodbye, sometimes in their own unique way. arriving in edinburgh, the queen's coffin was first taken to the palace of holyroodhouse. in a moving moment, her daughter princess anne curtsied to her mother's coffin as it was taken into the royal residence. the following day, the focus moved to st giles' cathedral,

where for almost 2a hours, the public filed past to view the lying at rest. on tuesday 13th september, the queen left scotland for the last time as the public mourning moved to london. through the gloomy, drizzly skies, an raf aircraft brought the queen back to northolt, the raf base from where she had left her balmoral earlier in the summer. and as the evening set in, the state hearse took the queen to buckingham palace. through the suburbs of west london, traffic stopped, main roads closed, people came out to see.

the involvement of the public was to be part of all events leading up to the funeral. thousands lined the streets of central london to see the journey to westminster hall for lying in state. the queen's four children walked behind their mother's coffin, as did some of her grandchildren including princes william and harry. prince william has since spoken of the memories this brought back of his mother's funeral. at westminster hall, queen elizabeth ii lay in state until the day of her funeral. tens of thousands came to share this experience in silence, in prayer, sometimes in tears, and they had waited many hours to do so.

the queue to see the queen lying in state became a place where memories were shared, friendships made. it stretched back for miles, and at times the waiting was reported to be close to 2a hours. but that didn't put people off. no one knows each other, we're all here on our own, and then there's the sense that everyone is here for the same reason. it's been tiring, but it's been fine. there's been good banter and the queue's been moving. tired. my feet are absolutely tired. even well known faces joined. david beckham queued for more than 12 hours, saying it was just special to be there. the queen's family played their part here too. herfour children held a vigil at their mother's coffin in a deeply personal moment amidst the public mourning.

as did her grandchildren, who stood in quiet contemplation. it was a reminder that this was a family grieving. before the king, there was duty too, and a need to be seen around the uk. we are all saddened by her loss. as well as time in scotland, the king also visited northern ireland, where he received condolences from across all political parties. deepest condolences. and he experienced a bit of leaky pen frustration as he signed the visitors' book at hillsborough castle. and he also went to wales before his mother's funeral, with a lengthy walkabout at cardiff

castle. the king's sons were also visible during this period of royal mourning. the new prince and princess of wales visited the sandringham estate in norfolk to view tributes and thank staff and local people, many of whom had met the queen. i love that he has his guardsman t—shirt on. and a paddington as well. i think paddington might have knocked the corgi off the top spot. but it was perhaps a surprise family visit in windsor that drew the most attention. two days after the queen died, two years after the duke and duchess of sussex left the uk, harry, meghan, william and catherine put their differences aside to see tributes left at windsor castle. maybe not a reconciliation, but a show of unity that many seemed pleased to see.

the days of public mourning culminated here at westminster abbey, where one of the biggest gatherings ever seen in the uk of kings and queens, prime ministers and presidents, came for the state funeral of queen elizabeth ii. # i am the resurrection. it was the final farewell. from herfamily... from her country, and beyond. the queen herself had helped choose the readings and music. the funeral service reflected the queen's deep faith and dedication to duty. service in life, hope in death.

all who follow the queen's example and inspiration of trust and faith in god can with her say, "we will meet again". it ended with the national anthem. # send him victorious, happy and glorious. # long to reign over us. # god save the king. after the service, the procession from westminster abbey was at times extraordinary in its pace,

precision and pageantry. the queen was on her way to windsor for the last time. the roads were free of traffic, the pavements full of people. windsor was the place she called home in recent years. up the long walk to the castle gates, the funeral cortege passed emma, the queen's fell pony. and then, in the castle quadrangle, the queen's beloved corgis came to say goodbye.

the committal service in st george's chapel was full of symbolism and ritual, all marking the end of this life and reign. as well as the orb and sceptre, the imperial state crown was moved from the top of the coffin to the altar. and the lord chamberlain, head of the queen's household, broke his wand of office and placed it on the coffin, again a sign that the reign of queen elizabeth ii was over. the final sound to echo around the chapel, the piper�*s lament, fading into the distance as he walked towards the castle.

the period of public mourning was now over. the queen was laid to rest alongside her husband, her father and her mother. before her death, the queen had much to celebrate this year. back injune, four days of events much the platinum jubilee, back injune, four days of events marked the platinum jubilee, the first in british history for the longest reigning monarch. it began with trooping the colour through horse guards parade. then attention shifted to the balcony of buckingham palace, as the crowds moved forward for a closer look at the queen and a very special fly—past, although her great grandson

prince louis threatened to steal the show. we're going to cut the ribbon to officially say this party is open! it was an extended holiday weekend for britain. but the queen's health meant much of the celebrating was done without her. she wasn't well enough to be at the thanksgiving service at st paul's cathedral, but her family were in full attendance, including the duke and duchess of sussex, making their only official appearance at the platinum jubilee. the following day, it was party

at the palace, and that special guest invited for tea. thank you for having me. i do hope you're having a lovelyjubilee. tea? oh, yes, please. some of the world's most well—known musicians had buckingham palace as their backdrop for the party. # notorious! which ended with a spectacular drone light show in the dark summer sky. the final day of the jubilee celebrations, and the pageant took centre stage. quirky, eccentric reminders of the decades of the queen's reign.

the royal family seemed to love it. prince louis again got himself noticed. but the most poignant moment, the queen's last appearance on the balcony. we now know this was more than just thank you. it was the last time we'd see her in this familiar location, where so many key moments, so many national memories had been made. for the king, there was now the adjustment to life as sovereign. his early engagements took him around the uk, meeting a range of communities. in a rainy york, he unveiled a statue to his mother that had been commissioned for herjubilee.

there was also a walkabout in the city, now a regular feature of his engagements. but here, four eggs were thrown at the king as he met people in york. he barely flinched. none of them actually hit. it was, though, a reminder of the risk that comes with this kind of event. on safer territory in the grandeur of buckingham palace, the king hosted his first state visit as monarch, welcoming the south african president. the queen consort is also carving out her new role in public life. a reception for those working to support victims of domestic violence reinforced this issue as a priority for her. but during the event,

an exchange between a former lady in waiting and a guest at the reception made headlines. charity chief executive ngozi fulani said lady susan hussey repeatedly asked her where she was "really" from, causing upset and offence. buckingham palace described lady susan's questioning as unacceptable. a spokesperson for the prince of wales said racism has no place in our society. but almost three weeks after the exchange, the two women met at buckingham palace, where ngozi fulani accepted lady susan's apology. lady susan also said she would deepen her awareness of the issues raised. three, two, one! the racism story came as the prince and princess of wales arrived in america for their first international trip since the death of the queen. the visit included a meeting with president biden for

for prince william at thejfk library. the couple also managed a night out at the basketball, where they enjoyed the full spectator experience. and were on the green carpet for the earthshot awards prize ceremony, the project launched by prince william to reward environmental innovation. but it was a visit where they found themselves dealing with some unexpected issues. the trip here to america was tricky at times. the prince and princess of wales took the view that they wouldn't be distracted by other things. the problem was, that wasn't always easy. while william and catherine were in boston, netflix released a trailerfor their harry & meghan documentary series. doesn't it make more sense to hear our story from us? it changed the conversation around

the trip, attention drawn once again to the divisions within the royal family. during the six episodes, the duke and duchess of sussex shared insights into how they met and theirfamily life, with previously unseen footage. archie took his very first steps right here. but they were also critical of the royal household, of the support they had received, of the way they had been treated. they spoke of media manipulation and intrusion. as harry and meghan tried to negotiate their departure from the uk and royal duty, harry met with his immediate family at sandringham. he said it didn't go well, describing a fractured family relationship. it was terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me and my father say things that simply weren't true, and my grandmother quietly sit there and take it all in. but you have to understand that from the family's perspective, especially from hers,

there are ways of doing things and her ultimate sort of mission goal/responsibility is the institution. it was very much their side of the story. from the royal family, there was no official response to the series. getting the tone right on international royal tours has proved a difficult area, particularly in countries considering removing the british monarch as their head of state. injamaica in march, these pictures of the prince and princess of wales were seen as clumsy and outdated, as was an engagement designed as a tribute to a previous visit the queen had made here. much of the tour was more positive. the welcome was warm.

but as the visit ended, prince william issued a statement acknowledging that the trip had caused him to reflect and learn. in a year where the royal family has grappled with grief and fallout, the pictures of prince george, prince louis and princess charlotte starting a new school together with mum and dad as support were a real moment of happiness. thank you so much. george, welcome. hello, louis, welcome. and welcome, charlotte. the family has now moved to windsor from kensington palace, living in adelaide cottage within the castle grounds. there have been indications too in recent months of the kind of work william wants to concentrate on. out and about in london selling the big issue, homelessness will feature strongly. but 2022 will be forever marked

by the death of queen elizabeth ii, the year that the reign of britain's longest serving monarch came to an end, the year that a royal family shared its private grief amidst a very public mourning. hello. at this time of year, we are often asked the question, is it going to be a white christmas? well, this year it looks like the highest chance of that will be across the

north and west of scotland, but it might not be until later in the day, potentially the evening or even as we head towards midnight, which of course would officially make it a white christmas. but for the rest of us, it is going to be mild. if you are on the move in the next few days and you want to keep abreast of the weather forecast where you are or where you are going, you can do so using our bbc weather app. today we have a lot of cloud across england and wales. we have patchy rain moving eastwards. that could pep up across northern england and we have across northern england and we have a band of rain moving across the english channel and areas adjacent to it. here, it would be breezy. in northern ireland and scotland, brighter skies with sunshine. breezy in the north, and showers in the north of scotland are likely to be wintry on higher ground. still cool in the north. through this evening, we quickly lose the rain from kent. we will see mist and fog patches

across parts of england, wales and northern ireland. and then this next band of rain, which will be heavy in places and thundery, sweeps in from the south—west. under clear skies across northern scotland and northern england and northern ireland, we could see a touch of frost. tomorrow we pick up this band of rain. you can see how it continues to move steadily northwards, still some heavy bursts as indicated by the greens. we could see some transient snow on the hills of the lake district, the pennines and southern scotland. it is more likely to be rain across northern ireland. behind that, a return to sunshine and a few showers, but noticeably windy. ahead of the band of rain, bright spells, sunshine and showers across northern scotland, which are likely to be wintry again i have a higher ground. on christmas eve, some dry weather and fine conditions. rain, sleet and snow

will continue to push northwards, getting into the northern isles by the afternoon in scotland. behind that, we will see further showers coming in which could be heavy and thundery. still mild the further south you travel. for christmas day, still a lot of dry weather around. there will be a few showers across parts of england and wales. we have a system close to the south—east which could bring some rain, but it will turn colderfrom which could bring some rain, but it will turn colder from thereon in.

this is bbc news — these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. president zelensky says ukraine is "alive and kicking" and will never surrender, in a defiant address to us lawmakers as president biden pledges another military aid package worth almost $2 billion. financial assistance is also critically important and i would like to thank you, thank you very much for both financial packages you have already provided us with. warnings of a "very challenging" day for hospitals after a quieter than normal time during yesterday's ambulance strikes. more than one million households with pre—payment meters did not redeem their monthly energy support vouchers during the cold weather snap in december.